I got caught

[Peter b]

Yup the drone Gestapo finally caught up with me. If you are familiar with st. Louis then you know forest park which is actually bigger than central park. There are some awesome places to fly and I guess I know why I never see any there. I was packing up my h realizing that I forgot to put the sd card in the camera but enjoy flying the h more every time without video. So a uniform approached me and asked me if it was a drone. He said I needed a permit and I thought he was joking. He said city parks were ok and I said this IS a city park and he walked away. Turns out I would have to insure it for a cool million. I will go to a different place like the park I usually fly in. The first time I have encountered one of these people. No sense of humor [emoji2962]

 

[ModernPRO]

Turns out I would have to insure it for a cool million

Glad the copper didn't take any action on you.

Is the insurance requirement a city or county law?

 

[johnnyb57]

Just take off, and land outside of the park to get the shots inside the park ?

 

[steveoui]

in Ct. can't fly in any state parks..

 

[johnnyb57]

in Ct. can't fly in any state parks..

But you can fly over them ?

 

[lsn618]

Pennsylvania has 3 or 4 designated state parks you can fly in. I found out when I opened my rear deck and my drone was visible to a park ranger as he was driving by. He warned me to not bring the drone out of my truck or he would fine me and take the drone.

I asked about flying from outside the park and he said it's the same rules as launching inside I closed the trunk and away I went.

 

[Fred Garvin]

But you can fly over them ?

Only the FAA can control the airspace. As long as there are no restrictions placed on the airspace (surface controlled, TFR, Restricted, etc) then you can fly. The property owners can make any rules they wish regarding use of the land, for example take offs and landings, but they do not own or control the airspace. Hence, @johnnyb57 question above.

That being said, it won’t stop a local authority from jamming you up with whatever charge they want, even if it’s something that’s not valid or easily dismissed in court. Can you afford the legal fees and court costs, just to eventually prove you were right?

If any legal rights commandos tell you there’s a time to fight for your rights, just make sure they’re willing to fund your fight for those rights. Easy to say, harder to pay.

Your best option may just be to find somewhere else to fly. If you’re set on flying over the park, perhaps get all your legal right paperwork together and make sure all authorities are well educated, well in advance. Personally, I’d just find somewhere else to fly.

 

[johnnyb57]

I was caught in a state park, and the ranger came up to me and said wheres the drone I pointed and said a 1/2 mile off the shore line, then showed the monitor that I was takin pictures of the lighthouse ? He stated that someone else had flown their drone, and was caught following some girls around by their father who reported it, an earlier day. I said I would pack it up, and leave, he said no need, but if the other ranger came by, he was un-sure what would happen, I brought it back, and landed while we talked, he was really interested in my drone, and everything else about drones. It was a good day, all around, and I've been back w/o any issues ? At another state park as I pulled up the rangers were at their truck, so I asked they had no problem and let me park at the boat ramp to fly from as it was a weekday.

 

[Mike Irish]

I was caught in a state park, and the ranger came up to me and said wheres the drone I pointed and said a 1/2 mile off the shore line, then showed the monitor that I was takin pictures of the lighthouse ? He stated that someone else had flown their drone, and was caught following some girls around by their father who reported it, an earlier day. I said I would pack it up, and leave, he said no need, but if the other ranger came by, he was un-sure what would happen, I brought it back, and landed while we talked, he was really interested in my drone, and everything else about drones. It was a good day, all around, and I've been back w/o any issues ? At another state park as I pulled up the rangers were at their truck, so I asked they had no problem and let me park at the boat ramp to fly from as it was a weekday.

It's nice to hear something positive by people that were approached be parkwordons. I think a lot is to do with your reaction when approaches, a friendly reply like good morning/evening can make all the differance.
Cheers.
Mike

 

[Johntom]

Yup the drone Gestapo finally caught up with me. If you are familiar with st. Louis then you know forest park which is actually bigger than central park. There are some awesome places to fly and I guess I know why I never see any there. I was packing up my h realizing that I forgot to put the sd card in the camera but enjoy flying the h more every time without video. So a uniform approached me and asked me if it was a drone. He said I needed a permit and I thought he was joking. He said city parks were ok and I said this IS a city park and he walked away. Turns out I would have to insure it for a cool million. I will go to a different place like the park I usually fly in. The first time I have encountered one of these people. No sense of humor [emoji2962]

While I understand you are in America and I'm in the UK, I was thinking of buying a Typhoons H Plus to replace my G500, for landscape and coastal photography, I am concerned about the new FAA rules and whether it will be worth the effort and money as the way its going it is the end of the hobbyist flyer. What has Yuneec said about this, I suppose all but the commercial models will be obsolete.

