I wish more places took a stance like that. Basically, "Follow FAA regs and don't fly near people."
New Drone Law
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I wish more places took a stance like that. Basically, "Follow FAA regs and don't fly near people."
They likely could have gone through the FAA to get a TFR during the event.
I called a Pilot/ lawyer I know about another subject. His quasi lawyer/ Pilot opinion about this is.
The drone is certified and licensed by the FAA not local government,it’s ground and air operations are controlled by the FAA. He said there a lot of if’s and but’s and new regulations to come so don’t write anything down in stone.
Interesting opinion but, by law and multiple precedents, it's not quite that simple, ifs and buts notwithstanding. The FAA does not control what landowners or local authorities permit in terms of activities on the ground, and has never claimed that authority. Local authorities can regulate activities on public land under their control - banning sUAS operations in a city park, for example, is no different from banning motor vehicles, or kites, or fireworks. Banning them on privately owned land within their jurisdiction is a different matter. The following fact sheet from the FAA addresses some of these subtleties, including the issue of any need to consult with the FAA before enacting local regulations.
https://www.faa.gov/uas/resources/uas_regulations_policy/media/UAS_Fact_Sheet_Final.pdf
My contention is doing this on my property, I didn’t emphasize that and I should have because it does make a difference of course. But now it has been shelved in that instance but we will see it again.
They asked the FAA about NFZ and were told "only if the President visits."
At least they took a more rational approach than some local municipalities have done and limited their legislation to ground control. I give them credit for that.
Yes, prohibiting operations from their property is within Zoning Law capabilities. What do you think of their prohibiting operations within 1 mile and 2 hours before and after any "special event?"
Local cities can ban you from taking off on parks, streets, sidewalks, basically "city property" however they can not ban you from flying in the sky once you are in the sky. As for flying over people such at events, that is banned by the FAA. So if you want to fly in a city that prevents you from using city land to take and land, then take off from private property. I have taken off from my own property and I have taken off by paying local gas stations, minute markets, malls, for the right to use their land to take off, in some instances you can trade pictures of that location instead of paying cash, "usually as little as $10" to take off and land. Last but not least, dont just post complaints here go out and go to a city commission meeting, fight back.
This sounds like a stupid question but if you stood on a chair would you no longer be on village grounds?
Yes of course. Isn't' the chair that is supporting you on that property? Just like sitting in your car on private property is still trespassing.
Cooperstown relies on tourist dollars, right?
Although a relatively small loss, going forward
calculate how many dronists will NOT visit
Cooperstown to fly their drone, stay to eat
in Cooperstown restaurants, shop
souvenirs in Cooperstown, a few even
lodging overnight there...
Although a relatively small loss, going forward
calculate how many dronists will NOT visit
Cooperstown to fly their drone, stay to eat
in Cooperstown restaurants, shop
souvenirs in Cooperstown, a few even
lodging overnight there...
***Thread Cleaned Up****
Let's leave POLITICS out of this. We are on a DRONE forum and our community guidelines state very plainly how this is NOT the place for political rants and argumentative remarks.
Community Guidelines
Let's leave POLITICS out of this. We are on a DRONE forum and our community guidelines state very plainly how this is NOT the place for political rants and argumentative remarks.
Community Guidelines
As BigAl mentioned above, they control municipal property, so they have reasonable rights to protect it. I've got two Phantoms, I've been involved in photography for over 35 years, have thousands of film images and negatives stored at home, so I'm as interested in flying and filming anywhere I can as much as anybody else, especially if there are some outstanding photo/video opps. BUT, to quote Spock, "The needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few. Or the one". There are some much larger considerations going on in Cooperstown situation than have been discussed and I feel they need to be recognized to balance out the picture. I recognize that your local government's primary interest is, and should be, in the safety and protection of not only the local citizens, but also the hundreds of thousands of visitors who visit Cooperstown every year. Yeah, Cooperstown is a very big tourism destination. They're being vigilant and working to protect the general public who, by the way, come to expect (and demand) safety and protection from municipal officials. I don't see anything in their efforts as being unreasonable or overreaching, including the "special events" provision. I'm very familiar with Cooperstown, have been there a number of times. It's not what you'd call an overly large area. For a small town of maybe a couple thousand people, it has a disproportionate number of tourist attractions for its size, and that's not a bad thing. In many ways, its a good thing. And all of that tourism generates several hundred bazillion dollars in revenue for a town that's home to roughly 2000 people. Not a bad deal. Now, image what could happen to that rich revenue stream if there were an incident involving a drone (ANY drone) which ended in a lawsuit. Whoever initiates that lawsuit isn't going after you, the drone operator, because, quite frankly, your pockets aren't deep enough. No, they'll go after the local municipal authorities and sue them for whatever they can extract. Even if the town won in court, or settled out of court, the financial impact and publicity from that type of an event would be a nightmare for them. WHEW! I do apologize for being so long-winded but I felt there were much larger considerations that needed to be mentioned so the impression is not that your local officials are solely focused on trying to take away your joy, because I don't see it that way.
This is why I always say the FAA is our friend. They are primarily concerned about flight safety. Local communities would almost always ban anything drone related if they could. I'm happy to see many states adopting laws that bar local communities from regulating drones, reserving that regulation for the State. And no, I don't work for the FAA!
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The only way to counter the drone phobia of some places is to show the local politicians that they're missing out on some good, free, publicity. They don't realise that more people are injured by stray golf/cricket balls than stray drones so all you can do is take some footage of "legitimate" nearby parks and locations, then share it locally on FaceBook as a decent publicity YouTube video, so that the area with the prohibitions realises what its missing.
Here in the UK, we have the BBC Weather Watch, where people send in reports with local photos. Drone photos are a favourite with them so that is another way to gain publicity for a local legitimate place over your newly prohibited areas. Remember to ensure all drone flyers abide by the drone code in your drone friendly areas because these areas need our support.
Other than that, most of the anti-drone campaigners are local politicians, ask them if they'll support your hobby ahead of the next local election because some of these candidates would sell their grannies for your vote.
If the board is persistent in wanting to come up with more restrictive drone use laws, I would ask them to include some verbiage which would allow specific authorization for specific flights. In my experience, I have flown in many places where it was posted “no drones”. Once they knew my mission and that I had taken the effort to become certified, they were confident I would fly responsibly,
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