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Infuriating incident.

Joined
Mar 16, 2019
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Arrived at a small pier not very far from my house today to fly my H. There was a family there in a camper van so I asked the Dad if he had any objections to me flying and he said no. So I had 2 batteries charged. Done a great flight and landed. Put in the second battery and took off again. About half way through the flight the small are started to get a bit busy so I decided to terminate the flight early as it looked like they were going swimming and I didn't want ti get called a peeping tom. While my take off point was well clear I was bringing the H back in to land and recover. I was about 15 mts to land and this guy and I assume his daughter arrive in on bikes. Standing well clear and behind, they stopped. Looked up at drone, seeing it coming into land, walked around me and under it with their bikes. I quickly aborted the landing, gained altitude and selected an alternative less appropriate landing spot as it was slightly sloped. Always be aware of your surroundings and the fact that an area can go from quiet to very busy in a heartbeat.
 
Arrived at a small pier not very far from my house today to fly my H. There was a family there in a camper van so I asked the Dad if he had any objections to me flying and he said no. So I had 2 batteries charged. Done a great flight and landed. Put in the second battery and took off again. About half way through the flight the small are started to get a bit busy so I decided to terminate the flight early as it looked like they were going swimming and I didn't want ti get called a peeping tom. While my take off point was well clear I was bringing the H back in to land and recover. I was about 15 mts to land and this guy and I assume his daughter arrive in on bikes. Standing well clear and behind, they stopped. Looked up at drone, seeing it coming into land, walked around me and under it with their bikes. I quickly aborted the landing, gained altitude and selected an alternative less appropriate landing spot as it was slightly sloped. Always be aware of your surroundings and the fact that an area can go from quiet to very busy in a heartbeat.
Agree....
 
Amazing how often that happens. There have been several times where I launched with nobody around only to see people show up to gawk and place themselves in the intended landing zone.

For us it can be irritating but the spectators don’t know any better. Best course I can think of is to always plan for having multiple landing locations and keeping our cool when they become fouled by unexpected guests.
 
As hilarious as it might be to run about screaming 'Oh god don't let it kill anyone else today !', but doesn't do much for our reputation, does it ? :)
I was down on the coast and had my flyer with me, but too many d*mn people everywhere, so left it despite perfect weather conditions. Will go back at 10 am Monday morning when it'll be deserted...
 
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I generally spin the drone as fast as it will go while rapidly pumping it up and down with throttle. All the while I'm screaming "Run or you're going to die".

Clears the LZ every time :eek:
That could severely backfire, there are a lot of people with chips on their shoulder, it could get out of hand verbally or physically very quickly, but what you say sounds good anyway!
 
That’s the difference between doing what we want to and doing what is smart or safe to do.
We can do all what we can to make our launch area as safe as reasonably practical to take off from, I suppose an extra person to warn others, it's always best not to try and meet trouble half way, people's curiosity is human nature, perhaps on purpose sometimes to cause a problem or issue.
 
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When I fly for fun I put down a pad out in the grass or parking lot surface....I’ve been approached many times but have never had anyone interfere or approach my aircraft in flight or during landing/takeoff. If someone did, like the OP I’d simply ascend to 20’ or so and move away, then ask them to please move away as the spinning props are dangerous. I don’t own the place after all and they have as much a right to it as I do....even if what they do is stupid. I certainly wouldn’t be “infuriated”.....I’m a pretty mellow dude and just roll with things.

When working, on a client site....different story. I’m engaged in business, I have paperwork, authorizations and insurance in play....so different set of rules apply to injuries on a job site. I put down a pad and have 4 high viz cones. Each has an eye-bolt on top and I have (4) 8’ sections of red plastic safety chain I string between the cones, giving me an 8’ protected landing square. It’s not an end-all be-all for safety, but it very clearly marks off an area designated for drone operations. Plus, I’m wearing a marked safety vest (FAA Drone Pilot blah blah blah) and a hard hat on construction sites. I’ve never been approached by anyone other than the foreman.
 
I just figure if there’s another human being within 20 miles of my launch site they’ll be standing in the middle of it when it comes time to land. Just be prepared for it, be polite, and have enough juice left in the battery to land somewhere else.
 
I cover all bases, my wife goes to one predetermined area and my daughters to the other spots, their ready and waiting to receive the emergency landing!
 
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makes sense @Fred Garvin, I do the same.

"I put down a pad and have 4 high viz cones. Each has an eye-bolt on top and I have (4) 8’ sections of red plastic safety chain I string between the cones, giving me an 8’ protected landing square. It’s not an end-all be-all for safety, but it very clearly marks off an area designated for drone operations. Plus, I’m wearing a marked safety vest (FAA Drone Pilot blah blah blah) and a hard hat on construction sites. I’ve never been approached by anyone other than the foreman. "

I Just don't unroll a safety chain, 4 high viz cones are enough. Yet what may have happened to me is that dogs and/or kids feel like playing with drone, so I have ultrasonic 150db whistle, handy as well.
 
makes sense @Fred Garvin, I do the same.

"I put down a pad and have 4 high viz cones. Each has an eye-bolt on top and I have (4) 8’ sections of red plastic safety chain I string between the cones, giving me an 8’ protected landing square. It’s not an end-all be-all for safety, but it very clearly marks off an area designated for drone operations. Plus, I’m wearing a marked safety vest (FAA Drone Pilot blah blah blah) and a hard hat on construction sites. I’ve never been approached by anyone other than the foreman. "

I Just don't unroll a safety chain, 4 high viz cones are enough. Yet what may have happened to me is that dogs and/or kids feel like playing with drone, so I have ultrasonic 150db whistle, handy as well.
You wouldn't be able to do that in a public park, unless it was authorised, just a hobbyist turning up with cones etc, would probably cause quite a stir, since everyone using the park or recreational area has a right to go where they want. With the bad press drones have, it's almost like we have to find more remote spots to fly.
 

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