Use of Drones to record civil unrest.

[Maviac]

Interesting thread in light of the call I got tonight. There is a march happening in my hometown this weekend and one of the organizers, whom I don’t know personally but we have mutual friends, called to ask me if I could get some footage with my drone (one of our mutual friends gave him my name). It’s not an area with a lot of people/buildings and I can safely do it without flying over anyone (I’ve filmed the downtown area where it’s happening many times). I’m friends with the sheriff and left him a voicemail asking if he had a problem with it but I assume he won’t.

 

[sar104]

Good luck with that argument. If you're operating the drone in the park boundaries, you're in violation. "Policy Memorandum 14-05, released by the National Park Service (NPS) director in June 2014, directed each superintendent to use the authority under 36 CFR 1.5 to prohibit the launching, landing, or operation of unmanned aircraft, subject to the certain conditions and exceptions set forth in the memo. This is still in force with a very few exceptions."

You have misunderstood 14-05. Operation of an unmanned airport from within the park refers to the location of the pilot, not the aircraft. Including "operation" is to prevent someone from launching outside the park and then following the sUAS into park to maintain VLOS. NPS doesn't have jurisdiction over the airspace - only what happens on the ground.

 

[jagraphics]

Interesting thread in light of the call I got tonight. There is a march happening in my hometown this weekend and one of the organizers, whom I don’t know personally but we have mutual friends, called to ask me if I could get some footage with my drone (one of our mutual friends gave him my name). It’s not an area with a lot of people/buildings and I can safely do it without flying over anyone (I’ve filmed the downtown area where it’s happening many times). I’m friends with the sheriff and left him a voicemail asking if he had a problem with it but I assume he won’t.

You could call/voicemail/email the Serriff that your reading of the laws says seems to indicate that it is OK for you to fly and video. Could he get back to you if it is not?
So if you don't hear back it is OK. It is a weak argument but has been used before to mitigate..

As you know the Sheriff and the local Police as well as the protesters you will have a good idea of how the march will go and the Police reaction to it. However in any public march/rally/protest there are ALWAYS groups who turn up with a different agenda to the majority. Be prepared for that.

You will need a team. The pilot. A spotter with the pilot for situational awareness around the drone. Also another spotter for situational awareness around the pilot and spotter. Remember you may need to RUN at any time so keep all your kit on you.

Finally be prepared to loose the drone. It is replaceable you are not (despite what your partner may say :- ) .

 

[Rockycat]

That brings up an unrelated question but I hope you indulge me. I know it's illegal to fly in a national park, but is it illegal to "fly from a distance" there? In other words maybe stand outside the park and put the drone up keeping it outside the park but taking video or pictures of the park or is that not allowed?

You can fly over a national park, but you have to launch and retrieve from outside the park property.

 

[jagraphics]

A link to a fascinating map which shows why you don't want to be reporting on civil unrest it it is not your profession. Come to that it is not a good idea even it it is your job.
Note that whilst this is verified problems with the police there are a lot of similar problems with protesters. The chances are that if you go out with your done you won't be coming home with it. If as with many countries these days you have a registration number on it you will likely get a visit from the authorities a day or two later.
https://dktaylor916.github.io/

 

[Reelman67]

Good luck with that argument. If you're operating the drone in the park boundaries, you're in violation. "Policy Memorandum 14-05, released by the National Park Service (NPS) director in June 2014, directed each superintendent to use the authority under 36 CFR 1.5 to prohibit the launching, landing, or operation of unmanned aircraft, subject to the certain conditions and exceptions set forth in the memo. This is still in force with a very few exceptions."

I drove up to Paradise at Mt Rainier National Park, in Washington State, last week. The day was rainy/snowing, cold and miserable. Everything was closed with the exception of the bathrooms. There was a ranger at a table with pamphlets, looking bored. I asked him if drone flying was allowed (knowing the rules beforehand) to get his response. He was not the ogre I thought he might be, on this topic. He stated it was fairly common, people launch drones and then find out it is not allowed in the park. Here again, we observe people buying drones and then flying them without any study or knowledge of what they are doing. I would like to fly in the park as well, but knowing the rules beforehand, prevents me from doing so. This is a highly photographed scenic location in the NPS.

 

[jagraphics]

What has flying in US parks got to do with the "Use of Drones to record civil unrest."?
if you want to discuss flying in foreign parks start your own thread.

 

[Maviac]

You could call/voicemail/email the Serriff that your reading of the laws says seems to indicate that it is OK for you to fly and video. Could he get back to you if it is not?
So if you don't hear back it is OK. It is a weak argument but has been used before to mitigate..

As you know the Sheriff and the local Police as well as the protesters you will have a good idea of how the march will go and the Police reaction to it. However in any public march/rally/protest there are ALWAYS groups who turn up with a different agenda to the majority. Be prepared for that.

You will need a team. The pilot. A spotter with the pilot for situational awareness around the drone. Also another spotter for situational awareness around the pilot and spotter. Remember you may need to RUN at any time so keep all your kit on you.

Finally be prepared to loose the drone. It is replaceable you are not (despite what your partner may say :- ) .

All good points. I got approval from all parties concerned (I actually represent the sheriff, so if anyone else had asked for permission I’d have been the one they’d have called). But I ended up not flying, preferring to just attend and take photographs. Someone did have a drone there (M2P) flying illegally over the crowd. The police didn’t seem to care, though I did text the sheriff about it. Anyway, it was a very nice peaceful march/protest, and very diverse.