 

[DoomMeister]

While I understand you are in America and I'm in the UK, I was thinking of buying a Typhoons H Plus to replace my G500, for landscape and coastal photography, I am concerned about the new FAA rules and whether it will be worth the effort and money as the way its going it is the end of the hobbyist flyer. What has Yuneec said about this, I suppose all but the commercial models will be obsolete.

Being that you are in the UK the FAA rules don’t affect you, but your CAA rules do. I also think you will find Yuneec.UK much more accommodating and informative of your needs. I believe the H Plus is still a viable product there.

 

[phoonflyer]

Only the FAA can control the airspace. As long as there are no restrictions placed on the airspace (surface controlled, TFR, Restricted, etc) then you can fly. The property owners can make any rules they wish regarding use of the land, for example take offs and landings, but they do not own or control the airspace. Hence, @johnnyb57 question above.

That being said, it won’t stop a local authority from jamming you up with whatever charge they want, even if it’s something that’s not valid or easily dismissed in court. Can you afford the legal fees and court costs, just to eventually prove you were right?

If any legal rights commandos tell you there’s a time to fight for your rights, just make sure they’re willing to fund your fight for those rights. Easy to say, harder to pay.

Your best option may just be to find somewhere else to fly. If you’re set on flying over the park, perhaps get all your legal right paperwork together and make sure all authorities are well educated, well in advance. Personally, I’d just find somewhere else to fly.

absolutely golden advice!

 

[phoonflyer]

Yup the drone Gestapo finally caught up with me. If you are familiar with st. Louis then you know forest park which is actually bigger than central park. There are some awesome places to fly and I guess I know why I never see any there. I was packing up my h realizing that I forgot to put the sd card in the camera but enjoy flying the h more every time without video. So a uniform approached me and asked me if it was a drone. He said I needed a permit and I thought he was joking. He said city parks were ok and I said this IS a city park and he walked away. Turns out I would have to insure it for a cool million. I will go to a different place like the park I usually fly in. The first time I have encountered one of these people. No sense of humor [emoji2962]

When i first got my Drone I got approached by a local campus police man. I'd attempted to take off but it was a no go (motors wouldnt even start.) I was in my car backing out of the parking space when he pulled up behind me and blocked me in!!! he asked if I had launched a drone. I told him no. He said it was a no fly zone because of the proximity to the airport. and that they had "tracked" a drone I told him my drone wouldnt even start. he did the whole license thing to make sure i wasnt wanted for anything then bent my ear for like 10 more minutes about my drone. finally something happened on the other side of the campus and he let me go with a warning....after that I downloaded B4ufly and sure enough it was a no fly zone!!!, moral of the story know before you go!!! and even if you havent done anything like others have said its not worth the aggravation to argue with anyone who may have legal jurisdiction over a spot you decide to fly. Great post!

 

[Johntom]

Being that you are in the UK the FAA rules don’t affect you, but your CAA rules do. I also think you will find Yuneec.UK much more accommodating and informative of your needs. I believe the H Plus is still a viable product there.

Many thanks for your reply, it is very helpful and reassuring.
Regards Tom.

 

[Rubik]

But you can fly over them ?

Yep. Because the airspace over the park is controlled by FAA, not the State. But, of course, the ranger may not be aware of this and still give you grief.

 

[Peter b]

How true. He gave me the bit about the 200 ft. Alt limit because of planes and i guess i did get a tad testy because of the new expression called "Mask-me-nots" there were kids running around without any. Right in front of me because they wanted to see a drone. 200 ft. Ah dude if a flight pattern goes over forest park they are in the wrong place, iow it's going down. No i didn't say those words. I sure wanted to and also there are "mask-me-nots" running around with no social distancing and parents not caring. Have drones caused over 270k deaths from flying drones in the last 9 months? A drone that's not even close to people because i fly carefully and trees are my drones only apparent place to be dangerous. To the tree? No, my drone!!!

