sidtx
Second Officer
Flight distance : 266729 ft
United States
Offline
|
Bingo. I wasn't going to engage him, unless he provoked me further by physically attacking me. And to be perfectly honest, I probably have 5 inches (height!!!) on the guy and out weighed him by about 50 pounds. Even with his stick, I didn't feel very threatened - waving/brandishing a stick isn't any indication of knowing how to use one. I wasn't going to escalate - but neither was I going to back down. If he had advanced on me, I would have put the aircraft into a hover, with the camera on my location to record what would go down. Fortunately, he choose to leave the area.
I moved the aircraft away from him for safety reasons - I was flying ATTI mode. The area was huge, I didn't do this to deesclate the situation - after all, it was still within 100-150 feet (horizontally) of the guy. Probably a lot closer at the closest point of approach on my circles/s-turns. And, after landing, I swapped batteries and went back to flying - which probably angered him even further (he was still on the field - at the fringe and clearly saw me land, swap, and fly again).
I've had lots of good/great conversations when curious people come up and ask me about the aircraft. I always take the time to chat with people and explain anything/everything they may ask about. Occasionally, I ask them to wait a short while if I'm landing the aircraft - especially when the battery alarm is going off. But - never had a problem with that request. They just politely wait until the aircraft is shutdown, then we chat.
I think that for the most part, people are just curious. And, when responded to in a polite and enthusiastic manner, they become engaged in a positive way. We humans are a very social creature.
As for this guy, I just chalk it up to him either being 1) A bully (he intentionally walked out into a big empty field to challenge me), 2) uninformed about drones 3) crazy 4) combination of all the above!
Having said all this, The reply which really got me laughing was the poster that suggested I rip my shirt off, roll in the mud, and join the guy in screaming/yelling. That made my day!!! We could have formed the North Texas Angry Mud Society! There's probably a government grant somewhere in that thought!!
Thanks everyone for all the replies! It's nice to be part of a larger community of like-minded and interested individuals.
sid
|
|