My worst drone confrontation yet! Come on, not again...

[Yaros]

I got quite used to drone confrontations as they happen to me every month or so, but normally nothing too extreme, just someone getting angry about me flying my drone near a beach or similar. This one was worse, here's how it went.

I'm out with my friend, we were testing his Mavic 1 Pro, we were at a park near a store, we fly there often. 1st battery everything perfect, but after landing the 2nd time, the 2nd battery, just seconds after landing, two ladies approached us. One of them seemed nice and asked to take a photo of the drone, to me it seemed kinda strange, but I thought: hey, maybe she never saw a drone, or wants to show it to someone, so my friend held the drone, she took the photo. After the photo she started asking questions about the drone, like "what does it do" and "does it record video". After answering those questions she proceeded to say "did you know that it is illegal to fly here?" Oh not again, someone saying that it is a no fly zone. Both her and her friend talked to us in a very angry manner, shouting! I asked her, from where did she get that information, she said that after seeing the drone fly over her house, she called the police and asked, the cops said that it's not allowed to fly here, it's only allowed to fly over the fields. What?? I already had an encounter with the cops the other day, they know nothing about drones in my area. I disagreed with her and said "I hate to disagree, however your statements are completely false, we are allowed to fly over private property with this drone". She told us she will call the cops, and we said "fine, do whatever you want, we will not talk to you", we packed up the drone while she was calling the cops, said bye to them and went away, they claimed that we can't just walk away like that, but I didn't want to continue this discussion. They tried to follow us for a while, then I got my phone and took a picture of them, they probably got scared that we will report them for spying on us or following us and went away.

But wow, why do people go to this extent just because a drone flew over their house? Really?

 

[FLDave]

Why put yourself in a position for confrontation? Don't fly where there are people.
Why continue to make a confrontation worse? Better to just gracefully and safely exit the situation.

 

[Yaros]

Why put yourself in a position for confrontation? Don't fly where there are people.
Why continue to make a confrontation worse? Better to just gracefully and safely exit the situation.

In the places where I fly there are always people, hard to find a place in Mallorca with no people in the summer...

What do I do, just walk away and ignore the people talking to me? I didn't know they were like that, I thought they will listen and understand me, I was wrong...

 

[March411]

Why put yourself in a position for confrontation? Don't fly where there are people.
Why continue to make a confrontation worse? Better to just gracefully and safely exit the situation.

Because the law says he can fly there and you should not let people take your freedoms away from you. If you fall into that trap you'll have no place to fly.

 

[DesertWindAero]

I got quite used to drone confrontations as they happen to me every month or so, but normally nothing too extreme, just someone getting angry about me flying my drone near a beach or similar. This one was worse, here's how it went.

I'm out with my friend, we were testing his Mavic 1 Pro, we were at a park near a store, we fly there often. 1st battery everything perfect, but after landing the 2nd time, the 2nd battery, just seconds after landing, two ladies approached us. One of them seemed nice and asked to take a photo of the drone, to me it seemed kinda strange, but I thought: hey, maybe she never saw a drone, or wants to show it to someone, so my friend held the drone, she took the photo. After the photo she started asking questions about the drone, like "what does it do" and "does it record video". After answering those questions she proceeded to say "did you know that it is illegal to fly here?" Oh not again, someone saying that it is a no fly zone. Both her and her friend talked to us in a very angry manner, shouting! I asked her, from where did she get that information, she said that after seeing the drone fly over her house, she called the police and asked, the cops said that it's not allowed to fly here, it's only allowed to fly over the fields. What?? I already had an encounter with the cops the other day, they know nothing about drones in my area. I disagreed with her and said "I hate to disagree, however your statements are completely false, we are allowed to fly over private property with this drone". She told us she will call the cops, and we said "fine, do whatever you want, we will not talk to you", we packed up the drone while she was calling the cops, said bye to them and went away, they claimed that we can't just walk away like that, but I didn't want to continue this discussion. They tried to follow us for a while, then I got my phone and took a picture of them, they probably got scared that we will report them for spying on us or following us and went away.

