Someone threatened me to call the cops on me today while flying my drone

I'm not from California. I am from the deep south. I guess we in the south just have a different way of looking at things. Just because I exist and I want to do something is not enough to give me the right to do so. Needless to say you can tell I am from an older generation and I don't believe the world owes me anything just because. No....my name is not Bubba and I don't carry a pistol! First, no doubt you were only wanting to get a picture of a nice sunset. I take them myself. But, at the end of the day if you were in fact on a private road you had no right to be there. Thus, the best thing you could have done was load the drone in your vehicle and drive away. Good luck in the future.
 
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We really don't know if the road was private or not. The angry people on the balcony probably don't know if it is private either? Angry people say things just to get you to stop or do what they want you to do. Do they own it? Who owns it? Most roads are public. The OP only said it was a lonely road. Therefore, we really don't know. Many private roads are marked as private too.
 
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LA bans night flying as of last December. However, a guy who was arrested and tried (for that and other charges) got acquitted in court. I believe the defense was successful in arguing that the FAA is the sole authority over the air.

My opinion is that it should be okay to fly until Civil Twilight per the new FAA regs for commercial operators. They really don't say anything specific about hobbyists except VLOS at all times, IIRC. That notwithstanding, if you get a pisshead LEO, you might take a trip to jail or worse.
 
You know, here's the real problem: Drone pilots that act stupidly (not in your case) but every other day you read about some incident of an air space incursion, the grounding of fire suppression aircraft, a complaint of a "Peeping Tom" incident real or imagined, etc., etc., etc. The press are always looking for any bit of information to fill space and what is better than a story of "reckless drone incident". Granted a lot of these, specially of the "Peeping Tom" variety are imagined, I guarantee you that some are real, some are pilots who accidentally fly across someones back yard, and an uninformed public. I recently flew in a very large city park with a lot of people in the various pavilions. I took the time to go speak with the people in the closest pavilion before flying. They were friendly and thanked me coming by to advice them. It also got me fed with about 2 plates full of food. Some people get it, some don't, and a lot of police have no idea how to apply the law or even what the law is. Like I said earlier, public perception is everything and the pilots that fly stupidly don't help. (just me venting a little guys/gals) 99.9% of our hobby are responsible people. The others, although a small group, are still catching the sunlight and throwing the rest of us into the shade. As far as someone telling me they are going to call the cops, the response for them isn't what they expect. I am a LEO, so imagine their surprise when the first words out of the responding officer was "Hi Captain, did you call us?" LOL (only had 1 complaint and this guy & his wife probably drown kittens for fun, talk about D&ck-Weeds)
 
Jane & Joe Citizen seem to think they are incredibly interesting, surrounded by their interesting possessions in their interesting locations and always doing things that they think would be interesting for evil drone operators to film and show everyone in the world via YouTube. Drone operators should be ashamed of themselves for filming fat and ugly middle aged women swimming naked in a backyard pool instead of the beautiful sunset panorama that is occurring overhead.
Drone operators should be ashamed of trying to peep through a highly reflective glass pane while zooming overhead recklessly at 400' to see the incredibly interesting lounge suite of the homeowner.

I was approached once in a quiet country public back road in a very aggressive manner. The guy jammed his car in front of my car so I couldn't make a quick getaway. He then approached and DEMANDED I explain my presence near his property and house. I was standing next to my car and had flown far down the valley and was filming some old industrial ruins but since his approach was so hostile I wasn't going to give him anything and I simply said "I'm filming the valley". He was a tough looking guy and his demeanor was very cop/crim like. I volunteered no further information and answered all his questions with grunts. He looked around but couldn't see the drone anywhere. Finally after 5 minutes he got bored and said "So long as you keep away from my place" then got into his car and drove back to his place 200 metres down the road which looked like a friggin rubbish dump from where I stood. It was my last battery and I didn't bother picking a fight by flying over his place but it did get me wondering what he had growing there.
As you can see from the short video there was absolutely no reason for this behavior except blind paranoia as I am over farmland only.
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It does make me wonder what these people are hiding and perhaps a good retort might be "I'm not doing anything illegal but what are you trying to hide?" which could well be enough to keep them quiet.
If they do call a cop tell the LEO you thought you might have spotted a funny looking plant or suspicious behavior in their backyard while flying at 400' and as a good citizen you want to report it... :p
 
It does make me wonder what these people are hiding and perhaps a good retort might be "I'm not doing anything illegal but what are you trying to hide?" which could well be enough to keep them quiet.
:p

It could have been his weed crop, or the vehicle he had stolen earlier he was stripping for parts to sell.




Sent from my iPad using Phabulous PhantomPilots mobile app
 
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Let's focus instead on how it's no one's business what each individual does with their life, *so long* it doesn't affect someone else.

[...]
It does make me wonder what these people are hiding and perhaps a good retort might be "I'm not doing anything illegal but what are you trying to hide?" which could well be enough to keep them quiet.
If they do call a cop tell the LEO you thought you might have spotted a funny looking plant or suspicious behavior in their backyard while flying at 400' and as a good citizen you want to report it... :p

Exactly the mentality I'd like to see less often.

