Careful flying over fires. Last year in california aerial tankers were grounded because there were some drones flying over a big fire. The community took a big hit from that incident, understandably because they put lives and property at risk.
Yes, very careful! I had a spotter with me scanning for aircraft, however there is no air-to-ground fire apparatus anywhere around here, last time I saw water drops was from 2 helicopters right after Katrina in New Orleans . . .they would drop their HUGE buckets in the Mississippi and then dump the brown water on the fire - you can actually see the fire and the drops here:
It was the Coliseum Theater, burnt to the ground, started with a welder in the marquee - no local water pressure, just a few short weeks following Katrina
BIG problem now is Mardi Gras - aside from it being difficult to avoid flying near large crowds of people (we have parades everyday for a week leading up to the final day) it is becoming more common to see not just the bright orange USCG helicopter just above the parade, but also the UH-60 Blackhawk from Immigration & Border, and then you have the LA State Police Bell Long Ranger - THIS IS A DANGEROUS SITUATION and I hope any drone operators in New Orleans are aware of this - there are also 2 or three Robinson choppers from radio stations and whatever, so for the Thoth parade yesterday I counted at least 6 helicopters in less than 20 minutes - and these guys are LOW - UNDER 400 FEET!
i DID NOT FLY and am hoping others are aware because putting a Phantom in the path of a helicopter over a HUGE crowd would bring down the gauntlet. A major incident which sadly is almost unavoidable will have major repercussions. The government has the authority to ground these UAV's from one coast to the other. Fly responsibly or we will end up with laws similar to Japan, where I am told it you can only fly in selected parks, AND THATS IT!
Lets be smart - better to record the news than to make it!
