drone hating taken to a new low

[welbeck]

I fly my Phantom 4 very responsibly, taking off and landing from a disused carpark and flying over a giant solar panel field and agricultural land, the disused carpark has houses on one side and one of the people living in one of these houses has told neighbours that someone is spying on them with a drone. It's my drone they are talking about and didn't really think anymore about it till they took to facebook, to our villages page and posted a rather vindictive post.:
How do people in the village feel about drones being flown over their gardens?
filming,your children, property,vehicles, sheds bike,s Do you mind someone doing this?
It starts out ok I guess with a reasonable question then sows the seed in peoples minds that I am, and all drone owners are in fact, burgling paedophiles. It's nonesense like this that causes untold problems occasionally ending in violence especially when some people decide they're the experts as one person who replied obviously does:

It's an invasion of privacy laws, No It's not

Taking photographs or video in a public place is allowed by law, This was challenged in parliament last year under Freedom of Photography act. . Firstly you can't challenge laws in Parliament, you can only challenge them in court and secondly what is the Freedom of Photography act? I've never heard of it and neither has Google, Did he just make it up?



Photographs of people on private property or photography of their private property is against the law No it's not, you can photograph anything you want from a public place. In law the airspace above your house is a public place.

People at work during the day do not realise their private property is being scrutinised by these drones, Seriously?Who exactly is scrutinising their property?

Anyone seeing them over their property should report it to the police.
I'm sure they'll be straight round


Anyone else had this kind of open hostility (In the UK)?

 

[deltamike]

Hi Welbeck,

Good post especially the police observation.

Please add your country to your forum profile to help us all know where you are when you post suggestions or ask for assistance. It helps a lot more than you might think especially because this is an international forum with members are from all parts of the world.

Don't know if you know about :-

Find Local Drone & Model Aircraft Clubs - FPV UK

Hope that helps.

 

[Skynet 1]

Wonder why no one complains about Google Earth spying on them?

 

[Brojon]

Yeah - I had a neighbor stop by to chat on his nightly dog walk told me a neighbor two streets over was asking about someone spying with a drone. Thankfully he was educated and I've even let him take the controls so he was able to set them at ease that I was simply flying over and not spying on anyone.
I was at a school yard and had an audience of small people that I was telling them about how it flies. When the parents came ambling over I showed them the video feed which was *not* pointed at the kids in the schoolyard and they seemed interested and relaxed.
So yeah - people will talk and some will fear monger so it behooves us to be ambassadors when in public.

 

[Deleted member 109724]

I'm in the US, but I have found there are 2 things that help tremendously to make people stop bugging you about spying. First, if they confront you, in person or on the media, APOLOGISE FIRST! Even though you are not in the wrong it is a great place to start. Second, show them your video. Edit it up and add music and color correction and stuff like that. Try to make it cinematic and show them you are filming the area in general, and that your video of their houses is less detailed than Google maps street view! I have had only one neighbor complain about my drone, but it was because she was sick and trying to rest outside, and she couldn't sleep with the noise of the Phantom in the distance. There are three Phantom and mavic owners in my neighborhood, so people are used to them. I always seem to gather a crowd wherever I fly, at home, at the beach, in the middle of the woods! Just be as polite as possible, because drones are a controversy, and you never know who is truly interested, and who is out to get you. Make sure you always let DJI GO make video caches and if someone asks you on the spot if they can see your video to make sure you weren't spying directly at them, show them the video! Those are my tips and they aren't confined to country. Politeness is universal![emoji3]

 

[loonie01]

Just tell them that Google maps do it all the time

 

[DenMac]

Just coming from personal experience. My third time flying my new drone an elder women came up to me while I was flying. So landed the AC about 30 feet from us She started to ask a bunch of questions so I started by showing her my FAA 336 permit I showed her my FAA numbers on my AC I explained how we must fly by rules and Regulations. I took the time to answer any of her questions. I Showed her some pics that I took and she remarked how nice they were and said thank you for taken time to explain. She left and said have a good flight. I know it’s crazy that we have to go overboard but she comes by where I fly and gives me a wave and sits on the bench watching me fly.

