First Encounter With Paranoia

[Phantom Texan]

While out flying my P2V+ at the park in my neighborhood today I had an interesting encounter. Three women (aged 40-55) were standing and talking nearby as I was getting setup to fly. They proceeded to walk away and stopped as they passed me and said "is that one of those drones?" I said "some people call them that but I prefer Quadcopter". She proceeded to tell me that some guy was flying one (she pointed at nearby houses) and spying on a teenage girl when her father came out and shot him.......REALLY??? I think that would have been all over national news. When she said that I just turned around and went back to my preflight.

 

[CaptainDrone798]

Possible responses to the lady could have been:

1. Nope, he missed, I'm still here.

2. That's why I'm voting for Trump. He will build a wall to keep drones out.

3. Spying? Shot? Oh he got off easy. The last guy was placed in a swimming pool with several sharks with lazers strapped to their heads.

4. Remarkable, I can barely see the scar from your lobotomy.

 

[cactusfrog]

#3 I vote #3

 

[Phantom Texan]

#4 is closer to what I was thinking at the time.

 

[Meta4]

When she said that I just turned around and went back to my preflight.

Missed opportunity to show them what it really can do instead of what they imagine.

 

[Phantom Texan]

I've done that with others at this park and had positive encounters.

It was obvious to me this lady was too far gone.

 

[Providian623]

I just today had a father & mother walk their two children (probably 7 - 8 yrs old) over to watch me fly. They were at a nearby family gathering at another park pavilion. I took the time to explain what everything was and how the app worked. I then took off and took a couple of still pictures and a short video of the family waiving, etc. The father gave me his email and asked me to send him a copy, which I did before they departed. Very nice people and two really well grounded & smart kids. The father & wife asked me to join them and I got a couple of hotdogs & some potato salad out of the encounter and made about 15 new friends, as well. Not all encounters with the public will be positive, but this one sure was.

 

[QuadBart]

People are full of mis-information. In the dozen or so times I've flown at my local park, I've only had one "interesting" encounter. Most people either ask friendly questions or just ignore it.

So this one guy walks up to me while I'm flying and asks if I've registered with the FAA and if my bird is marked. I said yes, and brought my Quad down close enough so you could see the FAA number on the bottom. He then proceeded to tell me a "horror story" about how a "drone" ripped the winglet off of a 747. I answered with something like; "Wow thats horrible. Well I comply with all FAA rules and even support the AMA"... He eventually walks away after watching me fly for a short while.

I never heard of this incident. A drone ripping a winglet off of a 747. I would think a collision like that would make major news. Well of course, searching the 'net there is no such incident. A video of something whizzing by the winglet of a commercial jet but no collision...

While out flying my P2V+ at the park in my neighborhood today I had an interesting encounter. Three women (aged 40-55) were standing and talking nearby as I was getting setup to fly. They proceeded to walk away and stopped as they passed me and said "is that one of those drones?" I said "some people call them that but I prefer Quadcopter". She proceeded to tell me that some guy was flying one (she pointed at nearby houses) and spying on a teenage girl when her father came out and shot him.......REALLY??? I think that would have been all over national news. When she said that I just turned around and went back to my preflight.

 

[Rothgarr]

So this one guy walks up to me while I'm flying and asks if I've registered with the FAA and if my bird is marked. I said yes, and brought my Quad down close enough so you could see the FAA number on the bottom. He then proceeded to tell me a "horror story" about how a "drone" ripped the winglet off of a 747. I answered with something like; "Wow thats horrible. Well I comply with all FAA rules and even support the AMA"... He eventually walks away after watching me fly for a short while.

I never heard of this incident. A drone ripping a winglet off of a 747. I would think a collision like that would make major news. Well of course, searching the 'net there is no such incident. A video of something whizzing by the winglet of a commercial jet but no collision...

It never happened. It was a fake: http://flightclub.jalopnik.com/that-video-of-a-drone-striking-a-plane-wing-is-totally-1713451709

 

[Providian623]

If a drone was struck by a winglet of a 747 (or most any other aircraft) there wouldn't be enough left of the drone to identify what it was to begin with and the winglet would just keep on, keeping on. People are full of such crap, sometimes, you just have to be polite and then ignore them. In this era of YouTube & the internet a lot of people are to stupid/lazy to do their own research or identify B.S. when they see it !

 

[Jaime Ray Vaughn]

I just today had a father & mother walk their two children (probably 7 - 8 yrs old) over to watch me fly. They were at a nearby family gathering at another park pavilion. I took the time to explain what everything was and how the app worked. I then took off and took a couple of still pictures and a short video of the family waiving, etc. The father gave me his email and asked me to send him a copy, which I did before they departed. Very nice people and two really well grounded & smart kids. The father & wife asked me to join them and I got a couple of hotdogs & some potato salad out of the encounter and made about 15 new friends, as well. Not all encounters with the public will be positive, but this one sure was.

You did a great job of educating someone and made friends in the process. I would consider that day a complete success!