Have you ever seen another drone?

[Clipper707]

I read the news and we're being swarmed by drones, like mosquitoes dive-bombing a Saturday picnic. But in reality, I saw an airborne drone, other than my own, for the first time last weekend.

By drone, I'm referring to Phantom, Inspire, Walkera or other quad/hex/octo rotors, in the air, outside of a dedicated RC flying field.

Last weekend I saw a guy setting up to launch his Inspire 1 and it dawned on me this would be the first time I saw another person flying any quad to make a video.

Have you ever seen another drone being operated?

 

[dirkclod]

I believe that in my part of MS there are a few from what my UPS man tells me but have never seen one and the folks here in this little town have only seen mine . Have never had any negative feedback from anyone and the local TV weather stations love the weather shots I tweet them and air them often .

 

[Clipper707]

Your tweeted weather shots are on TV? That's awesome. If Mia goes missing again, maybe they can do a Mia Alert for you.

I saw a guy with a Walkera once, but he was walking to his car and gone by the time I parked. He left a little too soon. I caught an excellent sunset that night over Clipper Cove, Treasure Island CA. I was hoping to see the Walkera up close.

 

[mendezl]

In six months I have seen two others, both phantoms.

Well technically... saw one of them through my fpv. Does that count? here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wj7x6q0Dc3A on right at 25sec mark

 

[ccase39]

There are pretty much 10-15 in the air every day around here. about once a week someones car window gets broken or hood dented from them crashing on them.

Kidding. I know one of my friends has a Vision but I have never seen one anywhere and neither has anyone I have ever encountered. In fact several people approach me asking what it is like they didn't even know they exist.

 

[Great Pumpkin]

Yes, I went out along the beach cliff edge for my regular Thursday noon walk a few weeks ago, and boy golly here was a hexacoptor flying slowly back and forth in front of the cliff, maybe just 20 feet above cliff top level, 60 feet over the beach. I found the three operators: one flying the craft, one on FPV operating the camera, and one guy watching out for traffic and for unwanted people getting in the way of their camera view. Turns out they had some kind of commission to photograph the buildings on top of the cliff from 20' to 50' AGL. They were on a tight schedule for several different shoots in the area, depending on the sun angle. They were very focused on their task and not willing to talk until the hexacopter was on the ground and the particular photo task was completed. Fair enough. They knew what they were doing, and they asserted that they only fly responsibly. They were pros, and I felt like a little kid with a paper glider compared to them and their work.

 

[RichWest]

I actually just saw my first one driving home yesterday. Made me do a double take to be sure. I think I have an invader on my turf....or dronehood.

 

[Clipper707]

There are pretty much 10-15 in the air every day around here. about once a week someones car window gets broken or hood dented from them crashing on them.

Hahaha! Got me at first. Where are you located?

 

[Cyclone]

Ive never seen anyone else flying. A guy at work has a syma quad but so far he hasnt asked to come out with me.

 

[p fandango]

when i was filming (with permission) at Brands Hatch another Phantom took to the air, they hadn't got permission or insurance so were soon grounded

 

[PTCX]

There has only been three instances where I have seen other multicopters since I started flying the Phantoms.
The first I only saw the feed from his FPV in my goggles one day as I was setting up for a flight session.I put my Phantom down connected the battery and while waiting for it to warm up and set home point etc I put on my goggles and saw that I was flying along a road and I recognized it as the road I drive into the area on and it was about 1 kilometer away.I continued to watch his flight until he landed and then quickly switched on my FPV and put my Phantom up hoping to freak him out as he had done to me when I put my goggles on.
The second was when on a trip to the central Australian desert region I met another Phantom owner at Dalhousie Springs on the edge of the Simpson Desert.About 4000 kilometers from home.We had planned to fly together but he got too busy with the volunteer work he was doing there so we never got the chance.
The third was on that same trip at Birdsville on the opposite side of the Simpson.While camped just outside of town I saw what looked like a DJI S 1000 flying low over the camping area.I tried to follow it,me on foot,but it sped off and went behind some trees and I lost sight of it.It was a pretty dumb place to be flying as it was directly under the approach/departure paths for the airport which was less than 1 kilometer away.
And I have to say Birdsville airport is the home of dangerous flight.There were more cowboys in planes that week than there was on horseback,and it was the week of the Birdsville Races,the Melbourne Cup of the outback.
In that week I witnessed a plane flying no more than 10 feet AGL,therefore no more than 10 feet from cars and people,a near miss where a helicopter nearly hit a fixed wing aircraft which had to quickly roll onto it's side to miss the helicopter and three Lear jets running down the runway and taking off no more than 50 meters apart line a stern.
Where was CASA,in the office watching youtube videos of quad copters trying to find evidence of reckless flight for prosecution.

