How do you deal with kids?

[AFAngryWarrior]

I live in a Townhouse community in upstate NY. There are more kids than I'd like, but they've been well behaved up until this past week. I've been flying my drone around and tried to keep it above 120m hoping they wouldn't notice it up in the air. They did...

You'd think they were Billy Bob Thornton and I was the fugitive. They were going door-to-door trying to find the person flying it. I thought I was safe in the back yard until I heard them yell "Check in back!" and I was found.

The chorus of pleas begging to let them fly was constant. I had HUGE reservations, but figured what could go wrong with me standing there. My intuition was correct. Before I could explain the remote the kid fully throttled straight up into the sky, then almost crashed into the back of my home. Luckily I had the sensors on. I asked them to keep it lower than the roof of my home. The kid then looked at his friend 10yds away with his back turned, looked at me, and said "Watch this". Having been a little boy I knew he was about to run my $1400 drone directly into his friend. Not knowing those plastic blades will do plenty of damage. I yanked the controller out of his hands and told him he could have seriously hurt his friend. He just laughed.

I told them they were done for the day. The other kids threw a fit they didn't get a chance, but I lied and said the batteries were dying. Now I see those kids outside staring at the sky waiting for my drone to reappear so they can beg again. I feel like I can't fly my own drone in my own yard any more avoiding these kids.

My long story short, how would you deal with these kids? I should have said NO right of the bat and told them to get lost, but I'm too nice. What can I say that won't get my house egged, while still getting rid of these tiny terrors? I've thought about buying them cheap $20 drones to leave me be. I just know they'll break those in days and be right back in my yard. I appreciate your sage wisdom in advance.

Long story so

 

[FLDave]

You live in a neighborhood of kids. Kids and drones don't mix. So, don't fly where there are kids. You are not permitted to fly over people! You are totally responsible for whatever happens.
And NEVER LET AN UNLICENSED PEROSN FLY YOUR DRONE, EVER!
There should not be any discussion with bystanders about that.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

I am afraid about all I would have done is let them see the screen.
Letting them fly the drone was, in my opinion, unwise. At the very least I would have asked their parents' permission first but in truth I suspect I wouldn't have flown at all with kids about, especially if they were hunting for it.
I think you should ground your drone for a while....at least with regards to flying at/from home.
If you decide to let them play again get one of the drones that support dual controllers and use the primary controller yourself, switch the drone to the slowest flight mode and fit prop guards.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

Couple of things to note: Experienced

Your biggest threat already happened , they see you flying a drone so now they could care less about flying your drone , as they are going to want to fly there own. You wont be able to control how reckless they may be with there own.

The only option you have to safeguard is to explain that to fly a drone you need to pass written tests and understand the Rules of the FAA have set fourth. Let them know that once they pass there written exams , 107 and or Trust you might consider letting them fly.

I have found this to be the best way to avoid those awkward moments of the quick hand over to strangers.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain, Land on the Water ,

 

[Flyingsolow]

I live in a Townhouse community in upstate NY. There are more kids than I'd like, but they've been well behaved up until this past week. I've been flying my drone around and tried to keep it above 120m hoping they wouldn't notice it up in the air. They did...

You'd think they were Billy Bob Thornton and I was the fugitive. They were going door-to-door trying to find the person flying it. I thought I was safe in the back yard until I heard them yell "Check in back!" and I was found.

The chorus of pleas begging to let them fly was constant. I had HUGE reservations, but figured what could go wrong with me standing there. My intuition was correct. Before I could explain the remote the kid fully throttled straight up into the sky, then almost crashed into the back of my home. Luckily I had the sensors on. I asked them to keep it lower than the roof of my home. The kid then looked at his friend 10yds away with his back turned, looked at me, and said "Watch this". Having been a little boy I knew he was about to run my $1400 drone directly into his friend. Not knowing those plastic blades will do plenty of damage. I yanked the controller out of his hands and told him he could have seriously hurt his friend. He just laughed.

I told them they were done for the day. The other kids threw a fit they didn't get a chance, but I lied and said the batteries were dying. Now I see those kids outside staring at the sky waiting for my drone to reappear so they can beg again. I feel like I can't fly my own drone in my own yard any more avoiding these kids.

My long story short, how would you deal with these kids? I should have said NO right of the bat and told them to get lost, but I'm too nice. What can I say that won't get my house egged, while still getting rid of these tiny terrors? I've thought about buying them cheap $20 drones to leave me be. I just know they'll break those in days and be right back in my yard. I appreciate your sage wisdom in advance.

Long story so

The worst thing you can do is to tell them to get lost, pure backlash toilet paper in tree, anyways you did alright but let them know its not a toy and also DO NOT buy them a cheep drone, that's irresponsible not unless you plan to open drones for kids classes(parents might have issues). better off buying them a wagon or super soaker

 

[MS Coast]

I live in a Townhouse community in upstate NY. There are more kids than I'd like, but they've been well behaved up until this past week. I've been flying my drone around and tried to keep it above 120m hoping they wouldn't notice it up in the air. They did...