Safe flying

 

[dansoto]

Just tell them that Google maps do it all the time

Google has been blurring people for at least 10 years now.

 

[svjobeth]

I've never had a hostile confrontation on any of my flights, but I have had curious questions:

A. Do you see what it sees on the screen?
Yes. I also see info on battery levels, altitude, speed, and other flight data
B. Could you see: me INSIDE my house; outside of my house; what I was doing; etc.
INSIDE your house? No. The rest? Perhaps, if I was looking for you, which I wasn't. People (generally) ruin my shots/video.
C. How much did that 'thing' cost?
Enough. (I give the total cost of everything they can see - all the batteries, the backpack, spare props, etc.)
D. Do you have to licensed to fly here/wherever?
No, I don't have to be licensed. There is a FAA Remote Pilot license which I am 'studying' for. Regardless, there are FAA guidelines which I have to follow, licensed or not.
E. Do you have permission to fly here?
I'm sorry, I wasn't aware I need permission. This is public property/land. Where or to whom do I direct a question for permission? (If on private land, this doesn't happen...because it's private land...)

That's pretty much the gist of my 'questioning' by a curious public. And with regard to 'B,' I find it remarkable how quickly some people will make a situation 'about them.'

 

[Loman34]

I had an unidentified neighbor call the police on me. They claimed I was crashing into their house and being generally dangerous. I was in the middle of editing the footage when they arrived and showed them the drone still in pristine condition and not crashed, I showed them the video. They then got intrested droning, wanted to see all my vids on YouTube, we had a great 30 minute visit ending with them telling me to be safe and have fun!

 

[JTorsrud]

I had an unidentified neighbor call the police on me. They claimed I was crashing into their house and being generally dangerous. I was in the middle of editing the footage when they arrived and showed them the drone still in pristine condition and not crashed, I showed them the video. They then got intrested droning, wanted to see all my vids on YouTube, we had a great 30 minute visit ending with them telling me to be safe and have fun!

It is amazing how people change their tune, once they learn about drones and what they do! Most of us who Fly Drones are sport pilots only out to have fun. There is NO Nefarious intent! I was out flying in an RV park a week ago, while on vacation and with the managers permission. Only got a little footage of the park, but lots of people inquiring about the machine. They were very impressed and amazed as I explained some of the technical aspects of the machine. They all left with a good feelings about drones and not all the BS that floats around on the internet. I try to be an ambassador for our hobby!

 

[Melvoid]

I fly my Phantom 4 very responsibly, taking off and landing from a disused carpark and flying over a giant solar panel field and agricultural land, the disused carpark has houses on one side and one of the people living in one of these houses has told neighbours that someone is spying on them with a drone. It's my drone they are talking about and didn't really think anymore about it till they took to facebook, to our villages page and posted a rather vindictive post.:
How do people in the village feel about drones being flown over their gardens?
filming,your children, property,vehicles, sheds bike,s Do you mind someone doing this?
It starts out ok I guess with a reasonable question then sows the seed in peoples minds that I am, and all drone owners are in fact, burgling paedophiles. It's nonesense like this that causes untold problems occasionally ending in violence especially when some people decide they're the experts as one person who replied obviously does:

It's an invasion of privacy laws, No It's not

Taking photographs or video in a public place is allowed by law, This was challenged in parliament last year under Freedom of Photography act. . Firstly you can't challenge laws in Parliament, you can only challenge them in court and secondly what is the Freedom of Photography act? I've never heard of it and neither has Google, Did he just make it up?



Photographs of people on private property or photography of their private property is against the law No it's not, you can photograph anything you want from a public place. In law the airspace above your house is a public place.

People at work during the day do not realise their private property is being scrutinised by these drones, Seriously?Who exactly is scrutinising their property?

Anyone seeing them over their property should report it to the police.
I'm sure they'll be straight round


Anyone else had this kind of open hostility (In the UK)?

