I've had only one other encounter and the one that took place today was by _far_ the worst....
A 4 day trip down to Monument Valley. Got some great shorts of Mineral Basin just outside of Canyonlands National Park. This is where Thelma and Louise drove their car off the cliff. Head out Canyonlands and got some great shots over the Potash Ponds (deep blue and green in color). Flew the Phantom over the road where Forrest Gump turned around after his run. Great shots of Moki Dugway near Mexican Hat as well as of Monument Valley.
In the way back I planned on stopping at the Mars Desert Research Station outside of Hanksville, UT. This is from their website:
Mars Desert Research Station
Public Visits to MDRS
We receive a lot of requests to visit the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in Utah. In addition, a number of you stop by the facility (unannounced). We welcome each and every one of you, however, during the annual MDRS field season, which runs from September through May, please respect that our simulation-isolation facility is intended for research and testing to help further our understanding of human Mars exploration.
We kindly ask that you do not approach the MDRS station if you don’t see anyone in the area. During this time, the crew will be in full simulation, meaning they are either inside the habitat or out in the field carrying out important research, but they are definitely there and should not be disturbed or approached. If you are in the area, please stay on the main road for viewing.
If you happen to stop by on a day when there are people outside the MDRS station who are not in spacesuits, then you have arrived on a crew change-over day or during a crew work visit day, both of which means the crew is not in simulation. On these occasions, you can come up to the station and ask if it is possible to have a brief tour of the habitat. If convenient, we will be happy to show you around and talk a little about what we are doing.
My parents were with me (each 82 years old). We drove in the 7 miles and did not see anyone. There were 3 or 4 vehicles parked there. No one was outside. The station is located on BLM land and just off a public dirt road (Cow Dung Road). I drove about 1/4 mile past the facility and stopped on the dirt road so that I would be bothering anyone. I got the P4 out and had been getting some shots of the facility for about 7 minutes when an older lady drove up on her ATV and started to yell at me. She was telling to me to leave and that this was private property. I explained it was BLM land and not private property. She continued to yell at me and was very hostile. I asked her to stop yelling so that we could have a conversation. At this point she was about 6" from me and continued to yell. She told me that they leased the land and that I could not fly over their property. I told her she needed to call the police then. She said we were within 5 miles of an airport. I told her to call the FAA and that I was not going to speak to her as she was just yelling. She then threatened to get a gun and shoot down the drone (big shocker there). She then slapped my arms while flying the P4 and knocked the controller to the ground, which was purposeful. I won't mentioned what happened next as this is the Internet. After the moments just after the assault, I then told her that she needed to leave the area and recommended that she call the police. She refused and stated that they would not do anything. I told her I needed to worry about getting my drone back now that she knocked the controller out of my hands and to the dirt. She then proceeded to tell my parents that she expected "older" people to act differently. She got on her ATV and appeared to be starting it. I told her I'd leave once she left the area (as I did not want to move my truck while she was still right there.
This was a really bad encounter. I'm very upset that it happened that way. Clearly she was not in control of herself and there was no way I could have a conversation with this person. I just feel sick that some people have such a negative view about drones. It's always made me apprehensive about flying as I clearly don't want to offend anyone and want to set a good example. IMHO, this person simply needed to act like an adult and have a conversation. If she has simply asked me not to fly, I would have come back for a landing and packed up. But to approach, do nothing but yell, lie about the area and then assult me? I'm embarrassed that my parents had to witness this. I'm also glad someone was there to _be_ a witness.
A 4 day trip down to Monument Valley. Got some great shorts of Mineral Basin just outside of Canyonlands National Park. This is where Thelma and Louise drove their car off the cliff. Head out Canyonlands and got some great shots over the Potash Ponds (deep blue and green in color). Flew the Phantom over the road where Forrest Gump turned around after his run. Great shots of Moki Dugway near Mexican Hat as well as of Monument Valley.
In the way back I planned on stopping at the Mars Desert Research Station outside of Hanksville, UT. This is from their website:
Mars Desert Research Station
Public Visits to MDRS
We receive a lot of requests to visit the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in Utah. In addition, a number of you stop by the facility (unannounced). We welcome each and every one of you, however, during the annual MDRS field season, which runs from September through May, please respect that our simulation-isolation facility is intended for research and testing to help further our understanding of human Mars exploration.
We kindly ask that you do not approach the MDRS station if you don’t see anyone in the area. During this time, the crew will be in full simulation, meaning they are either inside the habitat or out in the field carrying out important research, but they are definitely there and should not be disturbed or approached. If you are in the area, please stay on the main road for viewing.
If you happen to stop by on a day when there are people outside the MDRS station who are not in spacesuits, then you have arrived on a crew change-over day or during a crew work visit day, both of which means the crew is not in simulation. On these occasions, you can come up to the station and ask if it is possible to have a brief tour of the habitat. If convenient, we will be happy to show you around and talk a little about what we are doing.
My parents were with me (each 82 years old). We drove in the 7 miles and did not see anyone. There were 3 or 4 vehicles parked there. No one was outside. The station is located on BLM land and just off a public dirt road (Cow Dung Road). I drove about 1/4 mile past the facility and stopped on the dirt road so that I would be bothering anyone. I got the P4 out and had been getting some shots of the facility for about 7 minutes when an older lady drove up on her ATV and started to yell at me. She was telling to me to leave and that this was private property. I explained it was BLM land and not private property. She continued to yell at me and was very hostile. I asked her to stop yelling so that we could have a conversation. At this point she was about 6" from me and continued to yell. She told me that they leased the land and that I could not fly over their property. I told her she needed to call the police then. She said we were within 5 miles of an airport. I told her to call the FAA and that I was not going to speak to her as she was just yelling. She then threatened to get a gun and shoot down the drone (big shocker there). She then slapped my arms while flying the P4 and knocked the controller to the ground, which was purposeful. I won't mentioned what happened next as this is the Internet. After the moments just after the assault, I then told her that she needed to leave the area and recommended that she call the police. She refused and stated that they would not do anything. I told her I needed to worry about getting my drone back now that she knocked the controller out of my hands and to the dirt. She then proceeded to tell my parents that she expected "older" people to act differently. She got on her ATV and appeared to be starting it. I told her I'd leave once she left the area (as I did not want to move my truck while she was still right there.
This was a really bad encounter. I'm very upset that it happened that way. Clearly she was not in control of herself and there was no way I could have a conversation with this person. I just feel sick that some people have such a negative view about drones. It's always made me apprehensive about flying as I clearly don't want to offend anyone and want to set a good example. IMHO, this person simply needed to act like an adult and have a conversation. If she has simply asked me not to fly, I would have come back for a landing and packed up. But to approach, do nothing but yell, lie about the area and then assult me? I'm embarrassed that my parents had to witness this. I'm also glad someone was there to _be_ a witness.