I'm in katy any good spots to go fly?

I flew mine over the protests in downtown yesterday. Houston is kinda boring when it comes to drone footage, not much to look at.

Hi From LA.  

I wound up flying george bush park just to get some stick time.

browncoat Posted at 2017-1-22 15:48
I wound up flying george bush park just to get some stick time.

Which drone are you flying?

currently im flying the p4.

Mo. City here! Still waiting for the delivery of my Mavic. I have a hubson 501s, a cheap gps drone, and a few RC planes.

Mo. City here! Still waiting for the delivery of my Mavic. I have a hubson 501s, a cheap gps drone, and a few RC planes. If your ever near downtown huston you can fly along Buffalo b

I live in West Houston, right off the Katy Freeway near the hospitals.   Out Katy way and past towards Brookshire, there are some older bridges and abandoned factories, but in general, I agree that it's hard to find a lot of interesting things to take shots of.  For me, filming endless fields of scrub gets boring pretty quickly.  At the same time, its great for flying because there's not much in the way.  I'm looking forward to bluebonnet season... the hill country should have some nice shots then.

I've been curious... I mostly fly where there aren't any people.  Now that I have a mavic, I've been thinking about fly into town, but I was wondering how well drones have been accepted by folks in the Houston area.  Has anyone been talked to (or more) by any law enforcement?

Also, Just looking around there doesn't seem to be a super active flying clubs for 3D flying.  (The "fixed wing" folks here seem to be extra resistant to drone flying.)  But I was wondering if there any good groups or any good spots for flying.

Just started breaking in my P4 in Spring yesterday.  I know there's some interesting areas up around the Woodlands conference center that should be more scenic.  I figure I'll start out with the rail yard and old town Spring first though.

For Katy (parents live out there) - I'd probably go fly around old town Katy with the grain elevators (across 10 from the mall).

I've seen the same sort of resistance from the fixed wing folks, but surprisingly my old man (who flew AMA RC pattern for years) can't wait to get his hands on one.

I'm in Northwest Houston.  My concern is flying in areas where you have restricted airspace due to the number of airports and heliports.  Now, I only fly low altitudes, generally under 150', but haven't yet gone to the trouble to contact a tower for permission.  So I've been looking for places to fly that would be interesting from a photo/video standpoint.  You have to get out to around the Brazos river to be clear of airspace and have something worthwhile to capture.  So eventually I'll make it out that way.
Otherwise, I'm just wanting to improve my flying skills so that when I travel somewhere with better scenery, I'll be capable of capturing with good skills.
I would be curious as to where others fly, concern over airspace, etc.

Tomball magnolia area checking in. I avoid airports all together. I generally fly in more rural areas typically. Less people and obstacles = less problems. Be wary of flying to low or staying in one spot over private property we are in Texas we're damn near everybody has a gun. I speak from experience! Had my p4 shot down last month! Luckily I had insurance!

Pics of bullet hole....

Jarrod7 Posted at 2017-2-19 16:55
Tomball magnolia area checking in. I avoid airports all together. I generally fly in more rural areas typically. Less people and obstacles = less problems. Be wary of flying to low or staying in one spot over private property we are in Texas we're damn near everybody has a gun. I speak from experience! Had my p4 shot down last month! Luckily I had insurance!

Pics of bullet hole....

How did that play out? Did the shooter get charged/ticketed?

seeker_ktf_ Posted at 2017-2-12 05:39
I live in West Houston, right off the Katy Freeway near the hospitals.   Out Katy way and past towards Brookshire, there are some older bridges and abandoned factories, but in general, I agree that it's hard to find a lot of interesting things to take shots of.  For me, filming endless fields of scrub gets boring pretty quickly.  At the same time, its great for flying because there's not much in the way.  I'm looking forward to bluebonnet season... the hill country should have some nice shots then.

I've been curious... I mostly fly where there aren't any people.  Now that I have a mavic, I've been thinking about fly into town, but I was wondering how well drones have been accepted by folks in the Houston area.  Has anyone been talked to (or more) by any law enforcement?

Just remember if you get reported flying over people or cars, and they catch you, the fine is pretty hefty. FAA bans flying over people or vehicles, near any airport operations including tiny grass strips, and over 400' AGL. In town, the helicopters fly along below 400'. Out of town is safer, in my opinion.

Jarrod7 Posted at 2017-2-19 16:55
Tomball magnolia area checking in. I avoid airports all together. I generally fly in more rural areas typically. Less people and obstacles = less problems. Be wary of flying to low or staying in one spot over private property we are in Texas we're damn near everybody has a gun. I speak from experience! Had my p4 shot down last month! Luckily I had insurance!

Pics of bullet hole....

Ouch!

In San Antonio here and I have fear that many will pull out the shotgun on a drone. Glad to hear that the insurance helped you some. I can imagine some lawyer applying the Castle Doctrine to drones though....

So it's been a month since anyone posted, but I was wondering if some of the folks on here on here know of any good meetup groups (that they've participated in) for drone flying.  Scanning all the usual sites it doesn't look like there are any regular groups... they seem to come and go pretty quickly

I'm in Fresno/Mo city area!

seeker_ktf_ Posted at 2017-2-12 05:39
I live in West Houston, right off the Katy Freeway near the hospitals.   Out Katy way and past towards Brookshire, there are some older bridges and abandoned factories, but in general, I agree that it's hard to find a lot of interesting things to take shots of.  For me, filming endless fields of scrub gets boring pretty quickly.  At the same time, its great for flying because there's not much in the way.  I'm looking forward to bluebonnet season... the hill country should have some nice shots then.

I've been curious... I mostly fly where there aren't any people.  Now that I have a mavic, I've been thinking about fly into town, but I was wondering how well drones have been accepted by folks in the Houston area.  Has anyone been talked to (or more) by any law enforcement?

I fly my Mavic Pro at the Katy HCC Campus and no one really tells me anything. I've had curious people but never any complains. I only drive it at the back parking lot and low altitude since there is a medium airport nearby.

Cifuentes8 Posted at 2018-3-8 09:46
I fly my Mavic Pro at the Katy HCC Campus and no one really tells me anything. I've had curious people but never any complains. I only drive it at the back parking lot and low altitude since there is a medium airport nearby.

https://youtu.be/qY9LaUFomHg

You're close.  You can see my house on that clip.

I know this is an old post but I am in Katy.