But wow, why do people go to this extent just because a drone flew over their house? Really?

So, you didn't say...but, where were you flying?

The USA?

Spain?

Where?

 

[Yaros]

So, you didn't say...but, where were you flying?

The USA?

Spain?

Where?

Mallorca, Spain

 

[Starz]

why do people go to this extent

Simple. They have nothing better to do. (and very little gray matter between their ears)

 

[GFields]

@Yaros I know being confronted can have its challenges.

But you should know that every time you post about them, you can expect to get the same kind of answers.

There is no member of this forum that can fix the problem for you, only tell you how they handle such a problem.

I would suggest finding better places to fly (there are many places and other drone pilots in Spain that never seem to have a problem) or finding a better way of articulating drone safety and flight regulations.

 

[Starz]

or finding a better way of articulating drone safety and flight regulations.

Most likely a waste of his time. The receiving party still wouldn’t understand his point of view.

 

[dirkclod]

@Yaros

But wow, why do people go to this extent just because a drone flew bover their house? Really?

As long as you’ve been here and read as many threads like yours
I amazed you even ask that.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

I am just curious @Yaros , does it ever occur to you to wonder why you are apparently plagued by confrontations?
Do you ever wonder what, where and how you fly, and all these confrontations, does for the general public's perception of drone users and drone usage on Mallorca?

 

[JoshC]

I got quite used to drone confrontations as they happen to me every month or so, but normally nothing too extreme, just someone getting angry about me flying my drone near a beach or similar. This one was worse, here's how it went.

I'm out with my friend, we were testing his Mavic 1 Pro, we were at a park near a store, we fly there often. 1st battery everything perfect, but after landing the 2nd time, the 2nd battery, just seconds after landing, two ladies approached us. One of them seemed nice and asked to take a photo of the drone, to me it seemed kinda strange, but I thought: hey, maybe she never saw a drone, or wants to show it to someone, so my friend held the drone, she took the photo. After the photo she started asking questions about the drone, like "what does it do" and "does it record video". After answering those questions she proceeded to say "did you know that it is illegal to fly here?" Oh not again, someone saying that it is a no fly zone. Both her and her friend talked to us in a very angry manner, shouting! I asked her, from where did she get that information, she said that after seeing the drone fly over her house, she called the police and asked, the cops said that it's not allowed to fly here, it's only allowed to fly over the fields. What?? I already had an encounter with the cops the other day, they know nothing about drones in my area. I disagreed with her and said "I hate to disagree, however your statements are completely false, we are allowed to fly over private property with this drone". She told us she will call the cops, and we said "fine, do whatever you want, we will not talk to you", we packed up the drone while she was calling the cops, said bye to them and went away, they claimed that we can't just walk away like that, but I didn't want to continue this discussion. They tried to follow us for a while, then I got my phone and took a picture of them, they probably got scared that we will report them for spying on us or following us and went away.

But wow, why do people go to this extent just because a drone flew over their house? Really?

Did you ever consider they may be right?
Mavic 1 weight means it falls under the A2 class, according to current rules it can't be flown within 50 metres of uninvolved persons.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

Incidentally nearly 700 flown km here and 0 confrontations, I have had a few 'conversations' (bear in mind I am deaf) and those resulted a lot of interest and or in "WOW that's pretty good"s, followed by "are they expensive?".

 

[Yaros]

I am just curious @Yaros , does it ever occur to you to wonder why you are apparently plagued by confrontations?
Do you ever wonder what, where and how you fly, and all these confrontations, does for the general public's perception of drone users and drone usage on Mallorca?

If what you're trying to say by this is that I'm doing something wrong handling these confrontations, then please explain what is wrong.

 

[Yaros]

Did you ever consider they may be right?
Mavic 1 weight means it falls under the A2 class, according to current rules it can't be flown within 50 metres of uninvolved persons.

In AESA's website it is unknown, because in some pages they still list A1 as 900g or less. The Mavic 1 is 700g so I assumed it fits in A1.

