I am really enjoying my new phantom outside a few bad experiences with other people. I took it to the public beach to take video of sharks out in the water but I was quickly shut down by the police who explained drones are banned there. I was told my info is in the system and I can't come back or I will be fined. So I figured I better stick to flying near my house when I had another incident.
Today I was flying out right down the street from my house on a big open public canal back doing some testing with my new DBS mods antenna when I was approached by some old redneck guy in a pickup truck. He was very aggressive and agitated. He yelled and asked what I was doing. I politely explained I was hobbyist flying my quadcopter. He thought I was spying on his place to get a profile of it so I can steal his horses. The assertion was beyond ridiculous as I only flew over the canal and the nature preserve, not over anyones private property and I never went below 300ft expect to take off and land or when I was deep in the preserve. Not to mentioned I am sitting out in the middle of the canal bank, not trying to hide anything or be clandestine. He finally believed me and calmed down. I tried to explained that from 300ft things appear tiny but he didn't believe me, "my nephew has one and it can zoom in on horses". Told me that people in these parts don't take kindly to be spied on and will shoot down my "drone" eventually.
I am getting a bit frustrated and feel it only a matter of time before there is some sort of serious incident with an ignorant person or LEO. Does anyone in South Florida know of a good place to fly where I won't bother anyone or be bothered? I know there are AMA airfields but lets face it Phantoms are probably not looked up well by the model airplane and heli guys, not to mention a tiny AMA airfield is not a fun place to fly. PM me or post here if anyone knows any good parks, beaches, or places that are open to flying without issues.
Thanks!!
Norman
Today I was flying out right down the street from my house on a big open public canal back doing some testing with my new DBS mods antenna when I was approached by some old redneck guy in a pickup truck. He was very aggressive and agitated. He yelled and asked what I was doing. I politely explained I was hobbyist flying my quadcopter. He thought I was spying on his place to get a profile of it so I can steal his horses. The assertion was beyond ridiculous as I only flew over the canal and the nature preserve, not over anyones private property and I never went below 300ft expect to take off and land or when I was deep in the preserve. Not to mentioned I am sitting out in the middle of the canal bank, not trying to hide anything or be clandestine. He finally believed me and calmed down. I tried to explained that from 300ft things appear tiny but he didn't believe me, "my nephew has one and it can zoom in on horses". Told me that people in these parts don't take kindly to be spied on and will shoot down my "drone" eventually.
I am getting a bit frustrated and feel it only a matter of time before there is some sort of serious incident with an ignorant person or LEO. Does anyone in South Florida know of a good place to fly where I won't bother anyone or be bothered? I know there are AMA airfields but lets face it Phantoms are probably not looked up well by the model airplane and heli guys, not to mention a tiny AMA airfield is not a fun place to fly. PM me or post here if anyone knows any good parks, beaches, or places that are open to flying without issues.
Thanks!!
Norman
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