Hello, I have a spark and I’ve been taking off - flying to 400ft and doing some filming etc and landing back on my driveway. People on my estate are complaining about my drone and I think they are planning on reporting me to the police for flying within 50m of my neighbours. What is the actual rule about this? Are you allowed to simply take off and land on your property and do your actual flights 50m+ away from buildings or does it HAVE to be 50m away from buildings even during takeoff and landing? The houses they are saying I’m too close to aren’t even the people complaining about me.. I’m probably 20m away from all properties when taking off and landing but what’s the actual rule? Thankyou!

Many areas can operate under different ordinances. Check your local city/county to see if they have any ordinances about drones. There is no one size fits all rule.

There is a certain right to expect privacy so it might make sense to find out if they are complaining about the noise or their perceived intrusion on their property.

Sidd

A densely packed neighborhood is not a good place to fly RC aircraft.  Try flying in another area.  The Spark is portable and a good reason to get out and about.  Endless neighborhood vids are boring anyway.

Countrys all have different rules, yes you see a lot on youtube  where folks fly in city and so on..
But generally speaking, takeoff from own estate is a nono, if other public road, house, whatever is within 100meters here in denmark, heck i am not allowed to fly over a farmers field..but i do it anyway, just i am more then 100 meters away from any public adress.

Unfortunately locals get very annoyed when they see a Drone flying in the neighbourhood,,, best bet is to get out into a field nearby and have a happy flight..

Thankyou guys, I guess I should have clarified - I’m from the UK. I don’t actually fly the drone over any houses during the flight as there’s a field next to the estate with a massive circus on there for the week. The circus has some interesting animals in the field such as camels and stuff so I was sorta filming them as they aren’t an everyday sort of thing. The drone would only actually take off and land in the estate and as mentioned the houses within 100ft are my next door neighbours and they actively encourage me to fly my drone. The people complaining about me are elsewhere on the estate where I am well over 150 ft above their house.

Its 150mtrs (500ft) from buildings in built up areas such as housing estates, so you are better off not flying from your back yard.
Drone Code

I'm also in the UK and typically fly the same from my back garden , i usual take off to below fence height and check all my controls and flight surfaces , gps lock etc then fly up to 100M directly and then fly out from here , at 100M its not so noticeable , i also do not film or take photos in my neighborhood.

Most of my neighbors are old and retired usually away this time of year so i fly early mornings or late evening when fewer people are about.

Some of the people like the idea of me flying there property when they are not home because i can check for burglars and break in's   


I'm flying Phantom 2 , Spark and Mavic Pro so all sizes of drones.

Last Christmas, I took shots of all my neighbours' house and sent them Christmas cards with a photo of their house on it. They were well received and I have had no problems since. Probably broke many rules but even the local mayor was very happy with a video of his Town Hall (which has a 30 metre exclusion zone around it).

"Some of the people like the idea of me flying there property when they are not home because i can check for burglars and break in's"    That's a good idea. You could also offer free roof inspections if their property is old. It is all a question of how you handle the situation. I would never demand my rights if someone objected, I would just move elsewhere.

MikB Posted at 2018-8-2 02:19
Last Christmas, I took shots of all my neighbours' house and sent them Christmas cards with a photo of their house on it. They were well received and I have had no problems since. Probably broke many rules but even the local mayor was very happy with a video of his Town Hall (which has a 30 metre exclusion zone around it).

"Some of the people like the idea of me flying there property when they are not home because i can check for burglars and break in's"    That's a good idea. You could also offer free roof inspections if their property is old. It is all a question of how you handle the situation. I would never demand my rights if someone objected, I would just move elsewhere.

yep done some free roof inspections

It’s not advisable to fly your drone anywhere near people or building.
Please read the drone code and comply with it if you like to avoid getting into trouble.

Drone Code UK

you will need to check the regulations set by your country / municipality.  Here in Canada the regulation is 30m from people, buildings or vehicles.  Can't fly higher then 200m and must have the drone in line of sight at all times to a max of 500m.  Good luck and maybe you should find somewhere else to fly away from people whom don't like the attention/distraction

Sparky_17 Posted at 2018-8-2 05:51
you will need to check the regulations set by your country / municipality.  Here in Canada the regulation is 30m from people, buildings or vehicles.  Can't fly higher then 200m and must have the drone in line of sight at all times to a max of 500m.  Good luck and maybe you should find somewhere else to fly away from people whom don't like the attention/distraction

A little off topic here, but I'm a newbie also with a Spark flying in Canada and wondering which phone you have had success with when using DJI Go?

jsdhornby Posted at 2018-8-2 09:41
A little off topic here, but I'm a newbie also with a Spark flying in Canada and wondering which phone you have had success with when using DJI Go?

Hey fellow Canuck .. lol

I used an iPhone 6s and got an iPhone X yesterday.  Haven't tried flying with my X yet but never had any issues using my 6s.  PM me if you want to chat privately.

cheers,

PS: i'm from the Ottawa area.