4014 is amazing. You may know the story of the restoration for the 150th anniversary of the Golden Spike. I tried various altitudes and distance and got lucky. The scale of the loco with the tiny people is great. This tour is almost over now as she heads back to Cheyenne. I sort of expected more drone photographers, but was the only one at that viewing area, but there are some good ones on various FB rail enthusiasts group pages. This is the UP schedule - 2019 Union Pacific Steam Schedule
I had permission from the Park District, and the supervisor actually was with me watching 4014 come through. The drone was positioned well back from the crowd up near the tracks and i simply did a shaft flight up/down for that reason. Always safety first.
Well, there's a mental image for ya...
It's not the park manager that will issue you the fines (one for every person you flew over ... it's the FAA and they require a waiver to fly over people. Stand under your drone and keep people at a distance and you'll be OK. You can legally be under your own drone. The good news is the FAA doesn't have the manpower to enforce.
Yes, I am aware of that. And have the drone registered with the FAA, etc. If you look at the photo I posted-just to show that location-is exactly what I was doing straight up straight down not over any single person including me. Some younger boys came near as I was slowly descending and I told them to stay back, and walked 50 ft. into a field with the drone. I’m glad you like the photography from that perspective. That clip was picked up by two news organizations in their coverage of Big Boy.
No offense, agree there are way too many unsafe pilots out there. As for "pay" for footage - ha, ha. But did get credited on ABC Ch 5 Des Moines TV segment. Yippee.
