DroneFlying
Captain
Flight distance : 10774613 ft
United States
Offline
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jcgoobee Posted at 2018-1-9 09:56
Hi DroneFlying,
Thanks for taking the time to explain more in details. I have a scenario and would be interested what your thoughts are.
in this case, am I still flying responsibly?
Flying "responsibly" is subjective so I'm hesitant to answer without knowing more about the circumstances, and even if I did answer it would still only one anonymous person's opinion. If you were out in the middle of the Pacific ocean then I'd probably say you were (flying responsibly), but if this was near a densely populated area with lots of air traffic then probably not.
Am I breaking the law in anyway?
That's a different question and again, one that's not easily answered, but I'd guess probably not, and being over 400' doesn't automatically make it a violation of any law or regulation in the United States. There is, of course, the 5-mile notification requirement for recreational flight; if you didn't provide the appropriate notification(s) and satisfy all the other conditions for recreational flight then you were effectively required to operate under Part 107 and yes, would have been violating FAA regulations.
The reason I asked . . . people were throwing stones at me and said I have broken the law and didn't practice safe navigation.
This was on the internet, right? Yeah, virtue signaling (demonstrating one's "goodness" by condemning others' behavior or beliefs) is popular these days, especially on the internet and especially where flying drones is concerned. Post a video of anything other than flying two feet above a vacant lot and somebody's sure to come along and tell you that you did something wrong, even if it's only in the context of their personal preferences that are inevitably more restrictive than what the actual laws and regulations demand.
I just want to make sure that I'm doing the right thing and know my limit, legally especially.
Well, then frankly you shouldn't be taking advice from me or any other anonymous person on the internet. If you have questions or concerns and really want to be sure then you should contact the FAA directly and get answers from the only source that really matters in the U.S. |
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