Had a run-in with a spectator from a couple of houses away while doing some photos for my friend.
Very unfriendly to say the least

Extremely confrontational, looking for excuse to get violent. I just didnt talk to him and landed my P4 and walked away.

Silly man lives on a hillside and has neighbours above, feel sorry for them as they probably get told to stop hovering above his property a lot.

Anyone had similar?

You never know what kind of reactions you'll get.

markcross1000 Posted at 2016-4-17 13:23
You never know what kind of reactions you'll get.

Jealous because he didn't have one.

Made a right pork chop of himself in front of his kids. I expect they are used to it though.

ohh... that kind of people.... Sometimes I wish i could give them remote and let them try to fly.  I believe the next day he will be purchasing one for himself.

I think you did the right thing, land and walk away.  It's pointless making the situation worse by arguing, and by the sounds of it this guy wasn't looking to chat.  I hope this doesn't happen to you again, take care out there.

DJI-Tim Posted at 2016-4-17 08:22
ohh... that kind of people.... Sometimes I wish i could give them remote and let them try to fly.  I ...

I can think of other things I'd rather give him...

Advocate Posted at 2016-4-17 09:48
I think you did the right thing, land and walk away.  It's pointless making the situation worse by a ...

Agreed...these people just aren't worth the grief.  Karma will get him eventually.

A similar thing happened to my son. He borrowed my P3P to shoot aerial footage of his new house. An irate neighbour came up and threatened to call the police. So my son pulled out his phone, called the local cop shop and told them he had someone who wanted to talk to them and handed the phone to the guy. The police were not interested and told him so. He handed the phone back and went off muttering how it should be against the law.

Geebax Posted at 2016-4-17 18:53
A similar thing happened to my son. He borrowed my P3P to shoot aerial footage of his new house. An  ...

Good one :-) I'll have to try that. Although pulling out my FAA registration card did quieten a lot of people down immediately.

chrismeister Posted at 2016-4-17 07:08
Good one :-) I'll have to try that. Although pulling out my FAA registration card did quieten a lo ...

yea same here. I keep my FAA registration card in my wallet laminated, so whenever I run into neighbors/cops/people unfriendly towards drones in general, I pull out the FAA card (it also helps the corresponding FAA # is on two different places on the drone in plain sight) to show that i'm doing everything by the book, knowing what the FAA app says about the location your filming in BEFORE your altercation could give you a leg up in the convo too. It's worked 3 times for me.

FatedFilmsNC Posted at 2016-4-17 22:32
yea same here. I keep my FAA registration card in my wallet laminated, so whenever I run into neig ...

I've seen several posts on this FAA app but can't seem to find it.  Could you please post the app name?
Thanks!

CitizenKane Posted at 2016-4-17 10:45
I've seen several posts on this FAA app but can't seem to find it.  Could you please post the app  ...

B4UFly is the name of the app - i think if you type in FAA in the app store it will come up as well, but i'm not sure.

FatedFilmsNC Posted at 2016-4-17 22:58
B4UFly is the name of the app - i think if you type in FAA in the app store it will come up as wel ...

Thanks for that!

Give them the phone number to Google and have them ask Google to stop taking pictures also.

Richard in Bois Posted at 2016-4-17 23:45
Give them the phone number to Google and have them ask Google to stop taking pictures also.

Haha great point!  And Apple, and so on.  On public lands CA has already ruled there is no expectation or right of privacy.  There was a neighborhood spat around here where some folks put street-facing cameras to bust some vandals and other neighbors threw a fit.  But it is legal to do.  Wonder if the issue above was the aircraft or the camera or jealousy.  

CitizenKane Posted at 2016-4-17 12:01
Haha great point!  And Apple, and so on.  On public lands CA has already ruled there is no expecta ...

i bet the issue was pure ignorance.   so many people are  just looking for any reason to get their panties in a bunch, so when they see a drone they have an outlet.   

  one bad thing is what the media posts on it, primarily bad.  the hand full of irresponsible drone owners get into simple peoples minds and they think all drones are bad,   then rumors compound and it snowballs hatred.   

I had a run in with not so much of a friend really, but he was just talking about it sense he knew i just upgraded to the p4.  he said if he ever saw one flying around his house he would grab his shotgun and blast it down right away, pick up all the pieces of the drone and give it back to the owner and then tell them off.   i just informed him about the laws of public air space and he has no right to destroy someones property.  he is under the assumption that all drones are spy drones and if above his property he has the right to shoot it down.    told him before he pulls the trigger and ends up in handcuffs he may want to do some research.

quickpoint Posted at 2016-4-17 18:22
i bet the issue was pure ignorance.   so many people are  just looking for any reason to get their ...