I've been lucky in that I've had mainly good responses or been ignored when flying.. but it seems to me that if you were in that exact same location with a "regular" camera taking pictures, nobody would say a thing; probably wouldn't even notice you. In part, at least, I blame the media. For awhile, there were lots of stories about quadcopters and their users, and most of them leaned toward the negative.

A few times recently I've been flying... two days in a row over a burned building... and twice, someone drove up and parked. One was a drone owner himself and the other was the owner of the building, who promptly asked for copies of pix and video. So while I'm not offering much help here, I thought it would be good to offer support and to let you know that unless you're right in the windows or following someone as they walk around, you're fine.

 

[Melvoid]

I had an unidentified neighbor call the police on me. They claimed I was crashing into their house and being generally dangerous. I was in the middle of editing the footage when they arrived and showed them the drone still in pristine condition and not crashed, I showed them the video. They then got intrested droning, wanted to see all my vids on YouTube, we had a great 30 minute visit ending with them telling me to be safe and have fun!

Yup, the few times I've talked to cops, it was that they happened past, not that they were called... and they were really into it. Lots of questions, one actually owned his own, exactly like mine, etc.

 

[landmannnn]

Quite simple, in today's political correctness, tell them they are Drone Shaming which is a form of bullying.

 

[NRJ]

I fly my Phantom 4 very responsibly, taking off and landing from a disused carpark and flying over a giant solar panel field and agricultural land, the disused carpark has houses on one side and one of the people living in one of these houses has told neighbours that someone is spying on them with a drone. It's my drone they are talking about and didn't really think anymore about it till they took to facebook, to our villages page and posted a rather vindictive post.:
How do people in the village feel about drones being flown over their gardens?
filming,your children, property,vehicles, sheds bike,s Do you mind someone doing this?
It starts out ok I guess with a reasonable question then sows the seed in peoples minds that I am, and all drone owners are in fact, burgling paedophiles. It's nonesense like this that causes untold problems occasionally ending in violence especially when some people decide they're the experts as one person who replied obviously does:

It's an invasion of privacy laws, No It's not

Taking photographs or video in a public place is allowed by law, This was challenged in parliament last year under Freedom of Photography act. . Firstly you can't challenge laws in Parliament, you can only challenge them in court and secondly what is the Freedom of Photography act? I've never heard of it and neither has Google, Did he just make it up?



Photographs of people on private property or photography of their private property is against the law No it's not, you can photograph anything you want from a public place. In law the airspace above your house is a public place.

People at work during the day do not realise their private property is being scrutinised by these drones, Seriously?Who exactly is scrutinising their property?

Anyone seeing them over their property should report it to the police.
I'm sure they'll be straight round


Anyone else had this kind of open hostility (In the UK)?

Basically, people are lazy and do not want to gain any knowledge, or logic about anything. Some people are just stupid. If you continue to have problems, try to let them know that the drone camera is not what they need to worry about. The guy with the $300-400 camera is the one that can easily spy on them from a distance. Refer them to this YouTube video:

 

[Not A Speck Of Cereal]

Yes, you should be polite, answer questions, assure them you're not up to something nefarious, show them your screen or actual videos, explain how it is actually a bad spy / pervert device, etc. etc. DO ALL of those things.

And for some people, none of that is going to matter. They're going to hate, they're not going to understand despite any explanations -- you are not ever going to win them over, period.

But you still need to do the explaining each and every time, because for every one of those vocal minority complainers, there are -- in addition to the number of folk already okay with you flying -- a whole bunch of undecided people listening to the conversation. This is especially true for any conversation happening on social media.

So what you do NOT do is get angry (not apparently so), call anyone any kind of names, make any counter-accusations, etc. This is the time for you to be understanding that Joe and Jane Public at-large had still not made up its collective mind about you and your potential invasion-of-privacy (and bunch of other imagined things) device.

I still get upset inside sometimes. "How dare you use the word 'creep' -- you don't know me!" But I don't let that bad wolf out. I have once or twice and it didn't do me any favors.