Even if they are partially right, they shouldn't talk to us the way they did, they should approach calmly, and not tricking us into this conversation by some stupid photo and follow up questions.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

If what you're trying to say by this is that I'm doing something wrong handling these confrontations, then please explain what is wrong.

Why? You don't listen, you just argue - convinced that you alone are correct and others, who disagree with you, are 'stupid'.

Besides, I actually asked you questions,

"does it ever occur to you to wonder why..........." etc.

Even if they are partially right, they shouldn't talk to us the way they did, they should approach calmly, and not tricking us into this conversation by some stupid photo and follow up questions.

Do you not effectively try to do the same thing here?
Though I doubt anyone now falls for your "tricks".
You start one of you typical threads, all very much the same as each other, all under the pretence of seeking a reasoned discussion and then argue with anyone who has the gall to disagree with you?

Honestly I wonder if you simply seek notoriety, both here and in your flying.

I half expect to see you someday post that you are being prosecuted by your authorities and then ask "why"?
Or, something like, "I was flying over uninvolved people, a seagull attacked the drone, it crashed injuring someone or damaging property and I am now being sued, why"?

Just as a matter of interest, under Spanish law and if you are still a minor. Are your parents legally responsible for your actions and any injuries and or damage that your drone might cause and or any fines the authorities might impose on you?

 

[Drone Views Media]

After countless confrontations, I've learned to politely stand my ground. Some people want to be annoyed with anything, and if you're doing nothing wrong, don't take the bait. Breathe and deal with their issue politely

 

[russellg]

I got quite used to drone confrontations as they happen to me every month or so, but normally nothing too extreme, just someone getting angry about me flying my drone near a beach or similar. This one was worse, here's how it went.

I'm out with my friend, we were testing his Mavic 1 Pro, we were at a park near a store, we fly there often. 1st battery everything perfect, but after landing the 2nd time, the 2nd battery, just seconds after landing, two ladies approached us. One of them seemed nice and asked to take a photo of the drone, to me it seemed kinda strange, but I thought: hey, maybe she never saw a drone, or wants to show it to someone, so my friend held the drone, she took the photo. After the photo she started asking questions about the drone, like "what does it do" and "does it record video". After answering those questions she proceeded to say "did you know that it is illegal to fly here?" Oh not again, someone saying that it is a no fly zone. Both her and her friend talked to us in a very angry manner, shouting! I asked her, from where did she get that information, she said that after seeing the drone fly over her house, she called the police and asked, the cops said that it's not allowed to fly here, it's only allowed to fly over the fields. What?? I already had an encounter with the cops the other day, they know nothing about drones in my area. I disagreed with her and said "I hate to disagree, however your statements are completely false, we are allowed to fly over private property with this drone". She told us she will call the cops, and we said "fine, do whatever you want, we will not talk to you", we packed up the drone while she was calling the cops, said bye to them and went away, they claimed that we can't just walk away like that, but I didn't want to continue this discussion. They tried to follow us for a while, then I got my phone and took a picture of them, they probably got scared that we will report them for spying on us or following us and went away.

But wow, why do people go to this extent just because a drone flew over their house? Really?

get yourself a body cam that records. the one I have records for over 10 hours per charge. it is the Rexing P1 from amazon. you can wear it on your shirt, great insurance.

 

[Vic Moss]

Why put yourself in a position for confrontation? Don't fly where there are people.
Why continue to make a confrontation worse? Better to just gracefully and safely exit the situation.

Because we have a right to fly there.

If we quit flying just because some ignorant do-gooder doesn't want us to, we'll lose too many places to fly. And if you leave, you're making it worse for the next drone operator who flies there.z

We don't need to confront people, but we don't need to be milktoast and back down.

 

[spsphotos]

Why put yourself in a position for confrontation? Don't fly where there are people.
Why continue to make a confrontation worse? Better to just gracefully and safely exit the situation.

That is a totally dumb suggestion. Are people supposed to go out into the desert to fly? No, the answer is to keep your cool and try to educate the Karens. If things get more confrontational, then pack up, and leave and if they are aggressive, YOU call the cops on them. One does not have to give up one's rights just to avoid confrontation.