So, just got back from South Beach Florida tonight and I couldn't wait to post this in here to get some input. I'm not gonna bore you all with a bunch of complaining so I will try to just give the details and reply to questions.

This past Saturday, my GF and I, flew to South Beach, Miami for a short vacation. Figured, a perfact oppertunity to get some awesome shots right? Well, no. Here are the details.

Phantom 3 Pro.

Prior to leaving, I did my research online. Here and in other communities about flying around South Beach. No issues. Just as long as I fly according to FAA rules. and Common Sense!

Check...

Upon arrival Saturday afternoon, decided to just hang, enjoy the above freazing temps and check out the area, eat some good food, have some drinks. etc..  All the while kinda scouting out what I wanna shoot.

Check...

Sunday, wanted to go out and shoot but weather was a little too iffy for me to shoot. Wind was a little to much for me. Random gusts of around 25 mph so yeah. No flying today.

Check...

Monday was interesting. Wind was crazy, rain off and on so yeah no. I'm starting to wonder if I am able to get some flight time in while I'm there. All the while noticing all the people and hazards and wondering if it was wise in the first place to think that I could actually be safe to fly. So, walking down a street I noticed a Miami Motercycle Police Officer. Really cool, and totally approachable. Police activity was high from what I was told because Sports Illustrated was setting up for a swim suit event going on this week. But he was a Sargent so figured I'd ask him a few questions about local laws, rules, or reqs as far as drones were concerned. His response was that there are none. That, it is FAA rules apply and that there are no Miami laws that apply. Even said that a fellow officer that he knows flies, takes pictures and buidings and such all the time. Side note.. He also said though that in his opinion there should be some local rules. Didn't ask what they would be as I was just wanting to reassured that it is cool to fly. His answer was plain and simple. Yes... "Happy Face"

Check...

Tuesday. Almost no wind at all. Sunny, Clear. Perfact weather! I wake up early and start charging. Had them all below 25% for the trip down on the plane.

The plan.

Had 5 shots I wanted to do. Now, I'm not sure how many of you have been to south beach before. You have Ocean Drive. Its the main drag. Next to that you have like a park area. Palm trees and grass, then you have the concrete bike path that weaves in and out. A short wall, a sandy area then a berm. On the other side of the berm is the beach then the ocean. Google it if you like to get a perspective. Anyhow I chose to set up in the spot between the berm and the small wall. I open my hard case and as I am pulling out my phantom, I Miami Police cruiser pulls up right next to me and the Officer that was driving asked me if I have a permit to fly my drone. I told him that its registered with the FAA and started to put out my phone to bring up the certificate. Then he said, No. I mean with Miami. that I need to goto the city hall and get a permit to fly because it has a camera. I said are you sure? that I was told that there was no Miami permit needed by a miami police sargent just yesturday. Just the FAA registration. Which I have of course. He said, no, it's because of all the people laying on the beach and stuff. I said that I'm not planning on filming the beach, but the skyline, myself and some hotels from a distance.  The the Officer in the passenger seat kinda got an attitude with me it seemed and said, Look, just grab your cell phone and call city hall. Now for the disclaimer.... I am a disabled Veteran. I struggle with PTSD and have issues with anger and anything stressful. So, at this point I said ok. Thanked them for letting me know, packed my phantom back up, took it back up to the hotel and spent the rest of the day so pissed... Figured the last thing I need is to have this officer see me fly and come and take it and me away. And I totally have the up most respect for the law, and the men and women that protect it.

I didn't call City Hall. Would have I been willing to get a permit if needed? Sure thing. But at this point in my vacation would it be worth it in my opinion. Didn't wanna have to deal with it as it would have taken up to much time.

So yeah, I don't know. Had to spend several hours yesturday in my hotel room dischargeing my batteries. I don't know what I am looking for in this post but it really pissed me off.

Did I do anything wrong? Looking for some input. What do you all think? Should I have done something different? Was I in the Right/Wrong? I plan on doing alot of traveling and filming. I don't know, Will I have to contact city hall everywhere I go? I want to make sure that I do this the right way so any help would be awesome....

DW

Why didn't you just call City Hall?  You would have had confirmation either way.

I was way to pumped up to deal with Miami City Hall man. By the time I would get permission or what ever, It would be time for me to come home

whatscookingtim Posted at 2016-2-18 09:33
I was way to pumped up to deal with Miami City Hall man. By the time I would get permission or what  ...

