I'd planned to go somewhere picturesque, but St Patricks Day yesterday saw me have one too many pints of Guinness, so i only got as far as a local park This was quite a high altitude pano - would they be why the horizon is a little wonky in places?  

We're 18 days into autumn here in New Zealand - winter is coming!

Hi there,

Perhaps as a local, you can explain why beautiful New Zealand which has some of the world's most beautiful scenery has become so drone hostile.

I completely understand the need for responsible flying, not being a nuisance over people and private property and competing uses of airspace but the restrictions on flying in remote areas are IMO too strong and are perhaps driven by tourist related businesses like helicopter companies and a few intolerant people.

Queenstown and Wanaka used to be quite neutral to UAV's but they are now positively unfriendly.

Posting images like what you did may give outsiders a mistaken impression that UAVs are OK. What say you?

I gotta say, here in Hamilton, i don't think drones get too much of a hostile reception. In the same session i took this pano, i had a guy, his son in a pram, and his mother in a motorised wheelchair, all stop to have a look. I'd just landed and was about to pack up. The mother said "Are you finishing or going to take off again?", i said "I was going to head home, but i still have a full battery if you want to see what it can do?" - "Oh yes please!" she replied. So i had the drone whizzing over, the kid in the pram laughing away as i did fly-bys.

A few other people from the playground came over to have a look - everyone was basically really friendly, and just interested in the technology. I guess it could just be Hamilton; the guys in the pickup/ute on the side of carpark where it's the only car had been hooning around on a dirt-bike, so a drone probably seemed quite tame by comparison to that, lol.

I think it's just a matter of being respectful of others, taking the time to be friendly, answer their questions - try and combat the bad press drones are always getting in the media. Mike-the-cat, are you finding that it's locals that are upset with tourists bringing in and using drones? Or is it the other way around?  Or something different again?

I can only speak of the experiences i've had, and they have all been positive so far (despite only having the drone for a month now, i've had many interactions with members of the public). And you can see from the picture that i'm over a public park, not flying over any private property - i'm not breaking any laws at all. So i gotta say, i suppose my view is quite the opposite of yours; i don't want to give the mistaken impression that UAV's aren't okay!   

Great shot mate!

Nice shot, thank you!

Great view

Nice way to view the world.

Face-AcheNZ Posted at 2018-3-18 01:22
I gotta say, here in Hamilton, i don't think drones get too much of a hostile reception. In the same session i took this pano, i had a guy, his son in a pram, and his mother in a motorised wheelchair, all stop to have a look. I'd just landed and was about to pack up. The mother said "Are you finishing or going to take off again?", i said "I was going to head home, but i still have a full battery if you want to see what it can do?" - "Oh yes please!" she replied. So i had the drone whizzing over, the kid in the pram laughing away as i did fly-bys.

A few other people from the playground came over to have a look - everyone was basically really friendly, and just interested in the technology. I guess it could just be Hamilton; the guys in the pickup/ute on the side of carpark where it's the only car had been hooning around on a dirt-bike, so a drone probably seemed quite tame by comparison to that, lol.

I agree with Face-AcheNZ. and I quote  "I think it's just a matter of being respectful of others, taking the time to be friendly, answer their questions - try and combat the bad press drones are always getting in the media." Well said!

And Yes ,your Pano was pretty good.

Was it a warm day? Looks like you picked a perfect day to take this shot.

davidmartingraf Posted at 2018-3-19 14:24
Was it a warm day? Looks like you picked a perfect day to take this shot.

We're 3 weeks into Autumn here in NZ, so it was warm-ish, but not as hot as it has been. Not sure if you can tell, but the sky in that pano is a solid blanket of cloud cover     If we get cloud like that overnight, it has a tendency to keep the heat in - actually really nice; warm, but without feeling like you're baking in the beating down sun.

B1houdini Posted at 2018-3-19 14:11
I agree with Face-AcheNZ. and I quote  "I think it's just a matter of being respectful of others, taking the time to be friendly, answer their questions - try and combat the bad press drones are always getting in the media." Well said!

And Yes ,your Pano was pretty good.

Thanks Houdini!

Face-AcheNZ Posted at 2018-3-19 14:53
We're 3 weeks into Autumn here in NZ, so it was warm-ish, but not as hot as it has been. Not sure if you can tell, but the sky in that pano is a solid blanket of cloud cover     If we get cloud like that overnight, it has a tendency to keep the heat in - actually really nice; warm, but without feeling like you're baking in the beating down sun.

I figured it had to be good the temperature given how still the camera focus maintained such good visual effects of the shot.

Awesome pano