The Negative Reputation...Please Be Careful

Great_Lakes · Aug 23, 2016

Yes, a cell phone video of her throwing something at it would have put her in handcuffs. Your drone is a registered aircraft and you can get in big trouble for taking one down maliciously, or attempting to.

Flipsonic · Aug 23, 2016

I reviewed the footage during this incident. All you can see is my wife and sister in law smiling. Then out of no where a bottle comes in picture about 6" from the AC. Then wife's look changed to "WHAT THE..." That's when I pulled up and nothing relevant after that. Unfortunately no one recorded the event with their cell phone.

Wheatfield · Aug 27, 2016

Flipsonic said:
This is my first time dealing with an unfortunate situation like this. Now I have experienced first hand how much some people despise drones. I realize not everyone feel this way but its sad how many people have negative impression about this technology. They seem to think its sole purpose is to invade their privacy. I will put this behind me once and for all but just had to share my experience to let drone pilots know to please be cognizant of people close to your drone or yourself.

I was at Dillon Beach (north of San Francisco) yesterday spending a lovely Sunday afternoon with my family. This beach is not in any NFZ and is the reason why I chose this location to visit. This area is immediately north of Point Reyes National Sea Shore which is a protected area in a NFZ. I'm well aware of this and had no intention to cross that boundary. When we got to the beach there was a couple and a man close to where we parked. There is no one else there but us. After I took my P3P out of the case and set it on the ground, they immediately took notice and the man asked me how long it can hover. Of course I answered all his questions and he was impressed. The couple let me know they saw whales and pointed where they saw it. After I completed my pre checks, I launched and uploaded my Litchi mission. Another flawless mission and I was happy. As it was on its way back, a family arrived and immediately took notice of the RC in my hands. They knew I was controlling something and asked if they could watch my iPAD. They were in awe of what they were seeing. 300' in the air with the waves crashing on the beach. Once they saw it coming back and hovering above they were so amazed.

Now the situation is about to get ugly. A car with 4 adults parked close by as I continued to take pictures and vids of my family on the beach. The 4 adults and a dog got out of the car and they proceeded to walk on the beach. I didn't pay any more attention to them as I was busy piloting. My wife and sister in law were sitting on a log and I wanted to get them in the shot and do a fly backwards and up maneuver. As I was setting up the shot about 15' from the ground, I noticed the old lady from the newly arrived group walking towards the drone. Then out of no where she threw a bottle up narrowly missing it. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Of course my instinct is to take it up higher where she can't do any harm to it. So that's what I did. Then she proceeded to throw the bottle at it again, lost her balance, and fell on the sand. As she was getting up, she was screaming and said" You #@$!%^, people come to the beach to have peace and quiet and you bring your toy here to invade our privacy!" I explained to her I was taking pics only of my family. Then she said, "No! I saw you taking a picture of me!" At this point I knew she was nuts and all I can do is explain to her I was not taking her pic. I even explained the area is not in any NFZ. But of course at that point she couldn't care less much less understand what a NFZ is. I even offered to land it just to keep her at peace. By this time, she started walking towards me and I was prepared for anything. Then my wife and sister in law started arguing with her while all of a sudden she just proceeded to get in her car. I kept the bird at 30' as I am not taking any chance with her running out of the car and causing damage if I landed it. The other 3 men walked back to their car and asked what happened. I was ready for anything especially to protect my family. At the same time, I was trying to figure out where to land in case it gets really ugly. But we just explained what happened and they got in their car and left. I remember my brother asked if he had his phone/camera pointed at the beach with her in the background, would she throw something at him? It was not until later that I put 2 and 2 together. She must've thought we were not all together and I was randomly taking picture of people on the beach. When I hovered and pointed the camera at my wife, that's when she's had it and saw a chance to get even. She saw my wife yelling at her and that's when she probably knew we were all together and she made a mistake. That's why she just got in her car and stayed there. Oh well, at least it ended with no casualties. I would say it was a very interesting day.

So again, please be careful what kind of people are around you. There are people out there who will stop at nothing so their voice is heard. Ok, water under the bridge.

Don't you guys have guns to deal with idiots like that?

Flipsonic · Aug 27, 2016

Wheatfield said:
Don't you guys have guns to deal with idiots like that?

This is California not Texas.

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dec · Aug 27, 2016

reason #716 not to live on the west coast . . .