You just need to learn from the experience.  Unfortunately we all face similar problems, in that half of the people you expect to know stuff don't & other who say they do know stuff don't either.

The only answer is to know stuff for sure & be prepared to back it up with documentary evidence if needed.

I'm assuming you still don't know who was right.  I'd be inclined to make the call now, even though you have no intention of flying, just so you get an idea of what to expect elsewhere in the future.

First, South Beach is in the city of Miami Beach. If you had called the city of Miami City Hall you would have been calling the wrong municipality. I flew my drone on Miami Beach last Saturday and it was uneventful, and the weather was great. The difference is that I was in South Point Park and right on the beach, but not far from where you were.

For commercial purposes Miami Beach does require a film permit (for still and video) which requires liability insurance and a $100 permit fee. I have not tried to fly down Ocean Drive but I would not be surprised to have the same experience.

Living in Miami, I know why they had an issue.  It is not the drone, but the camera.  Like you said Sport illustrated was doing photo shoot, as do other modeling agencies and they forced certain local laws about taking video and pictures because of this (afraid you are going to steal their work, also privacy concerns).  The permit process is actually quite quick, but you should call them a head of time.
What I do when there, but have not with my drone is to get out there first light (5-6 AM).  Barely anyone is out, and fly then.Film Permit Information Center
One Stop Permits
FAQ
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH - FILM AND PRINT OFFICE TEL: (305) 673-7070  Email: film@miamibeachfl.gov  
NOTE: if Sports Illistrated or any other commercial based film/photo company was not around, They would have ignored you completely.
WHO NEEDS A FILM & PRINT PERMIT? Individuals or businesses wishing to conduct commercial film, television, video, online media, radio and photography projects (hereafter referred to as “Productions”) must obtain a Film & Print permit from the City of Miami Beach (hereafter referred to as “City”). Film & Print permits are issued for both public and private properties. Production activities taking place on private commercially zoned property may not require a permit, as long as those activities (including all support vehicles and equipment) are completely self-contained within the property. Any production activities that require city services, including meter rentals, use of off-duty police or fire, etc., require a Film & Print permit. The permit shall be available for inspection at the site on which the production is to occur. Upon the request of any police officer or code enforcement officer of the City, the owner, lessee or representative of the production company shall exhibit such permit.  

microcyb Posted at 2016-2-18 09:29
Living in Miami, I know why they had an issue.  It is not the drone, but the camera.  Like you said  ...

Then the question becomes what is commercial? A tourist walking around with a camera is not a problem. A tourist with a model, a tripod, reflector, and light stand, PROBLEM.

As someone who has worked most of his adult life as a photographer I have pulled permits in the past. On the occasions that I did, it was a joy to whip it out when the popo told me that I could not shoot there. It was as if I had killed their joy. The nice thing about pulling a permit is that if your project requires crowd control you can hire off duty police officers to perform that task for you. That could also include blocking off a city street if that is what is stated in the permit.

I do not shoot much commercially these days and I no longer have liability insurance coverage. But if drone use is approved in the near future for commercial use I might buy it again and pull permits if required. If by doing so I am able to get video and still that are in short supply, thereby giving me a leg up in the market, it would be worth it.

igot2n0 Posted at 2016-2-18 10:10
Then the question becomes what is commercial? A tourist walking around with a camera is not a prob ...

Well, they have to assume all persons with higher end equipment are doing video and photo for productions purposes.  Last time I was there I had a GoPro attached to a Feiyu G3 Ultra 3-Axis Handheld Gimbal.  They approached me asking for my permit.  I simply said, I am a tourist and not recording for any profit or commercial work.  They informed me not to record around existing licensed agencies that are in the area doing commercial work and was on my way.
Dade country in Miami makes extra money from commercial production companies since it is a very popular area for modeling, and other things such as exotic cars, etc.
So you either get out very early, or late in the even before the sun is going down when commercial agencies are not around.  then, the cops wont ask for your permit since that is not a prime time.

I don't know...maybe get the name and badge number of the first police officer. Tell the second police officer you had the permission from the first officer and gave the second officer the first officers name and badge number. Maybe have the second officer call the first officer to confirm that the first officer did "in fact" say it cool for you to fly and if that really be the case, the second officer might call the first officer an "idiot" for giving you permission to fly in the first place because the first officer doesn't have a clue on local laws and regulations. Might be that the second officer doesn't have a clue! I don't know....just saying!

mjlstudios@yaho Posted at 2016-2-19 01:19
I don't know...maybe get the name and badge number of the first police officer. Tell the second poli ...

