So after seeing the news......
I imagine Municipalities across the nation will be having discussions and deciding what to do about those awful snooping drones. Prepare for a SLEW of city level ordinances attempting to tell you what you can and cannot do with your drone.
Bureaucrats are never ones to miss an opportunity to ink new rules to tell you what you can and cannot do.
The question is "Is the airspace above your private property yours or is it public"? And if it's not yours, how far above your home IS considered yours? 10ft? 100ft? 500ft?
It "appears" a homeowner has some grounds to claim trespass if your drone overflies his property at less than 500ft. Obviously to fly above that is to enter Federally regulated airspace.
That leaves ZERO room to overfly private property according to today's guidelines.
However, given the rise of the commercial use of drones, the US Government is considering lowering that 500ft guideline. My opinion: Ultimately, we will likely see local laws banning the use of drones over private property with exemptions for law enforcement, city, state or federal business or VERY deep corporate pockets. Sadly, I have the feeling the days of flying where ever you want are going to end sooner than we all had hoped. At least in urban areas, restricted areas and near private land.
Source:
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_...metz_arrest_how_much_airspace_do_you_own.html
In 1946 the Supreme Court acknowledged that the air had become a “public highway,” but a landowner still had dominion over “at least as much of the space above the ground as he can occupy or use in connection with the land.” In that case the court held that a plane flying just 83 feet in the air—the commotion was literally scaring the plaintiff’s chickens to death—represented an invasion of property. The justices declined to precisely define the height at which ownership rights end. Today, the federal government considers the area above 500 feet to be navigable airspace in uncongested areas. While the Supreme Court hasn’t explicitly accepted that as the upper limit of property ownership, it’s a useful guideline in trespass cases. Therefore, unless you own some very tall buildings, your private airspace probably ends somewhere between 80 and 500 feet above the ground.
Another possibility....
Imagine a registry like the "Do Not Call Lists" where people can register their property and then a drone operator is required to check that list before overflying that property or face fines.
No matter what, the days of carefree flying are are probably numbered.