Legalize UAV/Drone flying in FL State Parks!

[JFlowers1300]

I am a new UAV pilot, I have recently purchased the Inspire 1 pro V2.0 and the Venmuse x5 and I am absolutely loving it! I am posting this because with as great as this technology is, I was shocked to learn that here in Florida it is illegal to fly in State Parks. As a professional photographer I gained so much inspiration from taking my new gear out to my local state park and testing my new capabilities.

I understand that there are liability issues involved with flying at the parks but at the same time I think that a blanket ban is absurd. I feel like our parks are doing themselves a disservice by completely banning drone flight and the ability to capture from the air. Showcasing the beauty that we as taxpayers pay to protect would only increase the awareness of why we are paying into the parks as well as drive in traffic to some our state's best locations.

At the very least I feel that proof of insurance and a "resonable" permit fee should be all that is required to fly in any state park and that it would benefit both the UAV pilot in having a non-crowded/rural place to fly as well as increasing revenue, awareness and possible traffic to our state parks.

I have searched around online for quite a while today and I haven't seen anyone supporting the legalization of UAV/Drone flying in FL state parks, I created a facebook page @:

需要安全验证

Please show support if you agree with the cause, even if it is a long shot I feel that banding together to show support of a specific opinion is important. Thanks!

 

[tcope]

I am a new UAV pilot, I have recently purchased the Inspire 1 pro V2.0 and the Venmuse x5 and I am absolutely loving it! I am posting this because with as great as this technology is, I was shocked to learn that here in Florida it is illegal to fly in State Parks. As a professional photographer I gained so much inspiration from taking my new gear out to my local state park and testing my new capabilities.

You can have millions of people agree with you here... that won't make a difference. You need to find the correct people in FL to speak to and have a meeting with those people.

 

[JFlowers1300]

You might be right, but without showing support it will be hard to sway any of those "select" few individuals. I just can't believe that this hasn't already been done. I have looked up plenty online today and have found quite a bit of what is, as of now considered absolutely illegal footage on youtube of the same parks I called which told me I couldn't fly there. There is a reason why groups like the NRA are so successful in defending constitutional rights which equates out to individual support. These groups started somewhere in their beginning and if we as a community don't take our defense soon then we wont be flying much of anywhere imho.

 

[JFlowers1300]

Not only that but it is a much safer place to fly than in the city or in residential areas or even smaller city parks. I am a new UAV pilot but at the same time I have been a professional photographer for over 10 years, I have experience with pole aerial systems and I just feel like the government is afraid of UAV consumer use and is unnecessarily blanketing the entire community with a ban on the practice.

 

[JFlowers1300]

Look, I'm not suggesting that any 15 y/o with a drone be able to fly. I'm saying that the parks could charge for permits to fly after verifying that the pilot carries suitable insurance. This would allow for responsible pilots to have TONS of acreage at their disposal to fly and capture pictures and video as well as increase State revenue and awareness for what our tax dollars are going into to protect. Not only that but you can already legally fly over State Park land as long as you don't take off or land there. So as technology gets better what you stated will happen any way. Our parks are just making it inconvenient and not capitalizing on another way to increase the money they make back on our tax dollar.

 

[Cactus Wren]

I'm not a resident of Florida, but I feel the exact same way about nat'l parks. It would be real easy for the park services to come up with a fee permit structure, establish safety rules and limit the number of drones flying in any one area at any one time. Elevation restrictions, time-of-day restrictions, sensitive and/or riparian area restrictions, etc.
Blanket bans are stupid, IMHO, because most state and nat'l parks cover hundreds to thousands to hundreds of thousands of acres and it is really possible for a responsible pilot to fly a drone in a manner that disturbs no one and harms nothing. Only a very few pilots are inconsiderate jerks.

 

[JFlowers1300]

And I honestly feel like having to apply for a permit and provide proof of insurance would eliminate most of the "jerks" and those irresponsible. Outside of that, handle it on a case by case basis. If someone is going up and buzzing wildlife just to be immature and inconsiderate then prosecute them individually, don't blanket ban everyone...

 

[JFlowers1300]

But like you said, on the amount of acreage between State and Federal land there is plenty of space to fly and capture amazingly beautiful imagery without disturbing a soul.

 

[N017RW]

I frequently camp in FL state parks and have been to all but two of them.

Leave the drones at home.

Don't want them buzzing around.