Gotta disagree there.  Just because Officer1 said it was ok and seemed to know what he was talking about, doesn't mean that it was.  Don't think you would have a lot of luck pitting one officer against the other.

Even more reason for me to just fly in rural areas.  

Just play the mission impossible song and get to flying.

I was on South Beach last month and will be back there again in April. I have been contemplating taking my Phantom with me in April. Maybe I'll just leave it behind- sounds like it's probably not worth the hassle. The only time I plan to use the drone is at sunrise though in any populated areas.

Limiting it to just rural areas is all well and good but personally I love both country and city photography. I have no interest in video at this point.

I walked all over Ocean Drive with a tripod, Nikon D750 and large wide angle lens on two different nights- no one bothered me thankfully. I got dozens of photos of South Beach. An aerial of it def would've been cool though .

igot2n0 Posted at 2016-2-18 10:10
Then the question becomes what is commercial? A tourist walking around with a camera is not a prob ...

Exactly why I bought a drone- it will allow me many unique photos that most others can't produce. Most of the photographers I know haven't hopped aboard the drone train yet.

Here is the vid that I shot on South Beach last weekend. I have never tried to display a video before so in case it does not work go to: http://ccgworld.com/drone_video/so_point720p.mov


Obviously did not work.

Thanks for all the replies

I think that in the future, I will call ahead and ask. We have another trip coming up this summer to Colorado. Most of the shots I plan on taking will not be around any towns or cities so I'd imagine that it will be a lot easier. To Vegas in October then Phoenix in December. Hoping to get some awesome desert shots. Then finally another trip to Florida in February 2017.

It is just frustrating when I see people riding around on their bikes with go-pros, or on a street corner with their tripods. Which is great. I do that myself sometimes. But I'm not really interested in filming people. Mostly the buildings and nature. The perspectives that I've never been able to see before, not to mention in 4K, are mind blowing, I guess I will just chalk this one off as a learning experience.

Again everyone... Thank you so much for taking the time to reply.

DW

igot2n0 Posted at 2016-2-18 18:33
Here is the vid that I shot on South Beach last weekend. I have never tried to display a video befor ...

It worked fine for me. Cool video man. Thanks for sharing.

whatscookingtim Posted at 2016-2-18 19:16
Thanks for all the replies

I think that in the future, I will call ahead and ask. We have another ...

I think that in the future, I will call ahead and ask.

Always get it in writing, and be sure the source has the authority to give you permission.

igot2n0 Posted at 2016-2-18 19:33
Here is the vid that I shot on South Beach last weekend. I have never tried to display a video befor ...

Awesome vid man!

I think any time you fly near children, or women in swimsuits, you are likely to get some flak because they think you are zooming the camera right on them, when in reality each person is just a few dozen pixels if you're more than 50 feet or so away.

I will give you all a spot where to launch.  This has little people traffic, little police patrols, and a safe launch point.  Avoid launching along Ocean Drive or on the Beach itself.Make sure to get up to at least 100M first then fly around like crazy.

Thanks for your service Brother.

Semper Fi,

Jerry

Dr. Acula Posted at 2016-2-18 15:12
Gotta disagree there.  Just because Officer1 said it was ok and seemed to know what he was talking ...

I wasn't being serious! Just a bit of a sarcastic rant.

whatscookingtim Posted at 2016-2-18 17:16
Thanks for all the replies

I think that in the future, I will call ahead and ask. We have another trip coming up this summer to Colorado. Most of the shots I plan on taking will not be around any towns or cities so I'd imagine that it will be a lot easier. To Vegas in October then Phoenix in December. Hoping to get some awesome desert shots. Then finally another trip to Florida in February 2017.

Miami drone flyer here. Next time do this. Download airmap. File a flight plan get the automatic waiver. Notice there are no flight restrictions on south beach. If south beach cops question you again tell them yes you have a permit give them the FAA authorization number that was sent to you on airmap if the have any questions to contact the FAA. FAA trumps local law enforcement so if FAA says you can fly on the beach and they have in issue with that they need to contact FAA. Also I recommend flying at south pointe park. It’s at the southern most tip of south beach. Lots of drone flyers go there way better shots to. Good luck let us know how it goes