The Statue of Liberty with my Mavic

GizaDog · Mar 5, 2017

Racenviper said:
Waiting for the drone police on this one.

That is a national park and a NFZ.

There is always one Drone Nanny around.

kodiak1120 · Mar 5, 2017

GizaDog said:
There is always one Drone Nanny around.

Seriously... This is probably one of the safest flights you can do in the NY/NJ area, and people are freaking out like I was being reckless.

cardplayer71 · Mar 5, 2017

kodiak1120 said:
Seriously... This is probably one of the safest flights you can do in the NY/NJ area, and people are freaking out like I was being reckless.

I didn't see anyone claim you were being reckless. I also didn't see any "freaking out" but perhaps your "freak out" interpretation threshold is lower than mine. This can also be a learning opportunity for those of us surrounded by these heliports.

What about the requirement to notify all airports, including heliports, within the 5 mile radius? Or, are you commercial?

The pin is Liberty Island.
FAA reference below for 112-95, with commentary regarding heliports.

Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Frequently Asked Questions

kodiak1120 · Mar 5, 2017

cardplayer71 said:
I didn't see anyone claim you were being reckless. I also didn't see any "freaking out" but perhaps your "freak out" interpretation threshold is lower than mine. This can also be a learning opportunity for those of us surrounded by these heliports.

What about the requirement to notify all airports, including heliports, within the 5 mile radius? Or, are you commercial?

The pin is Liberty Island.
FAA reference below for 112-95, with commentary regarding heliports.

Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Frequently Asked Questions

Maybe freak out was too strong of a word, but I'm talking about the people who are suggesting I could be fined or go to jail, lol.

I'm a commercial flyer, so I only have to stay within Class G airspace, or obtain ATC permission in Class B, C, D or E.

Kestrel · Mar 5, 2017

kodiak1120 said:
Maybe freak out was too strong of a word, but I'm talking about the people who are suggesting I could be fined or go to jail, lol.

I'm a commercial flyer, so I only have to stay within Class G airspace, or obtain ATC permission in Class B, C, D or E.

I see you are referring to me and yes you could, especially if you crashed into the statue of liberty and if you crashed and your drone hit someone. There is a guy in Seattle facing jail time because he hurt someone with his drone, you don't think you wouldn't? I'm not freaking out either, i'm just stating my opinion on your flight. Good video but with the potential to land you in hot water if things went wrong.

cardplayer71 · Mar 5, 2017

kodiak1120 said:
Maybe freak out was too strong of a word, but I'm talking about the people who are suggesting I could be fined or go to jail, lol.

I'm a commercial flyer, so I only have to stay within Class G airspace, or obtain ATC permission in Class B, C, D or E.

It appears that a commercial certification would be a hassle reducer. These heliports and mom-and-pop airfields are a ridiculous burden for us hobbyists. The people there don't even know what we are talking about when we call, or they just bark "FAA law bans all drones within 5 miles!" and hang up. This literally happened to me and it took a series of calls to sort it out and educate them. It's hardly worth the bother, so I just fly outside the circles now. What do you think? Are there cons to the commercial certification?

kodiak1120 · Mar 5, 2017

Kestrel said:
I see you are referring to me and yes you could, especially if you crashed into the statue of liberty and if you crashed and your drone hit someone. There is a guy in Seattle facing jail time because he hurt someone with his drone, you don't think you wouldn't? I'm not freaking out either, i'm just stating my opinion on your flight. Good video but with the potential to land you in hot water if things went wrong.

You would get in trouble if you hurt someone with your drone regardless of where you are. This is not a highly populated area. Most videos people post on here of them flying around their neighborhoods pose more of a threat to people on the ground.

Kestrel · Mar 5, 2017

kodiak1120 said:
You would get in trouble if you hurt someone with your drone regardless of where you are. This is not a highly populated area. Most videos people post on here of them flying around their neighborhoods pose more of a threat to people on the ground.