You'd think they were Billy Bob Thornton and I was the fugitive. They were going door-to-door trying to find the person flying it. I thought I was safe in the back yard until I heard them yell "Check in back!" and I was found.

The chorus of pleas begging to let them fly was constant. I had HUGE reservations, but figured what could go wrong with me standing there. My intuition was correct. Before I could explain the remote the kid fully throttled straight up into the sky, then almost crashed into the back of my home. Luckily I had the sensors on. I asked them to keep it lower than the roof of my home. The kid then looked at his friend 10yds away with his back turned, looked at me, and said "Watch this". Having been a little boy I knew he was about to run my $1400 drone directly into his friend. Not knowing those plastic blades will do plenty of damage. I yanked the controller out of his hands and told him he could have seriously hurt his friend. He just laughed.

I told them they were done for the day. The other kids threw a fit they didn't get a chance, but I lied and said the batteries were dying. Now I see those kids outside staring at the sky waiting for my drone to reappear so they can beg again. I feel like I can't fly my own drone in my own yard any more avoiding these kids.

My long story short, how would you deal with these kids? I should have said NO right of the bat and told them to get lost, but I'm too nice. What can I say that won't get my house egged, while still getting rid of these tiny terrors? I've thought about buying them cheap $20 drones to leave me be. I just know they'll break those in days and be right back in my yard. I appreciate your sage wisdom in advance.

Long story so

" I had HUGE reservations," Hold that thought.

It's very good of you to try to be a good guy with them, but I suspect that if you continue letting any of them fly your drone, they're all going to want to fly it every time you go out the door with it.

I'd go with the advice to tell them that you are required to have a TRUST certificate to fly, which is an honest statement. Tell them you were wrong to let one of them fly it and you can't do it again. But they can stay and watch, as long as each of them is sitting down at least 20 feet away for every takeoff and landing

Good luck.

 

[thispilothere]

"I can't let you fly it because Robert's pain in the a** mother will call the police again. Everyone go complain to Robert's mom."

PS: I can't stand that woman.

 

[edfrombama]

Good morning to all-
I don't fly around people much- I don't fly around kids at all, if I can choose.
However, recently, I was asked my a friend who is a teacher at our local elementary school to come and take overhead videos of the school's end of year field day activities. No problem, really.
When I flew the drone, I launched away from the kids, and I tried to keep myself and the drone separated so as to not give the kids a target to come and beg to fly the drone. Hard, but not impossible.
On the one situation where the kids were able to see me with the controller and the drone was overhead, I was surrounded by 2nd graders begging to fly my drone. One little gumper told me, "I had a drone just like this one! I was a good flier. the drone crashed and broke. Can I fly your drone?"

The only way in my experience to make sure having kids NOT bother you and your drone is to make sure you don't fly around the kids. If the kids discover you, they WILL come and become a problem to you.

Drone flying, like certain other things, firearms safety, auto driving, and religious training needs to be conducted by parents or other connected adults- not by a well-intentioned neighbor who stands to lose a lot from anything bad that might happen.

And before anyone jumps me for not understanding and dealing with kids properly, I was a public school teacher for almost 40 years, and I understand dealing with kids in many situations quite clearly.

you all be safe and keep well- Ed

 

[howardK]

I would tell the kids that you just learned that if they dont have the FAA TRUST cert it is illegal for them to fly and then say, "you know what happens to young boys in prison???"

 

[Vic Moss]

Charge the parents $20/hour for babysitting. 3 hour minimum per kid.

 

[Chaosrider]

I live in a Townhouse community in upstate NY. There are more kids than I'd like, but they've been well behaved up until this past week. I've been flying my drone around and tried to keep it above 120m hoping they wouldn't notice it up in the air. They did...

You'd think they were Billy Bob Thornton and I was the fugitive. They were going door-to-door trying to find the person flying it. I thought I was safe in the back yard until I heard them yell "Check in back!" and I was found.

The chorus of pleas begging to let them fly was constant. I had HUGE reservations, but figured what could go wrong with me standing there. My intuition was correct. Before I could explain the remote the kid fully throttled straight up into the sky, then almost crashed into the back of my home. Luckily I had the sensors on. I asked them to keep it lower than the roof of my home. The kid then looked at his friend 10yds away with his back turned, looked at me, and said "Watch this". Having been a little boy I knew he was about to run my $1400 drone directly into his friend. Not knowing those plastic blades will do plenty of damage. I yanked the controller out of his hands and told him he could have seriously hurt his friend. He just laughed.

I told them they were done for the day. The other kids threw a fit they didn't get a chance, but I lied and said the batteries were dying. Now I see those kids outside staring at the sky waiting for my drone to reappear so they can beg again. I feel like I can't fly my own drone in my own yard any more avoiding these kids.

My long story short, how would you deal with these kids? I should have said NO right of the bat and told them to get lost, but I'm too nice. What can I say that won't get my house egged, while still getting rid of these tiny terrors? I've thought about buying them cheap $20 drones to leave me be. I just know they'll break those in days and be right back in my yard. I appreciate your sage wisdom in advance.