Isn't discharging a weapon in public more dangerous and illegal?

http://www.developpement-durable ... es_2015_VFF_web.pdf

The favourite question of onlookers here in France is 'how much'.  They do ask for some specs as well.  In two years flying all over - only had one guy try to tell me it was illegal to fly in France and all over Europe.  I told him to bugger off and annoy someone else.  I now carry a copy of the rules in French and English, just in case the Gendrames (French Police) arrive.  They are very scarce where I fly so no hassles there - ones I've met ask about it otherwise don't bother.  The French seem to like us Scots.

talk2t_c Posted at 2016-4-17 12:27
Isn't discharging a weapon in public more dangerous and illegal?

exactly!  but that is not inside their very narrow mind.

I saw someone who had a great setup idea, he basically had a sandwich board style sign that said something to the point of "I can't talk right now as I am concentrating on flying safely but if you wait until I land and secure my equipment I will be happy to answer any questions you may have, Thank you for your patience!" This may not work with an angry spectator but I believe I read somewhere quite recently that it is a federal offence to interfere with a drone pilot while they are in flight not to mention that doing so is quite dangerous. That's also a great idea to print the local "Laws of the land" so you have them available to educate any local policing authority or others that may show up due to complaint or otherwise while you are flying,best to also ensure you know them well yourself.

talk2t_c Posted at 2016-4-17 11:27
Isn't discharging a weapon in public more dangerous and illegal?

Yess!! How come the police never take this into account?!?

The Phantom DJ Posted at 2016-4-17 12:51
Yess!! How come the police never take this into account?!?

thats another topic all together.   and issue......   rules and regulations don't apply as much there

when u live in society You have to respect others rights

I went to a deserted costal  location at 8am this morning to make a video   

There was nobody about until a walker, who had walked from miles over the hill showed up.. he was ranting on about not flying there and he was going to report me  and so on... taking pictures on his phone of me and my car

Realizing that nothing was going to stop him... I drove off   Best not to engage with hostile people....

mikee1554@hotma Posted at 2016-4-17 23:25
I went to a deserted costal  location at 8am this morning to make a video   

There was nobody abou ...

Now that must be an invasion of privacy - yours.
and you're not breaking any laws.

wow hope I never have to remove my prop guards to defend myself.

I haven't had any bad encounters yet, fortunately. I've only had a few people ask me questions.

I haven't had any problems

Cessna172 Posted at 2016-4-18 06:39
I haven't had any problems

Too funny...but sadly true... When you come face to face with crazy, you just have to out crazy your opposition

jyurkyandsons Posted at 2016-4-18 11:29
wow hope I never have to remove my prop guards to defend myself.

Too funny...

jyurkyandsons Posted at 2016-4-18 11:29
wow hope I never have to remove my prop guards to defend myself.

Too funny...

I had a guy drop his draws and and give my drone a vertical smile yesterday.  I didn't notice until I played the footage back later.  Amazing detail from 200 feet up ;)

Recently had an irate neighbor drive by my house angrily yelling that if I flew over his property again he was going to shoot it down. I was a good distance away in the opposite direction by that time so I just calmly flew it back to my yard and landed. He had turned around in the next door neighbors driveway by then and headed back to his house. I put the quad away and told the wife I was going to go talk to him. When I pulled in to his driveway he walked up to my jeep and it was pretty evident that he had been drinking. He was all wound up and thinking that I was spying on his wife and 9 year old daughter. I decided since we are neighbors to just diffuse the situation and told him I wouldn't fly over his property again. I tried to explain to him that from 200 ft up and cruising along you just can't make out small things on the ground with enough detail to "spy" on anyone. I told him he shouldn't believe everything on TV about drones and that the media has really blown the whole thing way out of proportion. He wasn't really interested in what I had to say but thanked me for stopping by.  

I'm thinking water balloon dropping add-on for my P4

Drone 5150 Posted at 2016-4-18 12:30
I had a guy drop his draws and and give my drone a vertical smile yesterday.  I didn't notice until  ...

Funny! That would have made me laugh.

Wow those are some intense encounters l, so far people have just asked me what it was which one how much it cost is it easy to fly. That's in two different states IL and Indiana. I should probably print the rules out tho. Also going to attempt flight in millennium park where the bean is. I want a good shot of the skyline.