In threads and logs it sometimes becomes apparent that people are flying their drone in a way that appears to break their country's rules.
I am interested in whether or not people think we should advise such people that they may be breaking those rules, primarily my concern is height and the risk of putting a drone up into manned aircraft airspace but there is also the thought in my mind that these people might not know of the existance of the rules. Additionally such threads/posts could be giving the authorites the evidence to prosecute the poster.
People have been successfully prosecuted for posting you tubes of their speeding in their car or on their motorcycle.
Then there is that guy who posted the youtube of his flight into an American Football game stadium whilst a game was being played. He has, I believe, been proscecuted and is awaiting sentencing.

AGL is hard to judge remotely,  without at least pulling maps to see if the flight actually went up a hill etc,    as for VLOS I dont think its worth getting involved,   Ive mentioned it a few times and usually people claim they can see the drone at some incredible distances or they used multiple spotters along the route, or insert some other mitigating excuse here.   

my number one rule is myob.  however, i don't think it is inappropriate to call out someone because it might get them in trouble because i don't believe we are there yet with out legal system when it comes to drones and agl / vlos.

DAFlys Posted at 4-26 01:48
AGL is hard to judge remotely,  without at least pulling maps to see if the flight actually went up a hill etc,    as for VLOS I dont think its worth getting involved,   Ive mentioned it a few times and usually people claim they can see the drone at some incredible distances or they used multiple spotters along the route, or insert some other mitigating excuse here.

With regards to height in some cases I would agree and generally I do have a look at a map especially if the log has been posted via Phantomhelp etc. but there have been quite a few 1000ft+ high flights and several going up to around 500m (relative to the home point) over flat or descending terrain.

Sean-bumble-bee Posted at 4-26 02:08
With regards to height in some cases I would agree and generally I do have a look at a map especially if the log has been posted via Phantomhelp etc. but there have been quite a few 1000ft+ high flights and several going up to around 500m (relative to the home point) over flat or descending terrain.

Yes.   I agree with those extremes.   But sometime you see say 600ft and in those cases it hard to tell if thats not reasonable as they flew up a hill.

Curious if you had an experience recently that prompted the poll?

DAFlys Posted at 4-26 02:12
Yes.   I agree with those extremes.   But sometime you see say 600ft and in those cases it hard to tell if thats not reasonable as they flew up a hill.

Curious if you had an experience recently that prompted the poll?

"experience" as in literally saw someone do it? Then no I have not.
The poll stems from threads and logs.

If we bear in mind that possibly the primary object of a forum is mutual help and encouragement, then yes - maybe we should tactfully point out things which may have been done wrong. The thing about advice is, it costs nothing - and can be accepted or ignored as the recipient sees fit.

What is aberrant in the drone law in Europe is that sellers have absolutely no legal obligation to inform the buyer that this law exists.
So I think yes a firendly remind is not a bad thing.

Outside the forum, face to face, for the most dangerous cases, I would not hesitate to call the police if the person refuses to understand.

The Saint Posted at 4-26 02:04
my number one rule is myob.  however, i don't think it is inappropriate to call out someone because it might get them in trouble because i don't believe we are there yet with out legal system when it comes to drones and agl / vlos.

I pondered for a while before responding to this thread, as I do tend to the myob school of thought. But in the end I answered "yes", and gave my reasons to the OP in a reply.
If there's a chance that a gentle reminder might help someone to avoid a future misdemeanour, then that's within the spirit of the community, in my view.  If the advice is ignored, or worse, causes offence, then that's just too bad.  I wouldn't lose any sleep over it

Blériot53 Posted at 4-26 08:05
I pondered for a while before responding to this thread, as I do tend to the myob school of thought. But in the end I answered "yes", and gave my reasons to the OP in a reply.
If there's a chance that a gentle reminder might help someone to avoid a future misdemeanour, then that's within the spirit of the community, in my view.  If the advice is ignored, or worse, causes offence, then that's just too bad.  I wouldn't lose any sleep over it

agreed, i have been known to comment on a video "those cars and houses are pretty small, do you guys have a 400 feet agl rule in your country?" or something similar.  hopefully it becomes a moot conversation at some point in the future when we can take full advantage of shielded operations and remote id helps with bvlos.  maybe not so much lately because in america, everybody has to take a trust test so everyone should know the rules no excuses and if you fly over 400 feet agl, you pretty much know you're breaking the rules.  it's a public forum and the spirit of the community is pretty broad imo....but not always.

i went to my usual spot yesterday (in controlled airspace) and found a guy flying his toy fpv and im pretty sure he didn't get laanc.  i didn't ask or say anything because it's still pretty common around here.

