My first negative flying experience

[youatemybird]

Hi all, had my first negative flying experience this morning which prompted to make an account, as it was actually another drone pilot who was giving me grief.

So here's the scenario
-I'm operating from the edge of a National Trust site in the UK (cat D airspace)
-Logged the flight in the NATS Drone Assist app
-Took off in an empty field straight up to around 75m
-I then do a a few 30 second flyovers 300m straight out from my location over the grounds of the country house

About 90 seconds into this a guy comes over and starts telling me quite aggressively that I shouldn't be flying and that was illegal because there were people nearby and it's private property. I said I was pretty sure I was allowed and that I had every obstacle avoidance turned on and he responds saying "No. I've got a commercial license to fly drones and you're wrong. Idiot."

At this point an old guy comes over, and the "commercial pilot" tells him I'm breaking the law, the two of them seem to debate calling the police. Whilst this is happening I land and quickly cycle off with my tail between my legs.

So here are my questions:
-Did I do anything to warrant such an overly aggressive response?
-Did I directly breach any of the Drone operation guidelines?
To my mind I feel I didn't (apart from possibly flying over Nation Trust land which I know is against their byelaws) as I was well above the 50m height to be clear of people, flying at low speeds with loads of clearance around me. The whole thing has left me a bit upset and annoyed so I'm trying to turn this into a learning experience and not be put off from flying again. I'd appreciate some input from others.

 

[DCATALO]

Don't be put off my friend. I have had a few negativereactions with people. Now I don't exactly know the laws there but from what you stated it doesn't seem so. I have learned( I have a enthusiast drone license) to go talk with the people who might be in my shots if they are there before me and inform them of my intent. Most of the time they are OK with it and I show them how it works. Sometimes though you will run across idiots. You could have asked the guy what it was that he said you did that's illegal. It's only recommended that you don't fly over a lot or bunch of people.

 

[macoman]

I am not from the UK but if you were flying over people, here in the states that's illegal according to the rules established by the FAA.

 

[DCATALO]

But fly on my friend. If you are that new , maybe you should go somewhere where you have total privacy so you can learn from the drone

 

[With The Birds]

Where you on private property? What would you do if you looked out and saw someone standing in your front yard and launching a UAV? You may be over reacting a little without considering the position of those who approached you.

 

[youatemybird]

Where you on private property? What would you do if you looked out and saw someone standing in your front yard and launching a UAV? You may be over reacting a little without considering the position of those who approached you.

No, this is situated in what is effectively a national park. My use of "country house" is misleading, it's a mansion that is not occupied that people can walk around and look at paintings, antiques etc.

As it was a sunny day there were people milling around, but only in groups of 2 or 3, no crowds or congregations and I was 70m above them (so the vast majority would not have seen or heard the drone)

 

[DCATALO]

I am not from the UK but if you were flying over people, here in the states that's illegal according to the rules established by the FAA.

That's not acurate sir, its illegal to fly over large groups like at stadiums , it is only recommended to not fly too close to people, and this guy wasn't close to them. If we weren't allowed to fly over people, we wouldn't be able to use a drone really

 

[KongWerks]

Just another drone rager trying to change the world. The "professionals" are the worst. Best course of action when a moron like this approaches you is to thank him for his opinion, tell the him to call the police if he has concerns, move away from him and land.

I like the guys that laminate their 5$ registration card that they paid 20$ for and wave it like a badge.

People have NO way of knowing whether you are flying legally or not. You could have some sort of "waiver" which ever country you live in. Unless you have the authority of law in that specific area... Do not approach a person flying, call the authorities.

 

[Zerone]

The straight answer to your question in - "NO, he was not right". The main regulations relating to UAVs in the UK are the following, and there are no restrictions on flying over private property/land other than those included below. Although permission is required to take off or land on private property, but that is nothing to do with the CAA.

CAA : Air Navigation Orders

Article 94 (UAV)
1. A maximum height of 400ft AGL.
2. General restrictions on NFZs etc.

The above height restriction is actually for UAVs greater than 7KG, but is generally regarded as relating to all UAVs.

Article 95 (UAV w/cameras)
1. At least 50M from any person, structure, vehicle, or vessel not under your control.
2. Not over, or within 150M of any congested area, or event with more than 1,000 people.

The Air Navigation Order defines a congested area as being 'any area of a city, town or settlement which is substantially used for residential, industrial, commercial or recreational purposes'.

 

[SteveyB]

I'm afraid that if you did fly out over the National Trust property you were in breach of the NT bylaws (which is legally enforceable) The NT are having increasing problems with drones being flown on their sites and the ground they own. You may have been flying safely but unfortunately many others have caused them to take a firm stance on this.
Do you have any insurance (one of their concerns)? If not, I suggest becoming a member of the British Model Flying Association (BMFA) as this also provides drone pilots with third party cover.

 

[Zerone]

I'm afraid that if you did fly out over the National Trust property you were in breach of the NT bylaws (which is legally enforceable) The NT are having increasing problems with drones being flown on their sites and the ground they own. You may have been flying safely but unfortunately many others have caused them to take a firm stance on this.
Do you have any insurance (one of their concerns)? If not, I suggest becoming a member of the British Model Flying Association (BMFA) as this also provides drone pilots with third party cover.

I'm not aware of any NT bylaw relating to the flying of UAVs (drones) other than them trying to link it to their bylaw of not taking photographs of their buildings and interiors. However, that bylaw relates to photographs taken by someone ON their property, as they have no control over photographs being taken from public property. As for flying over their property they actually rely on the CAA regulations as they know they have no control over the airspace.
Flying drones at our places

 

[SteveyB]

If someone, or an organisation, specifically asks you not to fly on their land or over their property, it is only reasonable to comply.
Choosing to argue against that, will only continue to alienate people further to the use of drones, ultimately resulting in far tighter regulations for all of us.

 

[Zerone]

If someone, or an organisation, specifically asks you not to fly on their land or over their property, it is only reasonable to comply.
Choosing to argue against that, will only continue to alienate people further to the use of drones, ultimately resulting in far tighter regulations for all of us.

Lets not go off at a tangent here. The OP did not say that someone from the organisation asked him to stop flying, it was an unknown person acting with anger and stating it was against the law. The OP asked if it was against the law and I responded that in my opinion it was not against the law and quoted the regulations from the CAA to support my view. At no time did I form an opinion on the action, but I agree that if a person with authority for the property politely asks you not to fly over the property and gives a logical reason then you need to take that into acount, even though there is no law being broken.

You on the other hand stated that there were legally enforceable NT bylaws in place to prohibit such a flight, but did not provide any evidence. I challenged that statement and provided a link to support my view.

I'm not arguing for, or against anything, I'm simply providing factual information for others to form their own opinion to make their own choices and trying to dispel the misinformation that some people claim as fact.

 

[DRR]

That's not acurate sir, its illegal to fly over large groups like at stadiums , it is only recommended to not fly too close to people, and this guy wasn't close to them. If we weren't allowed to fly over people, we wouldn't be able to use a drone really

Im sorry but I see no need why anyone needs to fly over people. I dont. I always think what would happen if the drone came down. Its not hard to avoid flying over people.