I was told to stop flying.

[WV. Rootman]

View attachment 95777 No I was not aware of the reinstatement, shows what kind of pilot I must be and no one wants to hear the ignorance of the law excuse. As far as my point, glad to hear of the registration return, it’s an attempt to make drone operators accountable and I hope it directs operators at the time of registration to the regs, laws, etc applicable to them. I haven’t done it in a while so checking this out.
PS To help ensure id get my drone back if it went down somewhere, I came up with this idea(probably very effective) but my serious side took it off-guess i was in that grey area again

Looks like you are trying to chase people away. lol
Don't lose that near a government facility.

 

[milo187]

Go4 throws up a warning message anytime you're around a **** or power plant but no geofence when I fly.

 

[WV. Rootman]

Go4 throws up a warning message anytime you're around a **** or power plant but no geofence when I fly.

I never even got that. Mine said, good to go. No warrnings of any kind. So, I flew.

 

[DigitalSkyPilot]

View attachment 95777 No I was not aware of the reinstatement, shows what kind of pilot I must be and no one wants to hear the ignorance of the law excuse. As far as my point, glad to hear of the registration return, it’s an attempt to make drone operators accountable and I hope it directs operators at the time of registration to the regs, laws, etc applicable to them. I haven’t done it in a while so checking this out.
PS To help ensure id get my drone back if it went down somewhere, I came up with this idea(probably very effective) but my serious side took it off-guess i was in that grey area again

I really like your sticker but those same people that read the message will call 911.

 

[GeneM]

I never even got that. Mine said, good to go. No warrnings of any kind. So, I flew.

Two things...

First, BOTH Part 107 and Part 101 restrict UAS altitude to less than 400ft., if not specifically filming a taller structure. No grey areas.

Second, please don’t fly over areas deemed to be national critical infrastructure. No video or still is worth the bad PR the owners of these facilities feel toward our industry. My clients are primarily oil & gas and heavy industry, and believe me, they are extremely averse to exposing their operations up to ANY additional risks.

I spent a month with a major operator’s aviation department, having them look at the last years’ worth of my flight logs, my operating procedures, and my emergency contingency plans, before granting my company authorization to fly over their facilities. All because someone had flown over one of their facilities in the past, flew too close to a high voltage section of the facility, lost control of their drone, and slammed into the side of some high pressure process equipment. They had to temporarily shut down the process unit to inspect for damage and make sure it was safe to continue operating. No one was hurt and nothing was damaged (other than the drone), but now the company had a recordable safety incident, a recordable security incident, and had to launch several investigations related to the crash- and that’s not counting the expense of the shutdown, the time and effort to track down the owner of the drone, and any reimbursement the they might try to get from the pilot through their legal department.

Whenever you fly, please think of where you are flying and be respectful of the owners. If you legally flew over my house, but accidentally crashed through my window, I would want you to pay for my window. If you fly over a rail yard and crash on the tracks, stop the trains, delay the cargo schedule until someone can clean up your mess, make them have to file reports about the incident to the Railroad Commission...... you see where I’m going.

Even a safe, uneventful flight can have unintended consequences for those of us that are trying to fly after you. No matter what you do for a living, you have probably had someone before you that has screwed up that job, and made things more difficult for you to do what you do now. Please think of you fellow pilots when you are deciding where to fly. We will all appreciate it.

 

[sar104]

Two things...

First, BOTH Part 107 and Part 101 restrict UAS altitude to less than 400ft., if not specifically filming a taller structure. No grey areas.

Second, please don’t fly over areas deemed to be national critical infrastructure. No video or still is worth the bad PR the owners of these facilities feel toward our industry. My clients are primarily oil & gas and heavy industry, and believe me, they are extremely averse to exposing their operations up to ANY additional risks.

I spent a month with a major operator’s aviation department, having them look at the last years’ worth of my flight logs, my operating procedures, and my emergency contingency plans, before granting my company authorization to fly over their facilities. All because someone had flown over one of their facilities in the past, flew too close to a high voltage section of the facility, lost control of their drone, and slammed into the side of some high pressure process equipment. They had to temporarily shut down the process unit to inspect for damage and make sure it was safe to continue operating. No one was hurt and nothing was damaged (other than the drone), but now the company had a recordable safety incident, a recordable security incident, and had to launch several investigations related to the crash- and that’s not counting the expense of the shutdown, the time and effort to track down the owner of the drone, and any reimbursement the they might try to get from the pilot through their legal department.

Whenever you fly, please think of where you are flying and be respectful of the owners. If you legally flew over my house, but accidentally crashed through my window, I would want you to pay for my window. If you fly over a rail yard and crash on the tracks, stop the trains, delay the cargo schedule until someone can clean up your mess, make them have to file reports about the incident to the Railroad Commission...... you see where I’m going.

Even a safe, uneventful flight can have unintended consequences for those of us that are trying to fly after you. No matter what you do for a living, you have probably had someone before you that has screwed up that job, and made things more difficult for you to do what you do now. Please think of you fellow pilots when you are deciding where to fly. We will all appreciate it.

I agree with your sentiments completely but you are incorrect in stating that Part 101 restricts altitude to 400 ft. Part 101 makes no mention of an altitude limit.

 

[macaulayjuan]

Well I checked all the signs. I went into the reception area and read a list of rules. There was no one to talk to and the place look vacant. I checked air map and logged the flight. There were no restrictions. Well, I'm flying. I was at an Army Corp of Engineer Dam. It is over 2,900 ft. long. We use to walk out on it before 911. I made it to the other side before I heard 2 guys shouting. They had their lunch buckets and was heading home. I immediately told them I'm bringing it back right now. Really great guys. One guy laugh," I hear it." They asked all kinds of questions about my p4. They couldn't believe it could fly to the other side of the dam. They said they had to put up relays to be able to get signals from instruments in the dam.

They told me that my flying posed a surveillance security threat. They said they had to stop a local man from flying his ultralight over the dam. He was even touching the dam with his feet as he crossed over. I told them I couldn't see any rules posted not to fly. I showed them Air Map. The near by prison and the schools were labeled but not the dam. I showed them the video and they loved it. They said they need to get on their people about putting up signs and making sure it is on their posted rules. They thanked me for not being mad at them. I thanked them for not being mad at me. We laughed and parted ways. I love WV. people. Well, except rednecks that like to shoot flying things! A freeze from video. For some reason video coming back away from sun, didn't record.
View attachment 95485

What a great story. Good manners all around.

 

[WV. Rootman]

What a great story. Good manners all around.

They were nice to me. It is generally a culture thing here. We are not like the big cities.

 

[WV. Rootman]

Two things...

First, BOTH Part 107 and Part 101 restrict UAS altitude to less than 400ft., if not specifically filming a taller structure. No grey areas.

Second, please don’t fly over areas deemed to be national critical infrastructure. No video or still is worth the bad PR the owners of these facilities feel toward our industry. My clients are primarily oil & gas and heavy industry, and believe me, they are extremely averse to exposing their operations up to ANY additional risks.

I spent a month with a major operator’s aviation department, having them look at the last years’ worth of my flight logs, my operating procedures, and my emergency contingency plans, before granting my company authorization to fly over their facilities. All because someone had flown over one of their facilities in the past, flew too close to a high voltage section of the facility, lost control of their drone, and slammed into the side of some high pressure process equipment. They had to temporarily shut down the process unit to inspect for damage and make sure it was safe to continue operating. No one was hurt and nothing was damaged (other than the drone), but now the company had a recordable safety incident, a recordable security incident, and had to launch several investigations related to the crash- and that’s not counting the expense of the shutdown, the time and effort to track down the owner of the drone, and any reimbursement the they might try to get from the pilot through their legal department.

