Anyone had their Mini weight checked?

[3rdof5]

Greetings fellow pilots. I'm curious, has anyone anywhere ever had an enforcement officer check the weight of their mini (any version) to see if it was indeed under 250 grams? I haven't

 

[MS Coast]

Broaden the question to "Has anyone had ANY drone weighed by a law enforcement officer or other official?" and I'll bet that the answer is still, "No."

 

[Dan'sUavTech]

Greetings fellow pilots. I'm curious, has anyone anywhere ever had an enforcement officer check the weight of their mini (any version) to see if it was indeed under 250 grams?

Personally, I have never had police ever stop me flying my drone, or check weight, etc. (No weight limits in NZ)

 

[Dronecation]

I have never given any reason for that scenario to happen...

 

[3rdof5]

Personally, I have never had police even bat an eye at me flying my drone.

Neither have I. Mind you I don't fly in a manner that bothers or annoys anyone in the area either. Maybe that's the trick

I have never given any reason for that scenario to happen...

That's the trick, neither have I!

 

[Dan'sUavTech]

Neither have I. Mind you I don't fly in a manner that bothers or annoys anyone in the area either. Maybe that's the trick

That's the trick, neither have I!

Yeah, If you're considerate and look like you know what you're doing, you should be ok.

 

[3rdof5]

There is so much talk about weight though. Plus batteries, lighting, other accessories, and then there's the mini 5 pro weight issue right out of the box. Sooo many worries, rules and regs. My mini 4 pro is registered and I'm a licensed pilot so it flies legally regardless of the battery in it. But will it ever get checked??? Not likely. And I'm really wondering, there's gotta be at least one instance of a mini getting checked somewhere??? No???

 

[BossBob]

It’s the same as with everything else. Don’t draw attention to yourself and generally no one will ever bother you. Act like a d*ck and you just draw attention to yourself.

 

[mavic3usa]

Not much difference than the issue in the UK with green flashing lights at night that was recently resolved, eh?

 

[Cafguy]

Just think of the legal aspects of a Government official Weighing your mini to make sure you are legal. I mean
What training do they have and what certifications.
are they certified to use the scale? heck is the scale they are using approved and certified!??? I would be curious to know exactly how they would go about doing that and then having it hold up in court.
The FAA just may weigh your drone if it is involved in an incident and they are actually there as witnesses I suppose.
The thing is you only get a strike or maybe 2 before those ridiculously expensive fines start coming into play, Why waste one strike on a simple weight violation?
The local police do not have any jurisdiction to enforce federal Drone Laws. They can actually get into a bit of hot water stepping into FED Territory.

 

[Droning on and on...]

Broaden the question to "Has anyone had ANY drone weighed by a law enforcement officer or other official?" and I'll bet that the answer is still, "No."

I'd add to that, "ever been confronted by a LEO for violating the VLOS or Observer rules" as well. I suspect this is a "no" as well.

 

[Captain Spock]

my mini2 w/ battery and no other add-ons was 249 gm exactly.

 

[Bigger Hammer]

I recall watching a video on YouTube in the UK with, (I think) DJE, where he was stopped by a UK police officer who was a drone pilot. He tried to jam DJE up for BOTH a VLOS AND a weight violation. It was his opinion that the drone had to be under direct observation every second it flew. In his opinion, a pilot was not permitted to take his eyes off the drone, even to check something as basic as battery power remaining or altitude.

I'm pretty sure that neither violation went anywhere and it may have been just an attempt by LE to overstep their authority.

 

[mavic3usa]

I recall watching a video on YouTube in the UK with, (I think) DJE, where he was stopped by a UK police officer who was a drone pilot. He tried to jam DJE up for BOTH a VLOS AND a weight violation. It was his opinion that the drone had to be under direct observation every second it flew. In his opinion, a pilot was not permitted to take his eyes off the drone, even to check something as basic as battery power remaining or altitude.

I'm pretty sure that neither violation went anywhere and it may have been just an attempt by LE to overstep their authority.

I remember that video but I can't seem to find it.....

If anyone wants to see what it *might* look like should you find yourself in one of these situations, have a look and please focus on the sections discussing the weight of the drone:

[not me, not my videos]

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[Kilrah]

And I'm really wondering, there's gotta be at least one instance of a mini getting checked somewhere??? No???

Probably not many. Usual thing, nobody will ever care until an accident happens. When one does it will get checked and whether it's compliant or not may be the difference between walking with no harm or with a hefty fine.

 

[wco81]

Personally, I have never had police ever stop me flying my drone, or check weight, etc. (No weight limits in NZ)

But technically in NZ, you have to get permit in a lot of DOC lands. Actually I think it's a fee to apply for the permit. You may pay over 200 NZD and they may still deny your request, you don't get that money back.

In addition, some councils want money to fly on some of their lands as well.

 

[Cafguy]

The local police here can only check for Trust Cards and stop actions that could be a danger to others..Here they Know that without a TRUST card Local laws forbid you to operate an aerial RC vehicle. So hoping you dont have one and be able to quickly send you on your way, They will ask to see it..Thats about all the police locally can do.

 

[sawman]

Probably not many. Usual thing, nobody will ever care until a accident happens. When one does it will get checked and whether it's compliant or not may be the difference between walking with no harm or with a hefty fine.

This.
Same with "fat" ultralight vehicles. It's never an issue until something happens that warrants an investigation. Browse through the NTSB reports and see how many that state that they didn't travel to the accident scene. Same with the FAA. I know of several aircraft accidents where nobody showed up except first responders.