Have you ever been told off?

[Marconi Union]

Thanks Gator113 for support and sympathy Best to be reasonable in these situations - just feel a bit deflated.
Glad u liked 'flying Crimson Skies' too! You'll love the phantom.....



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[streetreporter]

The relevant US Supreme Court case law is US v. Causby (1946). A farmer was pissed that his chickens were killing themselves because of low-flying aircraft landing at a nearby airport.

The justices ruled "if the landowner is to have full enjoyment of the land, he must have exclusive control of the immediate reaches of the enveloping atmosphere. Otherwise buildings could not be erected, trees could not be planted, and even fences could not be run" . . . Thus, a landowner "owns at least as much of the space above the ground as he can occupy or use in connection with the land," and invasions of that airspace "are in the same category as invasions of the surface."

So what this means is that you are literally trespassing if you're flying below the tallest structure or tree on the property. If you are above that, you are in a public space. note, however, that your angry neighbor may still lobby for new local laws to restrict R/C helicopters (like in Texas recently).

Meanwhile, the 500 feet ceiling for property rights is a misnomer. That is from the FAA authorization act, and it says the FAA controls the navigable airspace from "minimum altitudes of safe flight" which is 500 feet, but this whole issue is currently the subject of litigation.

One solution: I have offered to shoot aerial video and still of my neighbors' homes. In a few cases, I took the pics first and just put them in their mailbox as a 'gift'

 

[twodips]

Well after reading several stories on here about being told off or having neighbor issues I tried the suggested giving the neighbors a heads up on our neighborhood forum. :idea:
I'm here to tell you I'd never,ever do that again. I was accused of being everything from a "creeper" to a "pervert" to "I'll shoot it down with my 12 gauge" even though I fully explained what I was up to and that no, it's not able to look into windows unless right next to them and you'd certainly know if that was the case. I got the "I own this space" thing and "I've got a right to privacy". While true it doesn't extend to places in public view like your driveway, most instances your back yard etc.
Thankfully there were about 3 neighbors who were happy that I said something ahead of time and told the others so but I'm still getting the "stink eye" when I'm outside and the occasional snarky remarks on the forum.
Oh well, I didn't buy my house to be loved by my neighbors and at this point I no longer care what they do or don't think. I tried and that's the best I can do.

 

[steveeds]

I was showing a friend the PH2 last night, a woman came stalking around the corner, I knew all was not well.

"I've been waiting and watching since last weekend to see who was operating that thing, you hovered over my place and my 2 year old was running around with no clothes on, I was going to ring the police there are a lot of people here who will hate you"
she was leaning forward and getting red.
She said more but we get the idea.

I said sorry and it won't happen again and I will now only fly it down by the park.
I am on her side with this and again my thoughtlessness and being basically stupid has caused her to have to take action.

Unintelligent and aware of it is a burden some of us have to live with

 

[ScottH]

You always run the risk of falling in to the 'disturbing the peace' catch all. In Texas we also have a privacy law that specifically addresses UAVs. http://www.legis.state.tx.us/tlodocs/83 ... 00912F.htm

Don't fly above 8 feet and you are ok.

 

[Phantom_Menace66]

Yes, my missus told me off big time when the DHL van pulled in the driveway... Me did get into big trouble! Lol

 

[Ozzyguy]

I was flying around the back yard and the neighbour over the back two doors down shouted to me asking where he can get his!

 

[twodips]

You always run the risk of falling in to the 'disturbing the peace' catch all. In Texas we also have a privacy law that specifically addresses UAVs. http://www.legis.state.tx.us/tlodocs/83 ... 00912F.htm

Don't fly above 8 feet and you are ok.

One wonders how that will stand up to SCOTUS review. Pretty wide reaching imo.

 

[ScottH]

One wonders how that will stand up to SCOTUS review. Pretty wide reaching imo.

For sure.. can't see it being enforceable.

 

[ianwood]

I've had mostly positive reactions, like everyone's been saying, minus one incident. I was flying near the Hollywood sign, from one of the trails, and as I started heading for the sign, I flew over one of the horse ranches that are up in the hills there. From my vantage point up on a hill, I could see down into the horse ranch, and there was a bunch of them in their paddock and some people outside. Some guy then yelled up to me, asking me to please not fly over the ranch, as it will scare the horses. I can tell you now, I was plenty high enough that I was not scaring any of the horses, and I'm sure they are plenty used to aircraft noise as there's police and tour helicopters circling the Hollywood sign every five minutes.

Nevertheless I called back down saying no problem and flew it away from the ranch. 5 minutes later as I was getting ready to leave, a hiker walked by me on the trail and told me I should be careful flying in that area, cause the park rangers have started issuing tickets to other people flying quadcopters. So it was a bit of a discouraging day to say the least. I'd been wanting to get a good shot of the Hollywood sign, but I'm not sure if I'll risk going back. Maybe early in the morning at sunrise or something.

The horses at Sunset Ranch are so nervous and dumb that you can't even ride a bicycle near them for fear they might throw themselves over the edge of the hiking path. Anyway, the only time I ever see rangers in that area is when some adventurous tourist decides to climb up to the sign. A Phantom won't stick out much as the place is inundated with helicopters 24/7. I've flown mine there several times with no issue. Just don't buzz the residents.

As an aside, beware of the optical illusion that is the Hollywood sign. It's much further away than you think. If you look at your Phantom in the air, you'll think you're way above it and about to fly past it. And when you look at your FPV, you'll realize you're still way below it and far away. Each letter is 45ft tall.

So far, all my flights have been met with curiosity and intrigue. Nothing negative yet. I'm sure it'll happen at some point.

 

[ElGuano]

Nice shot! Was this one of those "oops, too far and actually below" moments?

 

[offtosleep]

You've got a set of brass balls flying that close to all those radio towers.

 

[ianwood]

Nice shot! Was this one of those "oops, too far and actually below" moments?

Yup. The Phantom looked like it was way above the sign and right next to it despite being at the same height and about 150ft away.

You've got a set of brass balls flying that close to all those radio towers.

They're microwave repeaters which have a very narrow beam, but I stayed below them to be sure.

 

[Harvey3733]

I was flying over the Rio Grande Gorge near Taos New Mexico. I was next to the bridge with cars and trucks zipping over. When I landed some guy came running over and ranting about where my license was, and that we were in a pristine area. I tried explaining that I did not need a license and that I was not photographing people, but to no avail. After a while I made no further eye contact as I have been told that it angers wild animals. To be fair, most people thought it was cool.

 

[Ozzyguy]

Ha ha pristine area with bridges and cars.Yeah right. Not making eye contact can be just as infuriating. Some people carry around a copy of the relevant laws to hand to people like that. Don't know how much good it does. Some people have a hard time admitting they are wrong especially after mounting their white horse of truth and justice in such a public way.

 

[Kelso Kubat]

Yes ......I had a neighbor tell me I was invading his privacy!, I was not even flying anywhere near or above his house, I told him to look up Google earth, and said he should be worried more about them, or Bing Earth and all the other satellites watching over everyone.

hmmm i like that :shock:

 

[Kelso Kubat]

i just tell people its not delivery, its DiGiorno...
:shock: