I was just about to fly my P3P in the bonnet Carrie spillway right outside of New Orleans. It is  monitored by the Army Corps of Engineers.  I was told by a park ranger that Drones were not allowed. At the same time that he was telling me that Drones were not allowed the AMA were flying their R/C airplanes about 200 yards away. I asked how they got permission to fly but I couldn't ? He said they have been coming here for years but he was told by his supperiors not to let  people fly Drones. I am going to go back during the week and talk to them when the office is open because I don't see how they can allow some remote controlled devices but not others.

Agreed, that is BS, not sure the "grandfathered" clause is going to hold in this case,
Rules have to apply to all equally in that case IMHO...

Not sure if the Yogi was reasonable or not otherwise but i would have offered him a demo of what it is you would be able to see,

Anyhow, good luck...

A couple things;  Do the Park rules allow UAS in general?  Were the AMA guys flying at a Model Airport within the park?  

The State Park near my house ONLY ALLOWS R/C vehicles, boats, planes, cars, Quads, etc in designated areas.    Within this State Park there is a Model Airport. So you can fly within that area with the blessing of the Park/Park Rangers.   The LHS tried to take an R/C boat out there where Jet Skis, Power boats, pontoon boats, etc are allowed, but R/C boats are NOT allowed,  Park Rangers saw this and made them take the boat out of the water.  There are actually no zones in that park that allows R/C boats...
I ask those question cause if those AMA guys are flying within a legitimate Model Airport then you have every right to fly within that model airport area as the park apparently created it for UAS use.   IF they are flying there because the Park allows them to fly EVEN THOUGH the written Park rules forbids it, then the Park Ranger is violating the rules by letting them fly and the Ranger should be reported.  I'd video it and take it to the people in charge of the State Park....

Now one final thing, the Park Rule may actually exclude "Drones" from flying. If thats the case, you're going to have to fight the Parks Commission to get that changed... Good Luck!

Hmmm... I wonder if those RC planes have failsafes built into them? Will they return home and land if communication is lost?  Hmmm....

I agree with North. That is pure B.S. Just an opinion.

Barney

Northofthe49th Posted at 2016-2-28 09:49
Agreed, that is BS, not sure the "grandfathered" clause is going to hold in this case,
Rules have t ...

The ranger was very nice and just doing what his superiors were telling him. He did actually ask a lot of questions about the drone. I offered to show him but he wouldn't allow me to take off

QuadBart Posted at 2016-2-28 09:50
A couple things;  Do the Park rules allow UAS in general?  Were the AMA guys flying at a Model Airpo ...

The AMA guys were flying from a  r/c  airport in the park. I purposely went  away from them , not to interfere with their flights. I  drove over there and there is a sign there that says spillway rc club and the ama information on it.

I looked on line and there is a spill war rc club that you have to be a ama member to join. I guess they are going to say that you have to be a member of the club to fly there, I will be there one day this week and will post what happens

ray1193 Posted at 2016-2-28 09:09
The AMA guys were flying from a  r/c  airport in the park. I purposely went  away from them , not  ...

Thats what I figured.  My State Park will only let you fly at the Model Airport.  I have heard of people asking a Park Ranger if they could fly elsewhere and they let them during the week when there aren't many people around.  But that is the exception....  

It is TOTAL B.S. IF you are a member of that flying club and staying within the boundaries of that Model Airport and they tell you "NO DRONES"...  

Perhaps it's in the wording? I would assume a RC Model aircraft, would be a small model version of a real aircraft.
Perhaps "technically" the drone is not a model?

Rather than being a toy or "model" of a drone.., it's an actual drone.

Join the club, AMA, you get liability insurance that way.

RedHotPoker

As Red said,one important difference might be that by being a member of AMA is you have insurance in case of accidents and such (an not just when flying in an AMA designated area).  However, by the same token, could he stop you from flying if it was an AMA designated Fly Zone and you were a member flying a quad in the designated area?