 

[Mike Irish]

This is a very serious matter for all of us. Anyone with a bit of copon would say that guy has a screw loose To fly at over 11.000 ft and in a major city / Over pedestrians flying after all the warning he got regarding his height and low battery warnings, shouting out that he knew he was breaking the law Madness. I normally would refrain from commenting or scolding others but sometimes you have to speak out for the good of all. I hope the FAA take his unfortunate circumstances into account as I heard him say that he in on welfare, as he has a medical problems. Rather than impose a fine if they could see their way to give him a lengthy local community service sentence.
Regards.
Mike

 

[Done-guy]

Just take off, and land outside of the park to get the shots inside the park ?

This is my philosophy as well. I use a range extender if I need some shots from within a park, then I take off/land a great distance away..from a wood line...outside the property, or any other place a distance away, I’ve been known to hike a mile or so away through woods, swamp, fields etc to launch outside a park. FAA controls air space and as long as there’s no height restrictions/other restrictions (I use UASidekick to check and/or create flight plans) then I will fly the area. I think there are too many restrictions on flying, restrictions I believe were put in place out of necessity due to previous drone users flying unsafe and doing stupid things that were clearly dangerous but they just didn’t care. Bad apples.

I mostly blame the teenage Mavic users flying out of VLOS, those stupid drones can go out for miles, there’s just no need whatsoever to fly more than 2500-3000 feet out..in my opinion. Not only is it dangerous, but it’s a huge violation. I don’t understand why anyone wouldn’t want to keep their drone in line of sight, I get nervous when my drones become a tiny black spot in the air. I don’t have any official numbers but I’m willing to bet most accidents fall outside VLOS.

I’m no angel for sure, and I’ve bent the rules at times; definetly have gotten a little fast and loose with height restrictions for example, but never for a long period of time or where I felt I was being completely unsafe and out of control. I think personal responsibility should dictate most flight plans and not government restrictions..but then we get into the old “1 bad Apple spoils the bunch” as I noted above.

And being friendly and respectful to law enforcement or property owners goes a long long long way with what you can do with your drone.

 

[Mike Irish]

This is my philosophy as well. I use a range extender if I need some shots from within a park, then I take off/land a great distance away..from a wood line...outside the property, or any other place a distance away, I’ve been known to hike a mile or so away through woods, swamp, fields etc to launch outside a park. FAA controls air space and as long as there’s no height restrictions/other restrictions (I use UASidekick to check and/or create flight plans) then I will fly the area. I think there are too many restrictions on flying, restrictions I believe were put in place out of necessity due to previous drone users flying unsafe and doing stupid things that were clearly dangerous but they just didn’t care. Bad apples.

I mostly blame the teenage Mavic users flying out of VLOS, those stupid drones can go out for miles, there’s just no need whatsoever to fly more than 2500-3000 feet out..in my opinion. Not only is it dangerous, but it’s a huge violation. I don’t understand why anyone wouldn’t want to keep their drone in line of sight, I get nervous when my drones become a tiny black spot in the air. I don’t have any official numbers but I’m willing to bet most accidents fall outside VLOS.

I’m no angel for sure, and I’ve bent the rules at times; definetly have gotten a little fast and loose with height restrictions for example, but never for a long period of time or where I felt I was being completely unsafe and out of control. I think personal responsibility should dictate most flight plans and not government restrictions..but then we get into the old “1 bad Apple spoils the bunch” as I noted above.

And being friendly and respectful to law enforcement or property owners goes a long long long way with what you can do with your drone.

I totally agree, Well said.
Mike

 

[Peter b]

Nobody here seems to know what the laws are. All i know for practice and fun flying i go a half a block. I am not going into the countryside these days. Rural Missourians scare me. I will go back out weather permitting.

Glad the copper didn't take any action on you.

Is the insurance requirement a city or county law?