Dear Forum Members,
I sometime fly in front of my house and always fly around 160 ft to be safe from obstacles. I like the course lock feature, I try to stay in the line of sight to see the Phantom run the course. Yesterday I had a police officer and a women at my front door. She accused me of invading her privacy because I was hovering over her house. The Officer with the women perused the neiborhood and found my house because of a section of cardboard with an H painted on it that I made, It was on my lawn. He advised me that the women was crying when he picked her up. He told me that I broke no laws and asked me if I knew of any City Rules or Ordinances about Drones. I advised him I called the city and they had none. I invited them in my house and showed them the video I just took.
At 160 ft people looked like ants and the cars looked like toys. I gave the women my name and phone number and asked for hers. She refused to give me any of her information. I told her I just wanted it so I could avoid flying over her area, she just pointed in a general direction in the sky. It's getting strange out there.
Weird Day.
Best Regards,
William E. Burrows Jr.

Weird... my neighbours often ring on my door asking me if I could fly around a bit because they like the drone, none of them ever complained about privacy stuff. Guess that woman was having hard time with modern technology

That's great that you invited them in to see the video. If some of the people who complain could see the video from 50-100ft they would see that it's no big deal. Now if your 20ft in someones yard hovering then that's a different story.

Hi ,William
Maybe the drone was hovering in front of her and made her scary . But she should accept the drone ! Everyone loves it !

I fly at a local park. After about 10 minutes I have everyone looking up at the sky. Lots of questions. I think i even made a sale for DJI last weekend haha

A city near me has a mayor who wants to "get in front of this thing" and wants an ordinance that would forbid any "Drones" that had a camera or (get this) "listening device".   This tells you right there that he has not researched anything and has been watching too much TV.  Luckily there are councilmen that have and at one meeting a number of people came and talked the council into waiting until the Feds and the state have drafted the new laws which are suppose to be done by July of 2016.

Me neighbors saw me flying in my backyard and actually yelled over the fence to have me fly into their yard because they wanted to see it! I took the video and sent it over to them so they could see what I was seeing. They thought it was the coolest thing ever.

Now I've been flying out of my yard now and again and whenever they see it they just wave.

The items in this thread are great. I have a neighbor who wants me to not fly over his property, and I simply told him, I don't snoop, the video isn't detailed at 100 feet or so, and if he wants to control the air, talk to the FAA.
He also wanted me to not take pictures of people on his property. I asked if that was to include a burglar?
Remember you may own to the moon, but the space you can reasonably use, you control, and the rest is controlled by the FAA not the home owner. Best I've heard to explain this, if you get on your roof with a rake, and hold it over your head straight up, the tip of the rake is the highest you can control of the air over your property.
Snooping, using pictures for personal gain that could be demeaning or worst are both illegal whether you are on the ground using a camera or in the air using a drone.
You have rights, do not give them away. But being considerate is always nice too.
Some folks decide not to fly over a complainer's property. That is a decision you make not him or her. Don't let those with no rights control your fun or recreation.

I am waiting on my P3S to arrive, but when flying my Syma X5C1 or X11 outside, i normally wait until night if i am in front of my house, or drive to somewhere away from people a nearby church has a large field behind, and that works.

My block has a ton of kids that play during the day, and i dont want them to try to come up and touch it or to bother the parents.

Just because i have the right to, doesnt mean its a great idea.

Now, if no one is outside and people are just spotting it through a window then thats different,but use your best judgement.

Most of my neighbors really like my P3A.  But nearly everyone who I talk to who are not familiar with Phantoms think that they have super-zooming cameras.  Most people think that the "drone-thing" is exactly like CIA/MI6 surveillance satellites.  Go figure...

