I live in a rural area, I fly my P3P out of my backyard maybe twice a week, weather permitting. I fly into the woods about 1/4 to 1/2 mile behind my house to photograph some old coal mining areas. When I take off from my yard, I climb straight up to 250-300 ft. to avoid the tall trees and hills.
I only overfly the very edge of a small trailer park in the valley just before the woods, I'm always at 250' plus and moving at 18+ MPH, there are no other houses where I fly, just fields and woods.
After a 15 minute flight tonight, I am in the house putting the Phantom away when an old quad runner pulls up in my yard and a visibly intoxicated man knocks on the door. He's holding a travel mug that smells like vodka through the screen door, and asks if I own the drone that was just flying over his house. I told him I own a drone, but I don't fly over anyone's homes; I always fly over the woods out back.
He told me that he and his wife were outside and felt violated because a drone was hovering over their property taking pictures of them, and he followed it back to my house. I again told him that I was flying over the woods behind the house, and that if I did pass over his house it was at 300 feet and 18 MPH, I never hovered anywhere in the area over any home but my own, as I was landing.
I offered to show him the videos I just took so he could be assured that not only was I not hovering anywhere near his house, but any images taken from 250+ feet with a wide angle lens is not going to show any detail of people on the ground. He wasn't interested in the images, he had a speech, and he wanted to get it all out.
He told me his wife had read a news report about people using drones to take pictures of girls in their neighbors yard and that they again both felt violated just knowing there was a drone nearby, and that he had a right to privacy and he felt it was being violated. He also let me know how much of a nuisance it was because they heard the drone pass by their house when they were outside. This coming from the drunk guy who just drove his very loud, unlicensed off road quad runner down a public street to complain to me about noise from a 12" drone flying somewhere near his house at 250-300' high.
He told me he didn't want to cause any trouble, but he knows where I live and if he sees the drone again he will be calling the Sheriff's Department. I asked him where he lived so I could be sure to avoid his property in the future, and he vaguely gestured off to his left, spilling a bunch a liquid from his vodka mug all over my porch. I started asking him for some clarification on exactly where he lived, but he was already lurching across the yard back to his quad runner.
I don't blame him or his wife for their lack of understanding of just how little detail any small camera with a wide angle lens is able to record from 300', nor did I ask him if he and his wife felt violated every time a small plane or helicopter flew over their house at 500'. I know they were reacting to the BS scare mongering the media has been spreading about drones the past couple of years. If he was sober I would have invited him to come over and watch the live feed as I fly so he can see for himself just how low I would have to fly to see ANY kind of detail of his home or property, assuming I gave even the slightest crap about him, his wife or their single wide trailer.
So, I know this post has no meaning and doesn't accomplish anything, but I do feel slightly better having posted it anyway.
Edit: Drunky McVodkaMug must have enjoyed his illegal ride down a public street on his unlicensed quadrunner to complain to me earlier tonight; it is now 10:55 PM and he is still tearing up and down the road on that loud, broken muffelered POS rusty quad runner, in the dark with no lights (or helmet, but at this point I believe that him removing himself from the gene pool could only benefit mankind).
Really makes me look like quite the fool for legally operating a quadcopter while being fully registered and in compliance with FAA regulations for less than 15 minutes in daylight hours, while in the (very) general vicinity of the sacred, hallowed, top secret grounds of a six unit trailer park.
I only overfly the very edge of a small trailer park in the valley just before the woods, I'm always at 250' plus and moving at 18+ MPH, there are no other houses where I fly, just fields and woods.
After a 15 minute flight tonight, I am in the house putting the Phantom away when an old quad runner pulls up in my yard and a visibly intoxicated man knocks on the door. He's holding a travel mug that smells like vodka through the screen door, and asks if I own the drone that was just flying over his house. I told him I own a drone, but I don't fly over anyone's homes; I always fly over the woods out back.
He told me that he and his wife were outside and felt violated because a drone was hovering over their property taking pictures of them, and he followed it back to my house. I again told him that I was flying over the woods behind the house, and that if I did pass over his house it was at 300 feet and 18 MPH, I never hovered anywhere in the area over any home but my own, as I was landing.
I offered to show him the videos I just took so he could be assured that not only was I not hovering anywhere near his house, but any images taken from 250+ feet with a wide angle lens is not going to show any detail of people on the ground. He wasn't interested in the images, he had a speech, and he wanted to get it all out.
He told me his wife had read a news report about people using drones to take pictures of girls in their neighbors yard and that they again both felt violated just knowing there was a drone nearby, and that he had a right to privacy and he felt it was being violated. He also let me know how much of a nuisance it was because they heard the drone pass by their house when they were outside. This coming from the drunk guy who just drove his very loud, unlicensed off road quad runner down a public street to complain to me about noise from a 12" drone flying somewhere near his house at 250-300' high.
He told me he didn't want to cause any trouble, but he knows where I live and if he sees the drone again he will be calling the Sheriff's Department. I asked him where he lived so I could be sure to avoid his property in the future, and he vaguely gestured off to his left, spilling a bunch a liquid from his vodka mug all over my porch. I started asking him for some clarification on exactly where he lived, but he was already lurching across the yard back to his quad runner.
I don't blame him or his wife for their lack of understanding of just how little detail any small camera with a wide angle lens is able to record from 300', nor did I ask him if he and his wife felt violated every time a small plane or helicopter flew over their house at 500'. I know they were reacting to the BS scare mongering the media has been spreading about drones the past couple of years. If he was sober I would have invited him to come over and watch the live feed as I fly so he can see for himself just how low I would have to fly to see ANY kind of detail of his home or property, assuming I gave even the slightest crap about him, his wife or their single wide trailer.
So, I know this post has no meaning and doesn't accomplish anything, but I do feel slightly better having posted it anyway.
Edit: Drunky McVodkaMug must have enjoyed his illegal ride down a public street on his unlicensed quadrunner to complain to me earlier tonight; it is now 10:55 PM and he is still tearing up and down the road on that loud, broken muffelered POS rusty quad runner, in the dark with no lights (or helmet, but at this point I believe that him removing himself from the gene pool could only benefit mankind).
Really makes me look like quite the fool for legally operating a quadcopter while being fully registered and in compliance with FAA regulations for less than 15 minutes in daylight hours, while in the (very) general vicinity of the sacred, hallowed, top secret grounds of a six unit trailer park.
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