If you knew nothing about drones and someone flew over your property or near it, how would you react?

Being in the position you are in, your instinct is to fly over to ignore him and then spite him?
I really don't think this is helpful or... smart.


You know, here's the real problem: Drone pilots that act stupidly (not in your case) but every other day you read about some incident of an air space incursion, the grounding of fire suppression aircraft, a complaint of a "Peeping Tom" incident real or imagined, etc., etc., etc. The press are always looking for any bit of information to fill space and what is better than a story of "reckless drone incident". Granted a lot of these, specially of the "Peeping Tom" variety are imagined, I guarantee you that some are real, some are pilots who accidentally fly across someones back yard, and an uninformed public. I recently flew in a very large city park with a lot of people in the various pavilions. I took the time to go speak with the people in the closest pavilion before flying. They were friendly and thanked me coming by to advice them. It also got me fed with about 2 plates full of food. Some people get it, some don't, and a lot of police have no idea how to apply the law or even what the law is. Like I said earlier, public perception is everything and the pilots that fly stupidly don't help. (just me venting a little guys/gals) 99.9% of our hobby are responsible people. The others, although a small group, are still catching the sunlight and throwing the rest of us into the shade. As far as someone telling me they are going to call the cops, the response for them isn't what they expect. I am a LEO, so imagine their surprise when the first words out of the responding officer was "Hi Captain, did you call us?" LOL (only had 1 complaint and this guy & his wife probably drown kittens for fun, talk about D&ck-Weeds)


Here is how you show respect which leads to good things which leads to better interactions which leads to a better life.

What's so hard about making this kind of effort?
Talk to other human beings?

If you don't do it preventively, then why not do it when you are approached then?

That lady swimming naked deserved a conversation at the very least to assuage her fears/ concerns.

If I had a lady come up to me and confess she enjoys swimming naked, I'd bring the drone back to me to spend 20 minutes chatting and focusing on her. :)

What, am I an optimist?
 
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I was at a campsite with my brother in law and after about the 2nd day the management came over and asked me not to fly and that someone complained. Most everyone talked and asked questions but all it takes is one. Generally and not to be rude but it seems like older people like grandma and grandpa that do not like them... Oh well just kill them with kindness


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Please don't tar all older people with the same brush. I am a drone-flying grandad, and whenever older people have come past any location I'm flying, they always stop and chat, showing nothing but interest.
 
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Old people tend to be more crazy about it, they didn't have anything better to do and probably were watching all day news about drones delivering drugs or some crap like that and just pick on the very first one they saw!

My old neighbors go crazy by the simple fact that i cut a tree on my front yard, i mean crazy crazyyy... I don't want to imagine what will happens if i fly my drone on the backyard!!!

On the other hand some enjoy the show, and i guess rejoice on how much technology has changed fir the new generations...
 
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Old people tend to be more crazy about it...

I don't believe that. I think it is linked to education level and life experience, which, in turn, are linked to income level, which is linked to &c. &c., more than to age.

I'm pretty sure that I am what you would call an "old person"—age 72. But through personal interest and career choice I have been a user of cutting-edge tech, particularly in telecommunications and electronic imaging, since I was a teenager. No, I didn't grow up with this kind of tech as today's youth do, because my generation had to invent it. So my attitude toward UAVs (I have a P4) and other technologies derives from my background, not from my age. The same applies to my cohort, my socioeconomic peers, people roughly my age who have been Involved in science and technology all of their adult lives. Not all have UAVs, of course; one man's hobby is building and sailing submersibles. Some, including me, are into robotic, research-grade astronomical observatories. I am also a nature photographer (arthropod macros, primarily) and a (small-time) published author. It's worth remembering that it was my generation that invented the microelectronics revolution that everyone takes for granted. We didn't do that by being driven "crazy" by new ideas. And you can't rightfully blame those who weren't lucky enough to have the opportunities that I had for viewing the world differently.
 
Today, I drove up a nice rich community, up into the mountains in La Canada flintridge CA. There was a very amazing and beautiful sunset and a lonely road with just a flew townhouses, right next to the La Canada flintridge country club.
I was on my 2nd. battery. On the monitor i saw that my SD card was full. I brought my drone down and switch cards. The drone was on the floor when all of the sudden an older couple started yelling at me from their balcony. The conversation went like this.


Has anyone encounter something like this?
What are the rules for flying in CA, Los Angeles?
When I got my first drone back in 2013 flying was legal and there weren't any regulations.
Do, i need to get a license now?
Let's say, I would had an encounter with cops today, what were my rights?
What type of papers do I need to have? Any advice?
Was it really illegal to fly there?
Thanks a bunch

Do you live in the LA Area??

I am in Sylmar, CA. I fly quite often at el Cariso park in Sylmar. I also go to Simi Valley and no problems.
 
So, i just got a brand new PH4. Today was my 2nd. flight with it. I owned a PH1 and PH2V2 before. I'm an experience pilot and one of the first pilots since 2013.
I never encounter such hateful reaction before from people, being a drone operator.
Today, I drove up a nice rich community, up into the mountains in La Canada flintridge CA. There was a very amazing and beautiful sunset and a lonely road with just a flew townhouses, right next to the La Canada flintridge country club.
I was on my 2nd. battery. On the monitor i saw that my SD card was full. I brought my drone down and switch cards. The drone was on the floor when all of the sudden an older couple started yelling at me from their balcony. The conversation went like this.

