...local regs: over reach?

[LUIS MARTINEZ]

The ordinance is quite clear, unless you want to deal with the local gendarmes, ask politely for permission. This can't ever hurt you!

 

[LUIS MARTINEZ]

I don't sell cars but if I did that comment would genuinely light my fuse. What a rude and condescending comment coming from a "professional"."Try" to make contact with neighboring property when our Commercial sUAS flights might appear to be spying directly on them etc. IMHO it's being very UNPROFESSIONAL to not at least TRY to reach out and make contact to neighbors All the above statements are personal opinions not based on factual evidence. I know many who have been hurt by buying used cars, that is a fact. Appear to be spying, another personal statement and your statement If that's too much work for you then maybe you're in the wrong line of work. is rude and unprofessional for a moderator, who is to remain neutral. Lastly, your recommendations never address the issue or provide a solution to neighbors who refuse to grant permission and still report to local authorities. Read my recommendation.

Yelling doesn't help, friend.

 

[LUIS MARTINEZ]

That logic is not an absolute, therefore is non-sequitur. non sequitur is a Latin phrase that means “it doesn’t follow.” Here, non means “not,” and sequitur means “to follow.” It takes place when a difference is created between the principle idea and the conclusion, which finally leads to a fallacy.

 

[R.Perry]

I couple years ago I decided to do a video of Point Arena light house. Upon arrive at the main gate they had a sign stating drones are restricted from flying on their Point Arena grounds. I parked about fifty yards away from the main gate and launched my drone, filmed the light house and came back and landed. I ranger came out and told me that I just broke the law by flying over their property.
To make a long story short, I asked him to call the nearest FAA office and asked them about airspace restrictions, and that they can definitely keep me from landing on their property, but they can not keep me from overflying it unless the FAA has restricted the airspace.
He summoned a local Sheriff, an that guy was clueless and told the ranger he needed to talk to the people at the airport regarding such flights
I normally don't challenge authority, but sometimes if you know you are right, then it is worth it. I guess you just need to weight the costs and potential problems.
It seems to me when local authorities feel they may be stepping on federal law they become a little more careful.

 

[LUIS MARTINEZ]

I couple years ago I decided to do a video of Point Arena light house. Upon arrive at the main gate they had a sign stating drones are restricted from flying on their Point Arena grounds. I parked about fifty yards away from the main gate and launched my drone, filmed the light house and came back and landed. I ranger came out and told me that I just broke the law by flying over their property.
To make a long story short, I asked him to call the nearest FAA office and asked them about airspace restrictions, and that they can definitely keep me from landing on their property, but they can not keep me from overflying it unless the FAA has restricted the airspace.
He summoned a local Sheriff, an that guy was clueless and told the ranger he needed to talk to the people at the airport regarding such flights
I normally don't challenge authority, but sometimes if you know you are right, then it is worth it. I guess you just need to weight the costs and potential problems.
It seems to me when local authorities feel they may be stepping on federal law they become a little more careful.

Well done, information can be your ally. Cops are like bananas; sometimes you get a good bunch, sometimes you get a rotten one. And they'd rather be chasing bad guys lights & siren with their hair on fire than answering drone calls. As in all aspects of life, it's better to begin by being nice and respectful to the cop and go from there...

 

[John Decker]

We have even more restrictive rules in New Zealand - you need permission from everyone you overfly, including roads and (occasionally) rivers. But with a quick chat I've never had a problem, and you don't have to go to nuts overflying someone else's property, so for the most part if, say, the neighbour was out and you overflew by a bit, you can always plead that you didn't realise you'd drifted over their property.

Don't be an *** you won't have a problem; get sloppy, as I did once (I went far too high and assumed no-one would notice), and your competition will be all over you, reporting you.

(Luckily here the FAA equivalent weren't worried about a one-off incident.)

 

[Earnest Ward]

Well I'm glad to know that the "Professionalism" that I've been doing for many years now lowers me to the level of ....well anything... I don't sell cars but if I did that comment would genuinely light my fuse. What a rude and condescending comment coming from a "professional".

We have made it a policy to always "Try" to make contact with neighboring property when our Commercial sUAS flights might appear to be spying directly on them etc. We take the time to walk from door to door, knock, introduce ourselves/company and explain what we are doing. We show them we're professional, give our contact information and ask them to call us if they have any questions. Guess what happens on at least 1/4 of our residential shoots? At least 1 of those will call and ask more about our services and some of them book with us.

We had a single estate shoot for a client last summer in a gated community. We went in and identified each home we "might" be flying over and went door to door to meet & talk. It was 4 homes. The shoot went great and the home owners started talking about our services and guess what???? We got a call from one of the neighbors we had made contact with... they had a HOA meeting and decided that all 12 homes in the section wanted aerials. We went from taking a set of 4 pictures of one home to creating portfolios with multiple pictures and videos of TWELVE homes and all together. It was one of our most profitable Real Estate shoots to date (and that's saying a LOT). t took us 8 hours of flying (2 days total) to get them done but it was a great project and one I hope to replicate later this year at another location we are talking to.

IMHO it's being very UNPROFESSIONAL to not at least TRY to reach out and make contact to neighbors and show that we are considerate and willing to take the time and effort to be an Ambassador for our industry. If that's too much work for you then maybe you're in the wrong line of work. Don't forget that our industry is already shown in a very BAD LIGHT by all media so going the extra mile to show what we really do and that we are professionals is really a VERY good goal.

As always YMMV but I personally don't see reaching out (or trying to) doing anything but being a POSITIVE example in our industry. Sometimes the "Easy way" isn't the best way to get something done.

One other thing drone Pilot, if being a Good Will Ambassador for the industry doesn't appeal to you, maybe the potential effect on your business will. If you don't make proactive contact with the neighbors, how might a visit by the police during the event effect the outcome of your shoot? And what if - in reaching out politely and professionally to the neighbors - you get new revenue streams?

Big Al is 100% correct. Reach out to the neighbors. It's good for business.