The Saint Posted at 4-26 08:36
agreed, i have been known to comment on a video "those cars and houses are pretty small, do you guys have a 400 feet agl rule in your country?" or something similar.  hopefully it becomes a moot conversation at some point in the future when we can take full advantage of shielded operations and remote id helps with bvlos.  maybe not so much lately because in america, everybody has to take a trust test so everyone should know the rules no excuses and if you fly over 400 feet agl, you pretty much know you're breaking the rules.  it's a public forum and the spirit of the community is pretty broad imo....but not always.

i went to my usual spot yesterday (in controlled airspace) and found a guy flying his toy fpv and im pretty sure he didn't get laanc.  i didn't ask or say anything because it's still pretty common around here.

Infractions are common in the UK too. Don't know if you caught my comments about an incident which occured last year in a neighbouring town to me, in the same county.
Only serves to harm our hobby:

https://www.derbyshire.police.uk ... 0May%20next%20year.

Blériot53 Posted at 4-26 08:49
Infractions are common in the UK too. Don't know if you caught my comments about an incident which occured last year in a neighbouring town to me, in the same county.
Only serves to harm our hobby:

i actually remember the incident but wasnt aware of the penalties.  i agree this is certainly a violation that should be dealt with.  not so sure about the [harsh] penalties but that's neither here nor there i guess.

The Saint Posted at 4-26 09:25
i actually remember the incident but wasnt aware of the penalties.  i agree this is certainly a violation that should be dealt with.  not so sure about the [harsh] penalties but that's neither here nor there i guess.

All fuel for the press to demonize our hobby further.

Im not so concerned about keeping someone from getting into trouble as I am the harm to our hobby.

I "used to be" a passionate  rc sailplane flyer with several thousand dollars of hi end sailplanes. Used to be.

Thats almost entirely due to drone flyers who didnt give a crap about the rules covering controlled airspace or basic safety or even courtesy and common sense. Now I can no longer enjoy my passion.

I worry about even more restrictions coming down in the future, so Im all for politely educating people, reminding them of the rules and then if necessary, calling them out. I have no hesitation about calling the authorities if necessary.

I think we NEED to do this because many, if not most of these people, come to the forums and post about their flights to get their 'fix' - approval and admiration for their exploits. This craving for approval is as bad as any drug and NOT calling them out just encourages them more.

Blériot53 Posted at 4-26 07:48
If we bear in mind that possibly the primary object of a forum is mutual help and encouragement, then yes - maybe we should tactfully point out things which may have been done wrong. The thing about advice is, it costs nothing - and can be accepted or ignored as the recipient sees fit.

Totally agree if it is offered as "help".  

I don't think a friendly reminder hurts.  

DowntownRDB Posted at 4-26 12:57
Totally agree if it is offered as "help".

It's not always seen as such, regrettably.

Blériot53 Posted at 4-26 13:02
It's not always seen as such, regrettably.

Yeah, I've seen a few of those threads where it was not taken as constructive help.  I always have to tell myself to try and MYOB.  My grandfather always taught us to help others but when they don't want help to back off.  His other saying was You Can't Fix Stupid.

DowntownRDB Posted at 4-26 13:33
Yeah, I've seen a few of those threads where it was not taking as constructive help.  I always have to tell myself to try and MYOB.  My grandfather always taught us to help others but when they don't want help to back off.  His other saying was You Can't Fix Stupid.

A truism  

Blériot53 Posted at 4-26 13:35
A truism

Indeed it is.  

Most of the people you'd like to educate are well aware of the rules.
Your nagging isn't going to make any difference to them.

Sean-bumble-bee Posted at 4-26 02:25
"experience" as in literally saw someone do it? Then no I have not.
The poll stems from threads and logs.

I meant an experience with the forum recently.