 

[tcope]

How interesting is the news talking about 1 drone being flown. I don't watch the news on TV any more and have not for perhaps 10 years. There are a small handfull of companies that own most of the news outlets. I get most of my information from sources on the Internet and then look into many locations to piece together the truth.

I see the biggest issue wuth drones as the noise. A _far_ distant second would the ability to cause damage.

(P.S. Faux News and (bonehead) friends.... drones will cut off your head :roll: )

 

[Jermz]

Not counting mine and my friends, three time I've come across drones, each time another phantom. Twice I've seen them at public parks, and once a national meeting for a youth group I work with. That was actually three birds in the air at a time, one with the official video peeps, I'm not sure who the others were.

--edit

I forgot about a fourth, it wasn't a phantom. A guy was filming a fireworks show.

 

[J Dot]

I almost tracked one down, once!
I went flying, at a local beach spot ( lots of birds, mangroves, ect )
I took some video, when I was loading up to leave, I noticed, a small
Phillips screwdriver, and a DJI Phantom 2 Vision, camera ( lens cover )
I was close to something Never seen before! Not telling anyone my discovery,
I went to another spot , a few days later( Akerman preserve ) where I came across,
a broken phantom propeller, and 2 anti-jello balls ( white ones ), I was getting Close now,
and it was Injured, I was So excited, well I've been flying for
Over 3 months now since the encounter, and the trail has gone
cold, so I'm optimistic I will find it one day! That is my story!
Maybe the locals can help?
( True story, I enbellished a bit for fun! )

If anyone flies in Sarasota, Florida area, or had a crash out at Akerman preserve, I have your screwdriver, lens cover, from beach
( North She'll Beach Rd, at the end )
Broken prop, anti-jello balls,from preserve! note: ( Thanks for picking up your bird, and leaving your garbage! ) it is a PRESERVE!

So: answer is: NOT YET! As of now!

Take care, Fly RESPECTFULLY!
J Dot

Edited: spelling!

 

[Marlin009]

I've only seen one other one, my brothers. Ended up costing me about $1000.

 

[jadebox]

At our model rocket launch a couple of months ago, I saw an Inspire flying over the neighboring field. I was hoping the flier would come over to check out the rockets, but he didn't.

At our monthly high-power (larger rockets) launch, there has been another person flying a Vision+ for the past couple of months. You'll see his 'copter for second in my video of the launch - if I ever get finished editing it.

-- Roger

 

[NickCopter]

When I was in California for Christmas Break this year with my family we saw a Phantom 2 zipping around all over the place

I was by the ocean using my little Hubsan x4, and got far too excited about seeing a phantom flying around. It was the best part of my trip.

As soon as I came home I knew I had to buy a P2 of my own, and so I did

 

[miket234]

First one I ever saw was when a stranger (now a friend) showed up at my house and asked if he could video my over the top Christmas lights. He put together a video and sent me the link. It was such an awesome experience that I bought my own Vision+ three weeks later!! I have only seen my friend fly when I have flown, but have seen YouTube video evidence of another flyer encroaching my territory!!

 

[Jacob]

We have a sub-forum for regional meetings. Go there and check out your area. I'll bet you will find some other pilots. If not, feel free to start a new topic in that sub-forum.

 

[nhoover]

I see them quite often in California. Many Phantoms and other smaller ones. I went camping at Death Valley National Park over Christmas leaving my Phantoms at home for once since you can't fly there. I saw a couple of Phantoms, several small quads, a couple of RC helis and 3 or 4 powered ultralights. People flying everywhere.