Long story so

I'd be happy to let a kid fly my drone...if, and only if, I had a parent's permission.

That's what I'd say to a kid wanting to fly my drone. I'd actually like to let them do it, and if they brought one of their parents over, and the parent told me it was OK, I would, after a demo.

 

[wardtom084]

To fly my drone you first have to learn some basics of flight.. Weight, Lift, Trust, Drag, and how they work. Great teaching tool if you are interested in that sort of thing.

 

[orionshooter]

And before anyone jumps me for not understanding and dealing with kids properly, I was a public school teacher for almost 40 years, and I understand dealing with kids in many situations quite clearly.

you all be safe and keep well- Ed

Au contraire, your 40 years experience came through loud and clear Ed. Brilliant advice.

 

[waltermitty]

Liability: they cause injury, your homeowner's policy takes a hit. the kid/pilot takes out a window, your policy gets dinged. Why one would entertain passing off the controls to an inexperienced person without entertaining their level of skill and maturity is a head scratcher.

Or....buy a no-name brand $50 drone devoted solely for their use... having established a ground school plan, close supervision and coaching one-on-one as a good big brother/sister/whatever opportunity.

 

[FLDave]

Liability: they cause injury, your homeowner's policy takes a hit. the kid/pilot takes out a window, your policy gets dinged. Why one would entertain passing off the controls to an inexperienced person without entertaining their level of skill and maturity is a head scratcher.

Or....buy a no-name brand $50 drone devoted solely for their use... having established a ground school plan, close supervision and coaching one-on-one as a good big brother/sister/whatever opportunity.

So you, as an unlicensed and untrained drone flight instructor, would be operating a volunteer drone flight school in your back yard, what can go wrong? One of the kids gets seriously injured and now you mush report to FAA and the parents. Who you think will be responsible for liability payments? Once attorneys get involved it would be an unknown and unknowable limit.
If you really want to help the kids act as a tutor and give them the guidance to learn FAA rules and requirements for a drone pilot license. Once you are assured they could pass the part 107 exam, even if under age, then you can advance to the next step out on public property. If of age, then require Part 107 pilot certificate. Teach responsibility first, then flight.

 

[Skywatcher2001]

Couple of things to note: Experienced

Your biggest threat already happened , they see you flying a drone so now they could care less about flying your drone , as they are going to want to fly there own. You wont be able to control how reckless they may be with there own.

The only option you have to safeguard is to explain that to fly a drone you need to pass written tests and understand the Rules of the FAA have set fourth. Let them know that once they pass there written exams , 107 and or Trust you might consider letting them fly.

I have found this to be the best way to avoid those awkward moments of the quick hand over to strangers.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain, Land on the Water ,

Bravo! Brilliant response. I wear my license and certificates on my clothes for this reason.

 

[EpicFlight]

Take 'em out to the woodshed, and give 'em a good horse-whipping.

Don't have a woodshed? Give 'em a time-out.

 

[EpicFlight]

Charge the parents $20/hour for babysitting. 3 hour minimum per kid.

You're a bargain.

 

[Capt KO]

No license..No fly. Tell them they need insurance too. Children need toys, not an (your) expensive drone. Lesson learned, close call.
I let my grandkids fly my drones..they’re adults.

 

[Tufargon]

I live in a Townhouse community in upstate NY. There are more kids than I'd like, but they've been well behaved up until this past week. I've been flying my drone around and tried to keep it above 120m hoping they wouldn't notice it up in the air. They did...

You'd think they were Billy Bob Thornton and I was the fugitive. They were going door-to-door trying to find the person flying it. I thought I was safe in the back yard until I heard them yell "Check in back!" and I was found.

The chorus of pleas begging to let them fly was constant. I had HUGE reservations, but figured what could go wrong with me standing there. My intuition was correct. Before I could explain the remote the kid fully throttled straight up into the sky, then almost crashed into the back of my home. Luckily I had the sensors on. I asked them to keep it lower than the roof of my home. The kid then looked at his friend 10yds away with his back turned, looked at me, and said "Watch this". Having been a little boy I knew he was about to run my $1400 drone directly into his friend. Not knowing those plastic blades will do plenty of damage. I yanked the controller out of his hands and told him he could have seriously hurt his friend. He just laughed.

I told them they were done for the day. The other kids threw a fit they didn't get a chance, but I lied and said the batteries were dying. Now I see those kids outside staring at the sky waiting for my drone to reappear so they can beg again. I feel like I can't fly my own drone in my own yard any more avoiding these kids.

My long story short, how would you deal with these kids? I should have said NO right of the bat and told them to get lost, but I'm too nice. What can I say that won't get my house egged, while still getting rid of these tiny terrors? I've thought about buying them cheap $20 drones to leave me be. I just know they'll break those in days and be right back in my yard. I appreciate your sage wisdom in advance.

Long story so