The statue of liberty is a huge tourist attraction and National Icon lol, lots people visit it, so I don't call it not a highly populated area.

kodiak1120 · Mar 5, 2017

cardplayer71 said:
It appears that a commercial certification would be a hassle reducer. These heliports and mom-and-pop airfields are a ridiculous burden for us hobbyists. The people there don't even know what we are talking about when we call, or they just bark "FAA law bans all drones within 5 miles!" and hang up. This literally happened to me and it took a series of calls to sort it out and educate them. It's hardly worth the bother, so I just fly outside the circles now. What do you think? Are there cons to the commercial certification?

Commercial is harder because you have to actually know what airspace you are in, which requires some learning about sectional charts, airspace classifications, etc. Also, keep in mind that if you are in other than Class G, you have to actually obtain permission from ATC (I think recreational only requires you to "notify" ATC).

kodiak1120 · Mar 5, 2017

Kestrel said:
The statue of liberty is a huge tourist attraction and National Icon lol, lots people visit it, so I don't call it not a highly populated area.

Not on a freezing cold day in February. Also, as I said, 95 percent of the flight was over water.

Kestrel · Mar 5, 2017

kodiak1120 said:
Not on a freezing cold day in February. Also, as I said, 95 percent of the flight was over water.

It's the other 5% that counts though. Either way nice video and i'm glad you didn't make national news.

cardplayer71 · Mar 5, 2017

kodiak1120 said:
Commercial is harder because you have to actually know what airspace you are in, which requires some learning about sectional charts, airspace classifications, etc. Also, keep in mind that if you are in other than Class G, you have to actually obtain permission from ATC (I think recreational only requires you to "notify" ATC).

I think I may prefer that to the current situation. Here in Pennsylvania, if I'm not surrounded by heliports, then I'm in a state forest, state park, state game land, where the state has "banned" drones (never mind FAA airspace rules). It's not worded the same way as the national parks, and I don't want a ton of hassle. So, as a hobbyist, it's very tough out here.

TRex Customz · Mar 5, 2017

Hey I'm new to these forums and I think it was a pretty bad a$s video. Flying these things is always a gamble no matter where you fly. They are electronic devices that do fail. So cudos for a great flight, you stayed in the air, you kept it safe, and you got some awesome video.
And hell let's be honest if you ain't breaking rules you ain't living right!

MR2DSP · Mar 5, 2017

I see you took off from Liberty State Park .

Viper · Mar 5, 2017

kodiak1120 said:
It is a National Park. It is not a NFZ. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but I checked all of the sectional charts. It's Class G airspace up to 700 AGL. The rules for National Parks are only that you cannot take off or land from within. You can fly over because the National Park Service does not have jurisdiction over the airspace.

You sir have done your home work Thumbswayup

100% nice video

cardplayer71 · Mar 6, 2017

Viper said:
You sir have done your home work 100% nice video

Well, he's also commerical. Us hobbyist saps would be on the phone for 9 months notifying those 9000 heliports. LOL.

Kai Mele · Mar 6, 2017

Cool! I had no idea the statue was on an island.

Did you use the POI mode for some of the filming?

kodiak1120 · Mar 6, 2017

Kai Mele said:
Cool! I had no idea the statue was on an island.

Did you use the POI mode for some of the filming?

Thanks. No POI mode. I've actually never used POI mode, and I didn't want my first time to be when I'm flying 300' out over the water. I did all the shots manually. It was hard because I was very nervous

Kilrah · Mar 6, 2017

Kestrel said:
I don't know about a helicopter, to dangerous to fly with a drone in the air, perhaps a boat to track it..

Send the helicopter anyway, so you can add "endangering of manned aircraft" to the list of charges

Very nice clip.

MavicPro83 · Mar 6, 2017

Nice Video, I have flown in that area before myself its pretty spectacular! The Drone police are sadly the reason I never post my vids for fear of wading through 500 comments on what I'm doing wrong - these folks clearly never break any rules and must be the perfect citizens.