Whenever you fly, please think of where you are flying and be respectful of the owners. If you legally flew over my house, but accidentally crashed through my window, I would want you to pay for my window. If you fly over a rail yard and crash on the tracks, stop the trains, delay the cargo schedule until someone can clean up your mess, make them have to file reports about the incident to the Railroad Commission...... you see where I’m going.

Even a safe, uneventful flight can have unintended consequences for those of us that are trying to fly after you. No matter what you do for a living, you have probably had someone before you that has screwed up that job, and made things more difficult for you to do what you do now. Please think of you fellow pilots when you are deciding where to fly. We will all appreciate it.

I understand. I have worked at some of the worlds largest natural gas processing plants. I worked for power plants, coal companies and gas wells most of my life. I know the talk and I know the walk. I am a certificated state mining inspector.

 

[GeneM]

I agree with your sentiments completely but you are incorrect in stating that Part 101 restricts altitude to 400 ft. Part 101 makes no mention of an altitude limit.

You are 100% correct about Part 101 not restricting altitude. Thank you for the correction.

My, probably over conservative, max altitude interpretation is based on the “community standards” section of Part 101. The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) and the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) partnered with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to create KnowBeforeYouFly.org for education about responsible operation of UAS. KnowBeforeYouFly guidelines suggest a max altitude of 400’.

But Sar is correct that there is no defined legal restriction on max altitude under Part 101 flights.

My goal with these posts is to provide information and personal experience. I have no desire to be a sky goalie. I’m here to either help you or get out of your way.

FYI- Rootman; cool dam picture. Here’s one I just shot with a P4 for a company in New Mexico two weeks ago.

Fly safe and have fun.

 

[John Locke]

I think automobiles cause more accidental deaths.

I think abortion causes more deliberate deaths, yet most don't think that's a problem.

 

[GadgetGuy]

I am about to travel to Palm Desert and want to bring my Mavic Air to capture interesting video and still images. Unfortunately, I feel the most overwhelming task for drone pilots today is doing research on where you can and cannot fly. It takes much of the fun and spontaneity from the hobby.

There are very few locations where you cannot fly. In most locations you can.
However, whether you should or should not is usually a personal choice.

 

[MikeyP]

"I spent a month with a major operator’s aviation department, having them look at the last years’ worth of my flight logs, my operating procedures, and my emergency contingency plans, before granting my company authorization to fly over their facilities. All because someone had flown over one of their facilities in the past, flew too close to a high voltage section of the facility, lost control of their drone, and slammed into the side of some high pressure process equipment. They had to temporarily shut down the process unit to inspect for damage and make sure it was safe to continue operating. No one was hurt and nothing was damaged (other than the drone), but now the company had a recordable safety incident, a recordable security incident, and had to launch several investigations related to the crash- and that’s not counting the expense of the shutdown, the time and effort to track down the owner of the drone, and any reimbursement the they might try to get from the pilot through their legal department."




This paragraph blows my mind! I copied it from GeneM, above. How is it possible that an incident like this happened and never made it to the press? If the press had released such a story, you guys would have been all over it like stink on a skunk. Imagining, what Really happened. Blaming someone or another. How stupid the drone pilot was and how stupid this or that law is. But you all read that and not a word? This sounds like story that someone made up as a "what if". But now that I have read it in the forums, I'm free to pass it on as tho it must be true. Everybody loves a good "poison for the drone plague" story. I mean no disrespect to you GeneM, you seem like an intelligent person and your opinions seem pretty unarguable, but did you know someone that was actually at that incident and was dealing with it? I have no right to question you about anything you say, but that's quite a story.

