Where to fly - Orange County, Southern California

Anyone fly around Dana Point Area - Laguna Niguel?
Here's a few places I've launched from:

upload_2016-8-26_17-4-49.png
 
  • Like
Reactions: XFlite and bradnd99
Nice locations John. I like to walk over the rocky area to the "point". No one around and a great vantage point to look for whales or capture pictures of the peninsula.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Awesome locations John! Will for sure check them out sometime
Yes, this area is fun, but parking can be a pain. It's really convenient to take a bicycle on the back of your car, park in the El Torito marina parking lot, then bicycle to these places with your phantom in your backpack. Bring a bike lock too. Great place. I like to fly West from the Ocean Institute to the point about 1/2 mile away, flying at about 10' off the water as I go over the tide pools. Then when I get to the point, ascend 150' so I'm above the homes up on the cliff, and fly back toward the marina, flying sideways as I gaze at the homes on the cliffs. Great shots. I cheat, I take my electric bike.
 
  • Like
Reactions: XFlite
On those points you pointed ou, can the fam bam chill or is it hard to get to?
 
Hi XFlite,
First and foremost, I have nothing but respect for law abiding LEOs. However, this particular IPD officer in question unilaterally subjugated your rights and is patently ingnorant of the law/ordinance:
Ordinance No. 113, Sec. 12, 7-16-74; Code 1976, Sec. III. G-210 reads, "Flying of motor driven or fuel propelled airplanes, rockets or missiles of any type shall not be permitted within any public park except at such places designated for use by the Community Services Department."
In certain instances, CSD may issue a waiver, but don't hold your breath.
You have the legal right to fly your sUAS, provided, however, your sUAS is registered with the FAA, you are on private or (qualified) public property, and your flights are within Class G airspace (or you secure radio "clearance" from John Wayne's ATC).
Knowing your rights will enable you to enjoy your sUAS investment.
All the best...
Cheers,
OCTrojan



Hi guys - just bought a Phantom today - live in Irvine by Portola area, got home around 5pm, took the phantom out placed in our park 5 steps from my door flew it up and down tested camera (10 minutes flight time) - landed went inside the house, after 10 minutes Irvine Cop showed up and told me no drones,planes, copters, rockets are allowed in all of Irvine.... I drove to whiting ranch dirt parking lot by the Oakley HQ - huge open field to test it for a few minutes, Park Ranger said "he thinks" its not allowed but to do it anyway since he think its cool and its harmless and was only flying it like 20FT since I am new to the quadcopter-world

So any insights where to fly and would like to film more mountain biking rides as well.

any insights and suggestions from experts in this forum...

thanks ![/QUOTE]
 
  • Like
Reactions: XFlite
@OCTrojan awesome insight! Thanks for the reply that was my first experience with law enforcement the day I bought my drone...LOL its been more than a year now and a Phantom 4 later.... glad to use this forum and the awesome guys such as you guys to up my knowledge power...LOL Thanks again! FAA Part 107 now live!
 
Most the time I try to fly away from people and homes in general, minimizing risk when possible. I definitely don't hover around homes, I keep it moving when homes are nearby. People think the worst when a drone hovers, but if you keep moving, emotionally they think of it no different than a model plane flying overhead. But when you hover..... oh boy, their minds start going berserk.

One of the secrets to no hassle flying is to be inconspicuous while piloting. If the public can't see the pilot, they can't call a Leo with specifics. Police depts typically won't respond to a call without specifics telling them where to go. So I'll take my backpack on my back, like I'm hiking somewhere, this raises no eyebrows. Then I try to find a place to fly from that isn't so visible to the public. I learned this from a policeman that cited me for trespassing, saying I was reported by someone that saw me flying. Fortunately the $300 citation was thrown out due to the area not being adequately posted, "no trespassing, closed area". I wasn't sited for flying, only trespassing (Crystal Cove, Laguna Beach).

My rule of thumb is, the less people there are that can SEE ME, the better chances of the public not having any luck with Leos responding. The public might see the drone, and they may be annoyed, but if they don't see me they will assume there is nothing that can be done about it.

Flying from inside my car is a common tactic in new areas, with air conditioning running on hot days (needed with iPad Mini2). Most people won't be looking for a drone pilot inside a car. Surprisingly the range isn't affected much from inside the car. I try to land swiftly and leave swiftly sometimes, if I see people on the phone looking at me when I land. Yes, I do look all around before I come in to land. Sometimes I feel like such a criminal, intentionally evading the law. :p
 
  • Like
Reactions: Catfish80
One of the secrets to no hassle flying is to be inconspicuous while piloting. If the public can't see the pilot, they can't call a Leo with specifics. Police depts typically won't respond to a call without specifics telling them where to go. So I'll take my backpack on my back, like I'm hiking somewhere, this raises no eyebrows.


I have been flying in Newport Beach a few times. I usually just take my back pack with everything loaded into it and nobody knows anything. Then I launch quickly, have a seat and stay focused on the screen. I try not to hover because yeah, people don't like a hovering drone.

Land swiftly, leave swiftly... good idea. Just like a ninja. :D
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2nd2non
Tustin air base... It's abandoned but the
Shots are nice. They have a open area to fly
 
Tustin air base... It's abandoned but the
Shots are nice. They have a open area to fly

Technically this is too close to John Wayne airport. You can sometimes see the planes buzzing over. It should show NFZ on your DJI go app.


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots
 

Recent Posts

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
143,086
Messages
1,467,527
Members
104,965
Latest member
Fimaj