HATERS: Hey you! You there, stop flying your drone! This is a private road, you are not allow to fly here.

I look to see from where the voices came and saw them an older male and female on the edge of the balcony.
I thought the best wasn't to respond and to ignore them. So i choose not to engage and continue with what i was doing.

HATERS: Are you not talking to us? Ok, fine, we will call the cops now.

They went on the phone, angrily. I was considering what to do. The sun will set in 10mins and I was waiting all day for this shot, if i leave now, i will miss it. So, I decided to start up the drone and fly again.

HATERS(Continues): Stop flying your stupid drone. The cops are on the way to arrest you.

By now I have already gained altitude. I didn't want any trouble with these people. They seam very mean.
So, I got into my car and flew my drone to 400ft. high, almost out of their sight. I pull my car away from their balcony and from their sight, around the corner, then from the new spot, i flew my drone over to where i was and got the beautiful sunset shot that i wanted.
During the whole time i was shaking, but I needed this shot. Once the sun was down, i brought it back down and took off.
I'm just really buff to encounter such hateful people against Drone operators. I wasn't interested in them, their house or anything. They seam like very boring people. I just wanted the sunset. I have never experience this kind of reaction before. Usually when i fly, people are curious and nice and want to talk and see my footage. The drone was always a ice-breaker and i could make new friends while flying.

Has anyone encounter something like this?
What are the rules for flying in CA, Los Angeles?
When I got my first drone back in 2013 flying was legal and there weren't any regulations.
Do, i need to get a license now?
Let's say, I would had an encounter with cops today, what were my rights?
What type of papers do I need to have? Any advice?
Was it really illegal to fly there?
Thanks a bunch
You can thank the media for making us sound like perverts and criminals for operating drones.
 
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Then she said; I was swimming naked in my pool and you flew over.
Maybe she was coming on to you???? hhmmmm...
 
I don't believe that. I think it is linked to education level and life experience, which, in turn, are linked to income level, which is linked to &c. &c., more than to age.

I'm pretty sure that I am what you would call an "old person"—age 72. But through personal interest and career choice I have been a user of cutting-edge tech, particularly in telecommunications and electronic imaging, since I was a teenager. No, I didn't grow up with this kind of tech as today's youth do, because my generation had to invent it. So my attitude toward UAVs (I have a P4) and other technologies derives from my background, not from my age. The same applies to my cohort, my socioeconomic peers, people roughly my age who have been Involved in science and technology all of their adult lives. Not all have UAVs, of course; one man's hobby is building and sailing submersibles. Some, including me, are into robotic, research-grade astronomical observatories. I am also a nature photographer (arthropod macros, primarily) and a (small-time) published author. It's worth remembering that it was my generation that invented the microelectronics revolution that everyone takes for granted. We didn't do that by being driven "crazy" by new ideas. And you can't rightfully blame those who weren't lucky enough to have the opportunities that I had for viewing the world differently.


I don't feel that academic level it's a determinant factor, while it influences the ability to be open to adopt different trends on social, cultural and technological areas I know as personal experience some "older" people (60-80) that are on the middle/upper class level and that have academic levels of bachelor degree but don't show any courtesy, tolerance or will to be out of their "comfort zone" for respect to others. and on the other hand I'm part of the community of Ham radio and I have meet great individuals on their 60-80's who are the most warm and welcoming people that I know.

I don't say that anyone who is over 50 it's an old close minded hermit who yell at kids "stay out of my lawn!"... But the combination of media misinformation and social behavior projected by some individuals tend to be a really dangerous mix.
 
You can thank the media for making us sound like perverts and criminals for operating drones.
I'm sorry to hear about your experience with the media. I have seen the rare reports of people violating laws (usually airport restrictions) with their drones, but I have never seen a report labeling us as perverts or criminals. Of course, I live in a state (Maryland) that will not have drone regulations other than those imposed by the FAA before 2018 at the earliest, but that does have a law forbidding counties and municipalities from regulating drones. Much of the most heavily populated part of the state is within the DCA and BWI no-fly zones, however.
 
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I don't say that anyone who is over 50 it's an old close minded hermit who yell at kids "stay out of my lawn!"... But the combination of media misinformation and social behavior projected by some individuals tend to be a really dangerous mix.

"Really dangerous?" Really? Annoying, perhaps, but not within my definition of "dangerous," which includes drunk drivers, psychopaths with assault rifles, and kids running with scissors.
 
I'm not planning on enter a debate about society, media and behavior... On my definition racial and cultural intolerance, and any form of xenophobia fit perfect on the dangerous zone.
 
Similar experience here when my neighbor across the street came over and politely asked me not to fly over his property. He hedged on about privacy issues and that permits were required (set him straight on the permit point with recreational use). The truth of the matter was that he was doing property and shoreline modifications without permits. A wee bit paranoid? Whatever, I go around his property now.
 

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