 

[sar104]

"I spent a month with a major operator’s aviation department, having them look at the last years’ worth of my flight logs, my operating procedures, and my emergency contingency plans, before granting my company authorization to fly over their facilities. All because someone had flown over one of their facilities in the past, flew too close to a high voltage section of the facility, lost control of their drone, and slammed into the side of some high pressure process equipment. They had to temporarily shut down the process unit to inspect for damage and make sure it was safe to continue operating. No one was hurt and nothing was damaged (other than the drone), but now the company had a recordable safety incident, a recordable security incident, and had to launch several investigations related to the crash- and that’s not counting the expense of the shutdown, the time and effort to track down the owner of the drone, and any reimbursement the they might try to get from the pilot through their legal department."




This paragraph blows my mind! I copied it from GeneM, above. How is it possible that an incident like this happened and never made it to the press? If the press had released such a story, you guys would have been all over it like stink on a skunk. Imagining, what Really happened. Blaming someone or another. How stupid the drone pilot was and how stupid this or that law is. But you all read that and not a word? This sounds like story that someone made up as a "what if". But now that I have read it in the forums, I'm free to pass it on as tho it must be true. Everybody loves a good "poison for the drone plague" story. I mean no disrespect to you GeneM, you seem like an intelligent person and your opinions seem pretty unarguable, but did you know someone that was actually at that incident and was dealing with it? I have no right to question you about anything you say, but that's quite a story.

Plenty of "incidents" never make it into the press, especially if LE (or the FAA/NTSB in the case of drone-related events) is not involved. I can't see any incentive for either the pilot or the company in question to have publicized this incident either.

 

[WV. Rootman]

"I spent a month with a major operator’s aviation department, having them look at the last years’ worth of my flight logs, my operating procedures, and my emergency contingency plans, before granting my company authorization to fly over their facilities. All because someone had flown over one of their facilities in the past, flew too close to a high voltage section of the facility, lost control of their drone, and slammed into the side of some high pressure process equipment. They had to temporarily shut down the process unit to inspect for damage and make sure it was safe to continue operating. No one was hurt and nothing was damaged (other than the drone), but now the company had a recordable safety incident, a recordable security incident, and had to launch several investigations related to the crash- and that’s not counting the expense of the shutdown, the time and effort to track down the owner of the drone, and any reimbursement the they might try to get from the pilot through their legal department."




This paragraph blows my mind! I copied it from GeneM, above. How is it possible that an incident like this happened and never made it to the press? If the press had released such a story, you guys would have been all over it like stink on a skunk. Imagining, what Really happened. Blaming someone or another. How stupid the drone pilot was and how stupid this or that law is. But you all read that and not a word? This sounds like story that someone made up as a "what if". But now that I have read it in the forums, I'm free to pass it on as tho it must be true. Everybody loves a good "poison for the drone plague" story. I mean no disrespect to you GeneM, you seem like an intelligent person and your opinions seem pretty unarguable, but did you know someone that was actually at that incident and was dealing with it? I have no right to question you about anything you say, but that's quite a story.

What happens on company property stays on company property. That's the kind of publicity they don't want.

 

[ussvertigo]

I really like your sticker but those same people that read the message will call 911.

I took it off for after pic, but considered sticking a small piece of Coleman lantern mantel(burned) to interior to actually show a small dose of radiation(barely readable) to make it legit, but with my luck it would go land itself in a school play yard. But with one flyaway in 4 years, just my phone number on drone got her back, gave kids who found it $25

 

[Razorback1]

Its funny about the dam being a no fly because in my city we have a rc flying field next to our dam and people fly all over it, Ive always wondered about the legality of it

 

[WV. Rootman]

Its funny about the dam being a no fly because in my city we have a rc flying field next to our dam and people fly all over it, Ive always wondered about the legality of it

Big dam? Hydro power? Would people be in danger if it broke?

 

[sar104]

Its funny about the dam being a no fly because in my city we have a rc flying field next to our dam and people fly all over it, Ive always wondered about the legality of it

There's nothing special about a dam, per se, unless it is designated by the FAA as some kind of critical infrastructure or major tourist attraction.

 

[bsartist]

For amusement purposes only. Don’t try these at home.