neighbors response?

[dutch]

three flights so far, and i have to say this is so much fun!
just got my vision 2+ v3 and have only had a couple minutes to
really fly. our weather has been very changeable, so lots of wind,
snow, rain lately.
yesterday at lunchtime i went out for a flight, the weather was clear, with
a breeze and i wanted to just make a large circle around my house. i got some nice
video of the neighborhood, a large horse farm and my neighbors house.
after i finished packing up, and left to head back to work, my neighbor yelled to me
and i walked to her, she was in the road looking for this "drone"
she thought i had received a package from Amazon! she saw the drone drop
near my house and thought it left a package and left, so she was walking in
the road looking for it. i told her it was mine, she was in sort of shock,
"you own a drone". and i could tell she was sort of freaked out by this.

http://youtu.be/P9QM02Y7R1k

when i got the sd card in my computer and looked at my footage, i could see that she
had watched it quite a bit and had taken a bunch of pictures of it!

i plan to have a little conversation with her, and let them know i'd be happy to get some
aerial photos of their house, etc, but my g/f thinks i'm going to get in trouble for
spying on people and invading the neighbors privacy. i reassured her that this is no
different than driving down the street and looking at a house. then she reminded me that sometimes she likes
to sit out in the sun in our "private" back yard and sunbath, well, i could see where this was going.

what has been the general response from neighbors when they see flying cameras in their neighborhood?
how have any of you handled any objectives? has any LEO been called that you know of?

 

[Prylar Bek]

Stop calling it a drone, that word has a bad connotation. Maybe chopper or helicopter or something else. Spying on people is a BIG issues, search the site and you will see discussions about it

 

[QYV]

we've seen the entire range here plenty of times from totally friendly, curious neighbors to downright combative and calling the cops.

This is of course my personal opinion but assuming you aren't already on bad terms I think the best course of action is get out in front of the issue, involve them early. Take it over, be friendly and show them how it works and most people think it's super cool. I also feel it's important for them to understand what the footage looks like so they understand that it's more about flying and the landscape than spying on them specifically. I'd even bring it up myself, something along the lines of "obviously I'm not interested in "spying" on you but if you are concerned I'll do my best to avoid your property/house..." (and then do so if they ask).

as for invading the neighbors privacy (again my opinion) flying low over houses and backyards is obviously going to get you more attention than flying high and/or over... not houses and backyards, know what I mean? if you can fly over fields, forests, open areas whatever as opposed to right over people's houses... but also altitude: over 60m or so it's barely noticeable unless you know right where it is... especially if you stealth out the navigation lights

Speaking of altitude, you mentioned a horse farm... don't know what kind of footage you're trying to get but it would be really rude to fly low and spook livestock, I would definitely go speak with the owners and offer to share footage/pictures with them you're definitely on the right track there.
cheers!

 

[QYV]

Stop calling it a drone, that word has a bad connotation. Maybe chopper or helicopter or something else. Spying on people is a BIG issues, search the site and you will see discussions about it

quadcopter or "quad" would be more accurate, the government calls it a UAS.
you're absolutely right that "drones" have a negative connotation but the fact is that's the term that's been widely adopted by the media so that's what the general public knows.

I agree that it sucks, but I feel like all we can do at this point is "turn into the skid" and try to show people that recreational, hobby drones are fun and (mostly) harmless. I think we'll have better luck making "drones" friendlier and more accepted than getting the entire world to change it's terminology.

 

[750r]

How would you fill if I come by and fly over your house and happen to catch your girl laying out ?
My old lady would probably flash it but that's her . The big problem is the news juicing their story's up and people be leave the news .
Some people you could show and explain how it works what you can & can't do but they will still side with the what the media says because they don't Lie :lol:
You look like you got some good area to fly give your neighbors the common courtesy and ask if they mind you flying over their property save yourself a head ace .
Welcome to the fun !

 

[dutch]

i do plan on showing the neighbors the phantom, and i was about 100+ feet when i viewed down
at the horse farm, but never ventured over the farm itself. i know the managers fairly well, and
may approach them and offer some aerial photos, and let them know i'd respect the horses
and keep a safe altitude.

i do not refer to the phantom as a drone, but my neighbor certainly did, so maybe i'll let her
know we call it a quadcopter or similar. and i'll have a conversation with them about
privacy and see if they have concerns that i can surely avoid.

 

[dutch]

How would you fill if I come by and fly over your house and happen to catch your girl laying out ?
My old lady would probably flash it but that's her . The big problem is the news juicing their story's up and people be leave the news .
Some people you could show and explain how it works what you can & can't do but they will still side with the what the media says because they don't Lie :lol:
You look like you got some good area to fly give your neighbors the common courtesy and ask if they mind you flying over their property save yourself a head ace .
Welcome to the fun !

i guess i'd look at it this way, if she was laying out and a visitor walked around the back of the house, what would
she do? she'd cover up. the visitor (friends and family) know where to find us, and it isn't uncommon for somebody
to walk around to the back yard since that is where we hang out if we are home.
so if a helicopter was in the neighborhood, same thing, she'd cover up, i would think it's similar with a quad.
i can understand low flight, and being intrusive to be an issue, who wouldn't?
i have plenty of open space to fly to and as i become more accustomed to flying i will venture further and higher,
hopefully i get some calm days too!

 

[Happyflyer]

I would agree your approach to the people around you is a good idea. By all means do not scare the horses. That will really tic off the owners of the farm.
You stated you just received your quad. Be sure to read here on all the lost quads for known and unknown reasons and get your quad a tracker as soon as you can. You may never use it to find where yours flew off to, but if/when it does, you will be happy to find it.
I have that blasted cold, snow, and high wind problem here also. A real bummer!
Enjoy and fly safe.
.
Watched your video. You call that snow? This is snow. :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[The Editor]

......... i could see that she
had watched it quite a bit and had taken a bunch of pictures of it!

How dare she !! - Tell her you will call the cops for spying on your drone !!! :lol: :lol:

 

[dutch]

......... i could see that she
had watched it quite a bit and had taken a bunch of pictures of it!

How dare she !! - Tell her you will call the cops for spying on your drone !!! :lol: :lol:

Love it!

 

[Stile2112]

Stop calling it a drone, that word has a bad connotation. Maybe chopper or helicopter or something else. Spying on people is a BIG issues, search the site and you will see discussions about it

noun

an unmanned aircraft or ship that can navigate autonomously, without human control or beyond line of sight:
the GPS of a U.S. spy drone. - Ground Station makes this possible.

(loosely) any unmanned aircraft or ship that is guided remotely:
a radio-controlled drone. - AKA, RC Planes, Helicopters, Quadcopters, Hexcopters and Octcopters.

By definition, a Phantom is a drone.

Calling it something else to try and make it less ominous doesn't change what it is.

It's just a word.... relax, fly and enjoy.

If you really want to change peoples perceptions, then stop flying around people's houses, over crowds and in and around restricted areas. This is what is causing the "bad connotation".

 

[Suwaneeguy]

When I fly in the mobile home park, the neighbors may watch in awe for a few minutes then go back to doing what ever.
I generally don't as we have a ton of overhead power lines and poles.
So I've found a few other places to fly in.

 

[WPSPETE]

Very little interest good or bad for me. I have had a few people walking by stop and chat. For the most part people are just curious here.