This is funny as just a couple days ago I had a female that lives down the block start shouting profanity and threats at me and my P3P as I was just flying up and down along the ditches and railroad tracks. Not once was I near her property or even pointed her direction. Kindly offered her the opportunity to call the police if she felt there was a problem. Surprisingly no call to the police and no visit from them. I've flown at parks, beaches, around my neighborhood, and never once had any issue until then. And the last few years any time I've had any incident with the local police it's been nice to see they've been knowledgeable of the local, state, and even federal laws and don't bother people.

jasper7821@yaho Posted at 2015-11-30 21:32
That's great that you invited them in to see the video. If some of the people who complain could see ...

Yes, there's a legislator in Florida who's been trying to pass a bill regarding drones - won't go into the raw details, but it's a pretty strange idea that's driving her potential bill.

I've been thinking about writing her and asking if she's ever seen an actual video produced from any of these craft. The uninitiated, inexperienced and just plain don't know-don't care attitude is frustrating. There are people out there who seem to think we're all equipped with the latest James Bond stuff.

Obviously, the pictures leave something to be desired if you're looking for lots of detail and, if you want to get close enough to get that detail, it's pretty difficult to even be subtle, much less stealthy!

Art - N4PJ
Leesburg, FL

arives@capecod. Posted at 2015-12-1 12:08
The items in this thread are great. I have a neighbor who wants me to not fly over his property, and ...

The "rake rule" is BS. There is no such thing. There *are* laws in effect governing how far over your house is yours and at what height you "lose" control. But there's no rake - I'll bet my rake is bigger than your rake! LOL

boxerman Posted at 2015-12-2 00:01
Most of my neighbors really like my P3A.  But nearly everyone who I talk to who are not familiar wit ...

Hey - those people have seen semi-spy satellite photos on TV. They seem to think we can do the same thing!

I remember years ago, around the time of the U2 the Russians shot down (Francis Gary Powers). At that time the photography was apparently good enough to see the lines in a parking lot from 100k feet. Rumors now are that there are cameras sophisticated enough to identify a man or woman from a satellite photo. Our Phantom cameras are just a little less capable than that! (he said, tongue-in-cheek!)

james98520 Posted at 2015-12-2 05:50
This is funny as just a couple days ago I had a female that lives down the block start shouting prof ...

The local police and a few city employees tend to congregate where my friends and I fly. They fly mostly planes and I fly my Phantom and Chroma. The sightseers always seem to show up about the time we get there (10 AM) and are anxious to see what we're doing.

My friends with the planes joke that the planes are more difficult - "...a six-year-old can fly a drone." But my drones seem to get most of the attention, particular because I can shoot a much better controlled video. The majority of the people who talk to me seem to be more interested in the photography aspect of the craft - which is primarily the reason I got involved.

Art - N4PJ
Leesburg, FL
Di-Da-Dit

most neighbors are cool.  some are d-bags.  i met one of the latter last night.  a guy i gave a book to cause i see him reading books similar to mine.  oh well.

I have had amazing conversations with people interesting in my drone flying.

A few times people have been hostile, but an overwhelming willingness to talk, share and connect on the (reality of drone flight) makes quick converts.  Exploration, photography and fun, its that simple.

For me its all about 'us' being amazing ambassadors and teachers on what this technology can be used for, vs. falling into people's fears of privacy.  

We had a neighborhood 'creep' when I was a kid.  Dude was caught with boxes of photos he took sneaking around women's homes.  Didn't  hear a word about concerns for privacy and rules around (Camera/polaroid) usage in the 80's

Stay safe pilots.

This post makes me wonder:

How long before there is a drone on the market (similar to a P3) for under $2000 that has a powerful optical zoom on the camera, capable of reading a license plate from 150 feet up?

I only have one neighbor who knows I have a drone. I always take off quickly, land quickly.... And most importantly, fly over other neighborhoods besides my own.

aburkefl@gmail. Posted at 2015-12-2 23:08
The "rake rule" is BS. There is no such thing. There *are* laws in effect governing how far over y ...

Oh my. Your rake is bigger than mine? How can that be? It means you control more air than I do, and that can't be right, right?
I never said it was a rule. The enabling act for the FAA says it controls the air above what you can reasonably use. Simple. Easy peasy.