He is probably responding to me, because I pointed out that police service quality varies tremendously community to community in the US.
Some police departments are trained to very high standards, and some police departments are so pathetic, corrupt, and incompetent they were actually disbanded and police activities were taken over by the state.
He sees it as "hating on cops" when all I am trying to point out is that there is no such thing as a national local police force and every department is different. They're different in the quality of staff they attract, quality of training, the objectives and priorities they have, and the enforcement actions they put on highest priority.
The irony is that one might actually have fewer problems flying a quad in high crime areas where cops have bigger things to worry about. It is usually the very low crime areas where cops enforce the smallest of rules and regulations and stay on top of small issues.
Wrong but nice assumption. Look at all the hate-on-cops in this thread. And please don't presume to lecture me on US law enforcement. 32 yrs. in the business, taught criminal justice at two colleges, two degrees, and a wallful of awards during my career.
I can agree with that. My local PD seems to be a training center. Almost all new kids fresh form the Academy. They stick around for a year or so and move on to smaller towns. That doesn't make them bad, or good either. Just their own kind of different.
Back to the "name dropping" comment... I dont remember ever stating a name. But instead a reference to an office. And its my association with that office that, at least in some part, has let to Kansas having no stupid anti-RC ANYTHING laws, becoming the 7th Constitutional Carry state in the Nations, and currently no state laws pertaining to talking on a phone while driving. My main current battle is to get legislation passed to prevent cities from enacting their own laws that are more restrictive than state law pertaining to cell phones. I am VERY strong in my community! If you see that as intimidating then perhaps you should be doing something similar!
I reread the thread and I will have to agree that it is polarized to either hating on cops or 'follow authority and you will be fine' statements.
Having grown up under Communism, having lived in both very rich and very poor areas of the USA, (and having lived a large chunk of my life in DC - hehe ) I definitely have distrust of authority. I think that's a good trait.
My overarching point is that you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. If there is any room for interpretation or judgement, it is best to be as nice as possible to people who ultimately determine your fate on that day. In this particular case; cops.
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At least one thing is clear here in Florida. If you launch in a state park or recreation area, they can and will write you up. Bunch of my friends who were unaware of this learned the hard way with warnings and citations. One cop even told a guy, if you launched over there in that parking lot of the hotel, it would be fine. You just can't launch here at the beach parking lot. As he wrote him a $75 citation. A warning would have done the job. Here is the FL Stat.:
62D-2.014(15)
(15) Aircraft. No person operating or responsible for any aircraft, glider, balloon, parachute, or other aerial apparatus shall cause any such apparatus to take off from or land in any park except in an emergency when human life is endangered or where a designated landing facility may exist on park property.
I'm planning on creating a F-key macro on my computer that reads something like "It's action/activities like that that makes it hard on the rest of us, that are doing things correctly and the right way", So I can post that a lot here without typing.
62D-2.014(15)
(15) Aircraft. No person operating or responsible for any aircraft, glider, balloon, parachute, or other aerial apparatus shall cause any such apparatus to take off from or land in any park except in an emergency when human life is endangered or where a designated landing facility may exist on park property.
I'm planning on creating a F-key macro on my computer that reads something like "It's action/activities like that that makes it hard on the rest of us, that are doing things correctly and the right way", So I can post that a lot here without typing.
Great example of a state knowing that it has no authority to regulate the skies! Knowing the law is ALWAYS #1
There you go again Streve - I think you should change your name to CAPSLOCK
So the officer would need to see you take off or land while in the park to cite you. Lacking this, you could have taken off from outside the park and then walked into the park.
Flying within 5 miles of an airport is not against the law, as long as you contacted the control tower and they give you a go. Why would a control tower deny your request to fly 30 feet in the air when other threes and buildings are over 100ft.
I believe that you only need to 'contact them' as apposed to waiting for a 'go'. A 20 foot building... I would just go back the next day and do it quickly and say yes, yes, yes to the officer the first day in a happy spirit.
A couple things... first, if you are flying as a hobbyist, it's NOT illegal or even against FAA regulation to fly within 5 miles of an airport. The Section 336 rule is that you must notify (not get permission) the tower and the airport operator that you will be flying, where, and how high. Second, there are exceptions if a TFR (temporary flight restriction) is in place, special flight rules or other NOTAMS (notice to airmen) that restrict flight of "model aircraft". Third, if you are flying, or perceived to be flying carelessly or recklessly, legal enforcement action can be pursued by the FAA if you are endangering the safety of the NAS, manned aircraft, or other persons/property.
My advice is to be courteous and patient with the officer, and obey his/her instructions. They can always ticket you or arrest you for other things like not obeying a peace officer, refusing to provide identification, resisting arrest, etc. But if you are courteous and nice, those things are very unlikely to happen. If the opportunity presents itself, you could gently educate the officer with documents that you should always carry when flying, such as the guidance from the FAA on model aircraft operation by hobbyists, and perhaps the LAW ENFORCEMENT GUIDANCE FOR SUSPECTED UNAUTHORIZED UAS OPERATIONS (also attached) published by the FAA. Of course there's the Know Before You Fly page too.
As a side note, there is an app that the FAA just released for beta testing (I think you can still request to be a beta tester) call B4UFLY that shows active TFR's and Restricted airspace, and will also facilitate a one click airport/tower notification that you are flying.
Keep it safe, and represent the whole model aircraft and drone community in a positive light!!
My advice is to be courteous and patient with the officer, and obey his/her instructions. They can always ticket you or arrest you for other things like not obeying a peace officer, refusing to provide identification, resisting arrest, etc. But if you are courteous and nice, those things are very unlikely to happen. If the opportunity presents itself, you could gently educate the officer with documents that you should always carry when flying, such as the guidance from the FAA on model aircraft operation by hobbyists, and perhaps the LAW ENFORCEMENT GUIDANCE FOR SUSPECTED UNAUTHORIZED UAS OPERATIONS (also attached) published by the FAA. Of course there's the Know Before You Fly page too.
As a side note, there is an app that the FAA just released for beta testing (I think you can still request to be a beta tester) call B4UFLY that shows active TFR's and Restricted airspace, and will also facilitate a one click airport/tower notification that you are flying.
Keep it safe, and represent the whole model aircraft and drone community in a positive light!!
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