Chris

 

[LarBear360]

Quite simple, in today's political correctness, tell them they are Drone Shaming which is a form of bullying.

"Obsidian Drones Matter" is gaining traction.

 

[Russ43Phantom]

Basically, people are lazy and do not want to gain any knowledge, or logic about anything. Some people are just stupid. If you continue to have problems, try to let them know that the drone camera is not what they need to worry about. The guy with the $300-400 camera is the one that can easily spy on them from a distance. Refer them to this YouTube video:

Great video to tell the story I usually tell. My bet is that the number of sales of drones to the paparazzi is zero. Why have a intensively wide angle lens that makes a lot of noise to spy on someone?

 

[Russ43Phantom]

I fly my Phantom 4 very responsibly, taking off and landing from a disused carpark and flying over a giant solar panel field and agricultural land, the disused carpark has houses on one side and one of the people living in one of these houses has told neighbours that someone is spying on them with a drone. It's my drone they are talking about and didn't really think anymore about it till they took to facebook, to our villages page and posted a rather vindictive post.:
How do people in the village feel about drones being flown over their gardens?
filming,your children, property,vehicles, sheds bike,s Do you mind someone doing this?
It starts out ok I guess with a reasonable question then sows the seed in peoples minds that I am, and all drone owners are in fact, burgling paedophiles. It's nonesense like this that causes untold problems occasionally ending in violence especially when some people decide they're the experts as one person who replied obviously does:

It's an invasion of privacy laws, No It's not

Taking photographs or video in a public place is allowed by law, This was challenged in parliament last year under Freedom of Photography act. . Firstly you can't challenge laws in Parliament, you can only challenge them in court and secondly what is the Freedom of Photography act? I've never heard of it and neither has Google, Did he just make it up?



Photographs of people on private property or photography of their private property is against the law No it's not, you can photograph anything you want from a public place. In law the airspace above your house is a public place.

People at work during the day do not realise their private property is being scrutinised by these drones, Seriously?Who exactly is scrutinising their property?

Anyone seeing them over their property should report it to the police.
I'm sure they'll be straight round


Anyone else had this kind of open hostility (In the UK)?

How low were you flying when you triggered a complaint? In my experience, no-one ever seems aware of a drone flying above 200'. If I fly at lower levels, I try to notify people in advance. Another discovery. My P4P is more noticeable than my Mavic Air. In many cases, even though I always fly within FAA regulations, when I am near a larger number of potential spectators, I fly my Mavic Air. Even at 100', no-one notices it.

 

[Karlos-Kydd]

I'm in the US, but I have found there are 2 things that help tremendously to make people stop bugging you about spying. First, if they confront you, in person or on the media, APOLOGISE FIRST! Even though you are not in the wrong it is a great place to start.

I've heard this advice numerous times in this forum but essentially it all boils down to one question --- why apologize if we did nothing wrong?

For example, I was flying my P3 Pro at a local public park last summer which also has a dog park within it. I checked local ordinances and there is no restrictions on flying drones at this park. So I was enjoying myself on a warm day and made multiple passes over the park at around 150 ft. above ground height. As I was packing up to leave, a guy around 28 yrs. old with his black lab on a leash walks briskly up to me and asks in a rude tone --- "Are you the guy flying the drone around?". At this point, I go into aggressive defense mode because I've dealt with idiots like this before. I respond by saying "Yeah I was flying my drone, so what?" He then accuses me of "buzzing" the dog park which made his pooch really excited and anxious. I let a smirk develop across my face and calmly told him "Yeah the doggies love the drone". He didnt seem too amused by this kind of snarky response and proceeded to tell me he would try to locate a cop in the park and tell him that I am "harassing" dogs and people. I told him to do whatever his little pea brain desires and I finished packing up my drone and accessories. I never heard or seen the guy again.

So I ask the basic question --- why should good and decent drone pilots like us be forced to apologize first if we did nothing wrong? It shows weakness, and I aint about that. I think we should get very steadfast in our rights and our freedoms and fight these kinds of loud-mouth morons wherever they confront us.