 

[JFlowers1300]

I appreciate your opinion but you can't tell me on an 800 acre parcel of land you can hear a drone across its entirety opposite your campsite can you?

 

[JFlowers1300]

Being a resident I also camp and hike most weeks at many state parks in Florida if not every couple of weeks most every month.

 

[RJ_Make]

What would suitable insurance look like? I'm thinking in terms of hobbyists.

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[JFlowers1300]

Again there is no reason both sides can't have what is within their rights as taxpayers without reasonable legislation or rules. I have no problem staying clear of campsites with my drone.

 

[JFlowers1300]

UAV & Drone Insurance

 

[JFlowers1300]

Insurance will conform as does the community as with all things related to each other. With enough support and numbers backing a cause there will be a need to make these things more "consumer" friendly. The technology of drone flight/capture/capability is already heading in this direction as it's easier than ever to safely fly. What needs to be addressed is the local, state and federal laws which blanket the rights of tax paying citizens rather than address the logistics of what is possible in the case of a shared business interest.

 

[JFlowers1300]

I say "business interest" in terms of the government making more money from the situation...

 

[GMack]

I don't think it is going to get better. Three years ago and you could fly almost anywhere and even in the National Parks. Now we have anti-drone ordinances growing fast.

California, has passed legislation that took effect on January 1, 2016, which specifically makes a person liable for the physical invasion of someone's privacy when that person knowingly enters "into the airspace" above the land of another without permission. The law applies when the entry was done to capture any type of visual image, sound recording, or other physical impression of the land owner engaging in a private, personal, or familial activity; and the invasion must happen in a way that would be offensive to a reasonable person. (Calif. Civil Code section 1708.8.) Popularly, this new law is known as the "Paparazzi" law, because it was inspired by complaints by celebrity Kanye West, who was annoyed by a drone hovering above his home.

So the state has decided that entering airspace above the land of another person could be trespassing with fines from $5K to $50K if someone deems it offensive to them - whatever that means. The FAA says airspace from ground up is theirs, but CA says otherwise as of Jan. 2016. The police chief in Huntington Beach, and their pro-tem mayor who already deems them offensive, is pushing for some 300 foot horizontal permission ordinance. In my area, I'd have to go to maybe 12 houses and ask all owners for permission to fly any time I get the itch in my own yard - and the likelihood of all 12 saying "Yes" is probably not a good bet. I wouldn't be surprised if at some point flying over any USA city will become a NFZ without a permit. That or make all cities and towns a huge new Class H airspace with the need to stay 5 miles from any city or town border with RC aircraft.

Oh, the permit thing is in place in CA too (Thanks bunches Hollywood.), as well as the parks if you want to pay maybe $2K daily for the commercial permit and whatever else they tack onto the bill. FilmLA starts the permit and permission ball rolling for $660 now, and where it stops who knows they way the ordinances keep going up against drones. Government permits ain't cheap nor are they fast.

Fwiw, there was a senator who proposed some photographer's annual license much like a hunting license for maybe $50 annually, but he left office and the bill never proceeded.

The AMA should be our spokesman for this stuff, but seems they aren't too drone crazy either in that most local AMA fields aren't that welcoming of drones. I still have yet to get my AMA mag either since joining for their insurance. Red-headed stepchild I guess.

 

[JFlowers1300]

The California legislation seems absurd and way over the top, how does one work commercially? It can't be $2k per day to operate as a business can it? There has to be some avocation on our community's side to stand up for our rights as well, are there any groups actively fighting to maintain drone freedom? I've been looking but can't seem to find much.

 

[JFlowers1300]

ONLY freshwater fishing statistics of ONLY FL residents:

$21,816,578 annual 2014-2015

Projected UAV/Drone Sales through 2021:

$12,000,000,000 / $1000 per drone = 12,000,000 new UAV/Drones by 2021

I don't think we are talking chump change by any means.

If the forecast for the community is expected to increase so drastically, I do not understand why the parks would not be ready to capitalize on numbers like this...? The average price for a FL State Resident fishing license is 17 bucks. Think about the totals if our state parks charged a similar annual $50-$150 for flying fees!

 

[Cactus Wren]

What would suitable insurance look like? I'm thinking in terms of hobbyists.

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I asked about insurance for my drone through State Farm, who has been my insurance company for many years.
They'll insure against theft, but not damage or liability. I would assume this to be the current industry standard, being that State Farm is one of the major companies?