Audits

[Bob in Savannah]

It's what you asked for. ?
Oh, go about 7 minutes into THIS
Is two enough?

Easy... I'm just saying don't get too worked up yet. I'm NOT arguing with you, friend. I just came across bluntly online. My apoligies.

I don't think these several examples are a good representation of what's transpiring at the moment with these first amendment audits. I AGREE, however, that this could become an issue potentially. But the FAA laws prohibit doing anything illegally anyway. And the auditors need to abide to get their point across.

It's a moot post, honestly. I'm the one that's made an issue over this. lol. Should have ignored it. lol You might find a handful (less than 10) of these drone related first amendment audits vs the THOUSANDS of "on foot" audits with handheld cameras. The numbers aren't there yet to work yourself up.

 

[Chip]

Thankfully, I’ve never seen one of these videos you are referring to.

This is a good one. "Auditors" assert right to fly over LAPD police department parking lot and record activities. Note how they aggressively but cleverly raise every possible argument as to why they can do it but police politley and cleverly push back. Is there a clear winner? What do you think?

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[Deleted member 170899]

Looks like you found The ONLY One. I don't think this is anything to be concerned about YET.

Yes, you found ONE EXAMPLE. And I agree this could be a huge problem, but I think, (hope), that the drone angle is overlooked by the people trying to protect our rights by sacrificing our hobby and making the drone a "martyr."

Note: That was a long last sentance.

We are in complete agreement. These jerks do hurt us, and BTW I found several more.

 

[old man mavic]

we have lots of "auditors"here in the UK ,who like to go round police stations ,industrial estates,and sensitive areas such as prisons ,and MOD facilities ,and film their interactions ,because they know that legally they can photograph anything they can see from a public place
they use a combination of hand held cameras on a gimbal ,or a camera drone
they also know, that if the drone they are using, is under the 250g weight limit then they are able to fly over almost any structures, roads, rail lines ,and people ,and since the sudden upsurge of such videos on You tube and other sites ,there impact has waned considerably ,because the police ,have cottoned on to their antics, and when they do respond to calls about them ,provided they have the necessary operator ID, and are not flying in a TFR or controlled airspace,then they just show up have a chat, and then go away and leave them to it
in some ways these auditors,have had a positive affect on the way society reacts to seeing a drone flying, at least here in the UK

 

[drhitch54]

There's a lot right now I would like to say about my rights as an American citizen but then this post will weally just deteriorate into nonsense.

Let's stay on topic.

Agree 100%

My reply was simply to a) be aware that there will always be fringe elements in ANY market and b) for us drone pilots that comply by rules "for the better good", it is our responsibility to self-police our industry to weed-out flagrant self-entitled pilots (eg, flying way beyond LOS and flying/harassing over people)...

 

[Bob in Savannah]

Agree 100%

My reply was simply to a) be aware that there will always be fringe elements in ANY market and b) for us drone pilots that comply by rules "for the better good", it is our responsibility to self-police our industry to weed-out flagrant self-entitled pilots (eg, flying way beyond LOS and flying/harassing over people)...

I couldn't have said it better, myself. +1

 

[Skydreamer]

Oh yes.
And then on top of everything else, we have the wonderful Taco Bell commercial with the two dorks flying FPV.

almost choked on my premium trail mix

 

[DunedinM3P]

Hi Guys: I'm new to drones and am soaking up all of the information I can find to be sure that I fly safely and legally. So far I'm having lots of fun with my DJI Mini SE.

One thing that disturbed me when going over various YouTube videos are these "auditors", people who - it seems clear to me - intentionally fly drones in places where they know it will provoke confrontation. Even though their activities are technically legal, I find it troubling. That is to say, people are literally making money on YouTube by intentionally annoying other people and the fact that the annoyed may be ignorant of current drone laws is 100% irrelevant to me. I find the entire thing distasteful and disingenuous.

Honestly, If I were flying my drone over a local company's property and they asked me to stop, I would just stop. It's just common kindness and respect and the fact that they may be ignorant of the airspace laws - or that I'm legally entitled to do it - is irrelevant to me. The same goes for my neighbor, if he asks me to not fly over his property I wouldn't, or at a bare minimum if I had to cross his property I would fly high enough where it wouldn't matter and nobody would ever see it anyway.

As I explore my new hobby it seems pretty clear to me that there are some random idiots out there making it more difficult for the majority. No wonder so many people hate drones.

Anyway, I plan on taking that approach. Getting along with people, respecting their wishes, and having lots of fun.

I had to get that off of my chest.

Well said! I couldn't have written that better, and I agree with everything you said. These so called 'auditors' are puerile idiots with no sense of decency, giving 'real' drone hobbyists a bad name. They're in it for the money and social media 'likes' and don't give a stuff about the rest of us. I guess there's nothing we can do about them except never watch their videos and hope they'll disappear over time.

 

[Dmcvey]

No different than a guy with an AR walking down the street and trying to get cops on film for asking why he is walking around with an AR.

 

[Bob in Savannah]

No different than a guy with an AR walking down the street and trying to get cops on film for asking why he is walking around with an AR.

Its actually a LOT different but your point is made.

 

[LawrenceF]

Good discussion.

Anyway, social media is a lot like money. It doesn't actually change who people are, it just shows you who they really are.