Had the unique opportunity to fly at burning man this year. It was an exceptional experience and I've put together a film:



UAV Coach conducted an interview about it here (also a mini review of the lowe pro drone guard bag):

https://uavcoach.com/burning-man-drones/

Let me know what you think. Enjoy,

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Wow, never heard of this festival before, looks interesting, thanks for sharing.

Absolutely stunning footage!  Very nice!  However, I worry about you getting in trouble with the FAA.  Flying over people is a big no no even for hobbyists. Only about 10 people in the entire country have a 107.39 waiver.

so very nice footage. good shot you have a great job done.

Blackwood Posted at 2017-12-22 07:51
Absolutely stunning footage!  Very nice!  However, I worry about you getting in trouble with the FAA.  Flying over people is a big no no even for hobbyists. Only about 10 people in the entire country have a 107.39 waiver.

I was wondering about that too.  If you read the link of the blog, there's this:

"To get permission to fly at night and over people I worked with the folks who were running Burning Man, and got them to sign off on it. When I was flying at night and near or over people (I shot with a longer lens and tried to stay as far away as possible) I had to have someone from the Burning Man organization with me, monitoring the flight to make sure everything was safe."

Somehow, I don't think the event organizer can sign off on flying over people, but I don't know.  If so, anyone could with the same "It's a private event" claim as with a wedding ceremony, but that's still illegal afaik.  Have to wait and see if the FAA makes a judgment call on it, but I doubt they will.

fansa84fe8a4 Posted at 2017-12-22 09:24
I was wondering about that too.  If you read the link of the blog, there's this:

"To get permission to fly at night and over people I worked with the folks who were running Burning Man, and got them to sign off on it. When I was flying at night and near or over people (I shot with a longer lens and tried to stay as far away as possible) I had to have someone from the Burning Man organization with me, monitoring the flight to make sure everything was safe."

I didn't see that disclaimer but like you said, not sure if that will hold up with the FAA.  When I applied for my night waiver, I had said that I would go over night illusions (which is a major concern to the FAA for night flight) with everyone that was onsite.  They initially denied my waiver saying that instructing people on site was not good enough.  I now have to carry a letter of certification from a licensed trainer for every person that is observing the flight.  Now add that complication to flying over people and at night.  Looking at the waivers of few people that have the "flying over people" waiver, their drones have to be tethered and they have to have extensive records of every aspect of each and every flight.

Blackwood Posted at 2017-12-22 09:35
I didn't see that disclaimer but like you said, not sure if that will hold up with the FAA.  When I applied for my night waiver, I had said that I would go over night illusions (which is a major concern to the FAA for night flight) with everyone that was onsite.  They initially denied my waiver saying that instructing people on site was not good enough.  I now have to carry a letter of certification from a licensed trainer for every person that is observing the flight.  Now add that complication to flying over people and at night.  Looking at the waivers of few people that have the "flying over people" waiver, their drones have to be tethered and they have to have extensive records of every aspect of each and every flight.

Yeah, I'd put the Burning Man video in the illegal part (without the FAA waivers) as well since wedding over-flights of people are a no-no as well even if the groom, bride, and pastor say it's okay, along with a $5 million liability policy.  Maybe if everyone were to sign off as being "Part of the flight crew" it might satisfy the FAA, but I don't know.  It's likely the FAA's call and not that of the organizer, imho, who can say anything although legally questionable at best.

I recall that NYC aerial film outfit the FAA went after for a lot of commercial violations in New York, $1.9 million in fact that they added up doing their commercial shoots over some time.  FAA vs. Skypan.

Cool man! I've always wanted to go there. Maybe one day - probably without my I2;)

I like to think that Law doesn't have that much meaning when the sun is rising at this event. I know it does but I think you should be let off for producing such a great video!

Really good job

fansa84fe8a4 Posted at 2017-12-22 09:52
Yeah, I'd put the Burning Man video in the illegal part (without the FAA waivers) as well since wedding over-flights of people are a no-no as well even if the groom, bride, and pastor say it's okay, along with a $5 million liability policy.  Maybe if everyone were to sign off as being "Part of the flight crew" it might satisfy the FAA, but I don't know.  It's likely the FAA's call and not that of the organizer, imho, who can say anything although legally questionable at best.

I recall that NYC aerial film outfit the FAA went after for a lot of commercial violations in New York, $1.9 million in fact that they added up doing their commercial shoots over some time.  FAA vs. Skypan.

I don't know if "Part of Crew" would work either since I know that I'm required to show proof of certified training for each of my crew members.

Altitude Drones Posted at 2017-12-22 10:46
Cool man! I've always wanted to go there. Maybe one day - probably without my I2;)

I like to think that Law doesn't have that much meaning when the sun is rising at this event. I know it does but I think you should be let off for producing such a great video!

I'd hate to see him get in trouble over this video because it's by far the best footage I've ever seen of Burning Man.  It gives you an idea of just how huge this event is and really captures the look.

Blackwood Posted at 2017-12-22 11:23
I'd hate to see him get in trouble over this video because it's by far the best footage I've ever seen of Burning Man.  It gives you an idea of just how huge this event is and really captures the look.

Agree, it's neat footage of the event.

As I recall, the FAA sanctions some normal aircraft fly-in field at the site too.  If that is the case, I could see some FAA ruling about need for two-way radios for the drone pilots as well as the aircraft that fly into the area which seems to be part of the issues that the FAA vs. Skypan link above mentions with Skypan having the no radios matter around NYC and the nearby airports.  I think they shuttle the fly-ins to and from some dirt airstrip they mark off nearby.  I'm also a licensed pilot as well and we were thinking of taking a Piper to it one year instead of the hours long car train getting in and out of there as well as the distance.  Traffic is a huge mess there.

The footage looks unbelievable!

Its a pity rules and regulations make it so hard for people to film stuff like this. Saftey I know, tho I'm sure there'd be some way that an agreement could be reached to make this style of shooting more accessible with proper training/certification/experience etc.

Very cool, would love to do some shots next year but I won't pay the ridiculous ticket price and it would be easy for me since I live in Reno.

Amazing footage of this. Truely awesome. There was a story on poo tube that a gopro was dropped, found, filmed at this festival and then returned to the owner after an appeal. The footage taken was amazing. It was passed round like a pass-the-parcel until the battery went down.

CoreyB10 Posted at 2017-12-27 03:41
Amazing footage of this. Truely awesome. There was a story on poo tube that a gopro was dropped, found, filmed at this festival and then returned to the owner after an appeal. The footage taken was amazing. It was passed round like a pass-the-parcel until the battery went down. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldE2k-KXWow

Nice find, one of my favorite burning man videos. At first I thought it fake or staged but a friend of mine spotted herself in the footage and verified, yup, fantasy sometimes not as wild as reality.

Amazing footage, but absolutely completely reckless and illegal; can't believe organizers allowed it - I was watching wondering how much might have been using a longer lens, but some shots clearly over people (1:20->1:50). I hate to be a downer, because we'd all love to go out and shoot stuff like this - but please consider what would happen if you drop a motor (as others have) or have some other failure. Personally, I think the FAA night flight rules are over the top, but the flying over people - especially naked tripping people at Burning Man, was highly irresponsible. Given how amazing the footage is (real compliment ;-), I will be very surprised if you don't hear from FAA.

Speechless, wow

Awesome footage.