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My First Negative Interaction

Kinda off topic here but: since we are in "off topic" I usually look at a members intro. to see where they are vagually located,so I can better understand their situation.In this case I seen Ric B. from S. Cal. And somehow we thought U.K. and back and forth,etc. Most intros,do not have a location posted,some do some don't. Would be nice if all our introductions had a where we are from posted. Also I think it was started in post # 4. A simple period between out and in would have changed the outcome of his statement,but no way to see where he is from. I know I'm old and pretty stupid sometimes but there are a few things we could all do to make our little chats easier to understand. No offense intended here to anyone we are in some tough times right now,and I think we are all helping each other by having a place to vent, share , and express. Very nice to be in this group right now. Keith .
 
I live in the same area as the OP in south Orange County. I have had a couple of run-ins with the OC Sheriff deputies. Most are fairly cool. I sometimes fly for fun off a trail that overlooks a canyon near my house. The sheriffs like to hang there sometimes. I've had a couple ask me if I was "complying with all laws", whatever that means. I point at my FAA registration numbers on my H+ and mention I'd be happy to show him my Part 107 certificate. The usually ends it.

But none have been hostile, more of a pro forma kind of thing. But people down here can be testy. I had one person in a similar situation as the OP ask if I was taking pictures of the houses behind me. I simply showed him the screen with the camera pointed right at us, and he said that he did not realize how little detail there was. (I was 350 feet up and 1,000 feet out at the time).
 
Most people have yet to figure out the people actually spying on them are the people they are paying to protect and govern them.

Regardless of people’s opinion of Snowden, he didn’t expose anything that wasn’t true.
 
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So I had my first negative interaction with the public while flying my H480 today. Went to my usual flying space, a recreation center with soccer fields. I go usually at dusk when no one is there except a jogger or two and maybe a dog walker, now with the fields closed I was able to during the day. But today, the entrances were all blocked off too, so looked for another place. I had noticed a spot along my route that was opposite a housing area, but where I took off from was clear and led to some foothills which I though would be interesting to explore (while maintaining VLOS). Went through 1st battery, was part way into 2nd, and could hear a couple at a nearby ranch talking about the drone. They were fascinated by it and then noticed I was the one controlling. All positive comments.

Then over at the housing area suddenly there is a guy looking over his fence and yelling at me to "Get that **** thing out of here!" He continued yelling that it was bothering his dogs and that I need to leave. Note that I never crossed the street to where the houses were, but only went over the empty strip on my side of the street up to the hillside. He keeps on yelling, so not wanting to be a bad guy, I start flying home to land. Not fast enough for him as he keeps yelling. Note that the guy on the other side at the ranch tells this guy that the area I took off from is actually his property and he has no issue with me flying there. I land and start breaking the drone down to put away when this Tesla Model S pulls up on the street and stops next to where I am off in the dirt. I don't really pay attention as I'm putting away the drone, then he pulls into the dirt and circles around me several times, then stops and rolls down the window and starts yelling again about what am I doing there, etc. I tell him I was just doing some recreational flying and that what I was doing was perfectly legal. He says BS and that he was going to call the cops. I try to explain I'm not doing anything wrong, I do know the FAA rules, but that I did land and am leaving simply because he asked me to. Not good enough. Keeps yelling, takes my picture with his phone, says he's going to post on the neighborhood web site, I'm not moving fast enough, I better not came back there again, yadda, yadda. Total jerk, not willing to talk reasonably, so I finished packing up (but taking my time now) and drove off. Trying to find the community web site to see if he posts something.
You did everything right, no use trying to fix stupid.
 
So I had my first negative interaction with the public while flying my H480 today. Went to my usual flying space, a recreation center with soccer fields. I go usually at dusk when no one is there except a jogger or two and maybe a dog walker, now with the fields closed I was able to during the day. But today, the entrances were all blocked off too, so looked for another place. I had noticed a spot along my route that was opposite a housing area, but where I took off from was clear and led to some foothills which I though would be interesting to explore (while maintaining VLOS). Went through 1st battery, was part way into 2nd, and could hear a couple at a nearby ranch talking about the drone. They were fascinated by it and then noticed I was the one controlling. All positive comments.

Then over at the housing area suddenly there is a guy looking over his fence and yelling at me to "Get that **** thing out of here!" He continued yelling that it was bothering his dogs and that I need to leave. Note that I never crossed the street to where the houses were, but only went over the empty strip on my side of the street up to the hillside. He keeps on yelling, so not wanting to be a bad guy, I start flying home to land. Not fast enough for him as he keeps yelling. Note that the guy on the other side at the ranch tells this guy that the area I took off from is actually his property and he has no issue with me flying there. I land and start breaking the drone down to put away when this Tesla Model S pulls up on the street and stops next to where I am off in the dirt. I don't really pay attention as I'm putting away the drone, then he pulls into the dirt and circles around me several times, then stops and rolls down the window and starts yelling again about what am I doing there, etc. I tell him I was just doing some recreational flying and that what I was doing was perfectly legal. He says BS and that he was going to call the cops. I try to explain I'm not doing anything wrong, I do know the FAA rules, but that I did land and am leaving simply because he asked me to. Not good enough. Keeps yelling, takes my picture with his phone, says he's going to post on the neighborhood web site, I'm not moving fast enough, I better not came back there again, yadda, yadda. Total jerk, not willing to talk reasonably, so I finished packing up (but taking my time now) and drove off. Trying to find the community web site to see if he posts something.
I suppose if you really feel up to it, drive by the guy's home and post his address on your social media pages with your original text from this posting. Otherwise, just shrug it off. Happy flying.
 

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