Timtro · Aug 27, 2016

Flipsonic said:
This is my first time dealing with an unfortunate situation like this. Now I have experienced first hand how much some people despise drones. I realize not everyone feel this way but its sad how many people have negative impression about this technology. They seem to think its sole purpose is to invade their privacy. I will put this behind me once and for all but just had to share my experience to let drone pilots know to please be cognizant of people close to your drone or yourself.

...................So again, please be careful what kind of people are around you. There are people out there who will stop at nothing so their voice is heard. Ok, water under the bridge.

TR Stewart · Aug 27, 2016

Sounds like she was drunk hope she wasnt driving

gsreinke · Aug 27, 2016

jeganx said:
Glad nothing serious happened...

Sometimes there are those in our hobby who violate the privacies of others. It is up to us to police our own, otherwise, the negativities and subsequent gov regs will kill the hobby

gsreinke · Aug 27, 2016

Flipsonic said:
I don't want to give the impression that everyone in the US (or specifically California) is like this old lady. Most people have been curious and receptive. I've only been at this for 3 months and this is the first time I've encountered as I said " an unfortunate situation". My issue with this is, even though I did my research and prepared for a fun day, someone or something can still spoil it. I hate to say it but that's the nature of this hobby. When she got to the beach, she saw me already flying. At that time, if she was really there for some peace and tranquility, why not just go to the next beach or just stay far away. Or she could've just walked over and tell me nicely that she is not comfortable with it flying around. I would've moved far away from her. I realize she made a mistake in assuming we were not together and reacted irrationally. People make mistakes and I was happy no one got hurt or my "toy" did not get damaged. Because if it did, the result would've been drastically different. Bottom line, from now on, I'll be prepared for anything.

Maybe have an alternate emergency landing site

Jeiel Shamblee · Aug 28, 2016

After a year of flying Phantoms (and 20 years of RC aircraft and cars) I have been yelled at, had an attempted robbery, had the police called multiple times, been accused of spying, had the "Spanish Inquisition" treatment, and generally had a ton of annoying comments like "Don't crash in the water!"
Solution: I stay away from people. If they can't see it, they generally don't bother me. I go stand under a tree, away from any walking path or common public area. Sadly it's not always possible to be out of sight, so when I am approached, I pull out my phone, start the camera and record the interaction. I make sure they see me do it and hear the voice command to my phone "record video."

hudster · Aug 28, 2016

That is why all of us have to be responsible with this hobby. The more people that see it being used for proper use, the more people will change their mind, and probably spread positive word of mouth about it; letting our hobby expand even more!

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Shawn Klawitter · Aug 28, 2016

I have taken to telling people, even admirers, that the drone is registered with the FAA and is clearly marked. I had someone ask if I was recently hovering over their house. I told them no I respect people's privacy and current FAA guidelines prohibit flying over someones house without permission. I try to use it as an opportunity to educate people whenever I can. Of course there are the crazies out there.

I live in NC where we have much stricter drone flight laws so I am always on guard whenever I fly.

Pheasant · Aug 28, 2016

You handle the situation very well. If I am near people I always explain what I am doing. They are usually very interested in the drone. I take the time to answer all questions.
Normally I fly farm fields, forest, lakes and rivers with no one around. If on private land I always ask permission.
I think we are all on the same page trying to respect others and their property.

Jnnyr · Aug 29, 2016

Lucky 777 said:
I'm sure she went back to her trailer and opened a new bottle.

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Lol

CajunFlyer · Aug 31, 2016

My 90 yr old neighbor and his wife are fascinated with my Phantom. They love watching it fly and seeing the vid/pics of their house from a whole new perspective. Go figure.

GB71 · Aug 31, 2016

Shawn Klawitter said:
I have taken to telling people, even admirers, that the drone is registered with the FAA and is clearly marked. I had someone ask if I was recently hovering over their house. I told them no I respect people's privacy and current FAA guidelines prohibit flying over someones house without permission. I try to use it as an opportunity to educate people whenever I can. Of course there are the crazies out there.

I live in NC where we have much stricter drone flight laws so I am always on guard whenever I fly.

Where at in NC?

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losman26 · Sep 1, 2016

I had something similar happen a few days ago, with a woman going as far as impersonating a police officer.

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Flipsonic · Sep 1, 2016

Woman Caught Red Handed

Mikepoo · Sep 1, 2016

Guys had over 130 flights now I only fly at 7am or 9pm so much peace.

longdog · Sep 1, 2016

Mikepoo said:
Guys had over 130 flights now I only fly at 7am or 9pm so much peace.

Had to do a test flight on new setup. Flew outside my house at about 1030pm. Only one teenage kid walked by with his dog and said, "****! That's you flying that drone? That's so cool!"