Best and worst aspects of drone flying

[Daniel Mclean]

Hi everyone, I thought I would do an experiment. What aspects do you guys like about being a drone pilot, and what aspects do you hate?

 

[AeroJ]

1. Best thing:

The sheer amazing technological wonder that is the Mini series of drones (and the others TBH). I remain very grateful that I am alive at the same time as DJI's wonderful UAV platforms, and that they are relatively affordable, and that the quality of media they produce is so high, especially compared to their size and weight.

2. Worst thing

Organisations and Regulators that make unnecessary, oppressive and discriminatory drone rules they are prepared to entirely set aside in return for money - National Trust and English Heritage being the primary examples here in the UK, and the National Parks Authorities in the US. (In the case of the former) using land they have been donated by patrons expressing the noble wish the sites would be freely available to everyone, we are needlessly and (in a lot of cases) unjustifiably excluded from their land, and the skies above it they imagine they own ! A close second behind that would be the lying politicians and hysterically shrieking media that so often misreport drone incidents, or straight up lie to the public about the 'danger' these things represent. (see 'Gatwick invisible Drones episode).

3. Bonus worst thing.

Being treated as the 'lowest of the low' in the aerial pecking order. I am not whinging because we have to defer to manned aircraft. But I am going to bemoan the fact that the rules for them do not change in the slightest degree to account for our presence in the skies, yet our own laws constantly change and become more and more restrictive and hostile so we can better accommodate the demands of profit-driven enterprise by everyone else. In short, I don't see why our drone missions are any less important than the wishes of private pilots, drone delivery companies, or plane-loads of people going on holiday !

Oh, and we mustn't forget all the unnecessary Drone rules that have nothing whatever to do with safety, but which sell pilot privacy and safety down to the river to anyone with a mobile phone (see RID).

Apologies I keep popping back to add to the list of worst things. There are just SUCH a lot of them !!

 

[Bad Santa]

In 1986 I bought a pair of Honda ATV 200 three wheelers.
I bought them because they looked like a lot of fun. (and they were).
What I discovered as an owner of a pair of ATV three wheelers is that you can't really ride them in as many places as you'd like.

Owning a drone is similar.

All the places that seem like it would be fun to fly the drone seems to be off limits. I am specifically referring to parks. And the most important ones being the National Parks.
I'd also like to fly near the waterfalls. Guess what? They're off limits. I'd like to fly near the river I used to go to a lot. Guess what.
And I'd love to fly at a few of the lakes I used to go to. And, you guessed it... off limits.

 

[AeroJ]

you can't really ride them in as many places as you'd like.

You should try EUC's (Electric Unicycles) next - they can't be ridden ANYWHERE the public have access to here in the UK, despite the years and years of evidence available demonstrating that we can safely co-exist along side the public, and that we should be allowed everywhere pedestrians, bikes and cars can go !!

 

[AeroJ]

Oh no - he's back for another go !!

1. Bad thing:

The amount of time it takes to edit and produce decent video, and the silly copyright laws that mean we have to spend months scoring our own soundtracks !

2. Worse thing.

Ridiculous privacy laws that try to stop us filming things that anyone on the ground with a camera or mobile phone can freely film and upload !

3. Worst thing.

My failing eyesight, and the fact I have to wear 3 sets of bloody glasses to see anything properly !

I am going to look at photos of kittens now. And that beaver, eating cabbage.

 

[Daniel Mclean]

You should try EUC's (Electric Unicycles) next - they can't be ridden ANYWHERE the public have access to here in the UK, despite the years and years of evidence available demonstrating that we can safely co-exist along side the public, and that we should be allowed everywhere pedestrians, bikes and cars can go !!

About Ebikes.... Not unicycles. I have a 1500 w ebike and a 3500w escooter, which is speed limited to 40km/h, and I can't ride it on the road because of the "danger" it presents to pedestrians. Law is logical enough, although thinking about it, I can easily cycle much faster than that just on a normal mountain bike!
Alright, I think I am getting abit off-topic here.

My least favorite things about drone flying: Just before a trip, you charge up all your batteries (or so you think).
You arrive at your location after travelling for an hour or two, ready to shoot a lovely cinematic video of that lovely land formation in the sunset- Time is limited, so you hurry to get to the location before the sun sets. You take out your drone and place it on the ground. You place one of the batteries in the drone and power it on. You are very surprised when only one light on the battery appears when you press the button to start it. Then you check all the other batteries, and all of the stupid things are also dead flat!!
What happened???? When you put the batteries on the charger, you forgot to plug the charger into the wall!

Favorite thing? When an airspace rule is changed, and suddenly you can fly where you used to not be able too. (Happens rarely)
When no whining warnings or errors appear on a flight in the app. (Also happens rarely)
But seriously, I like flying in New Zealand because there are a lot less restrictions than other countries. (No sub-250-gram rules exist, so I can legally fly say a DJI Phantom without a license or registration.

 

[glocke12]

1. Best thing:

The sheer amazing technological wonder that is the Mini series of drones (and the others TBH). I remain very grateful that I am alive at the same time as DJI's wonderful UAV platforms, and that they are relatively affordable, and that the quality of media they produce is so high, especially compared to their size and weight.

2. Worst thing

Organisations and Regulators that make unnecessary, oppressive and discriminatory drone rules they are prepared to entirely set aside in return for money - National Trust and English Heritage being the primary examples here in the UK, and the National Parks Authorities in the US. (In the case of the former) using land they have been donated by patrons expressing the noble wish the sites would be freely available to everyone, we are needlessly and (in a lot of cases) unjustifiably excluded from their land, and the skies above it they imagine they own ! A close second behind that would be the lying politicians and hysterically shrieking media that so often misreport drone incidents, or straight up lie to the public about the 'danger' these things represent. (see 'Gatwick invisible Drones episode).

3. Bonus worst thing.

Being treated as the 'lowest of the low' in the aerial pecking order. I am not whinging because we have to defer to manned aircraft. But I am going to bemoan the fact that the rules for them do not change in the slightest degree to account for our presence in the skies, yet our own laws constantly change and become more and more restrictive and hostile so we can better accommodate the demands of profit-driven enterprise by everyone else. In short, I don't see why our drone missions are any less important than the wishes of private pilots, drone delivery companies, or plane-loads of people going on holiday !

Oh, and we mustn't forget all the unnecessary Drone rules that have nothing whatever to do with safety, but which sell pilot privacy and safety down to the river to anyone with a mobile phone (see RID).

Apologies I keep popping back to add to the list of worst things. There are just SUCH a lot of them !!

All of this for me...

I will also add the negative impression of drones that others have and the reactions I have gotten from them.

I was 100% naive about that when I got into this hobby back in May. I viewed it as an innocent way to view the world, and an innocent thing I could do from my backyard...WRONG.

I've had neighbors accuse me of spying, I've had neighbors tell me to not fly over their property ( not giving into that and I am always at an altitude of 300-400 feet when flying over homes in my sparsely populated area ), I've shared footage and photos with relatives saying " look at this cool sunset/sunrise " and I could tell from their response/lack of response they didn't really approve of drones, one brother even read me the riot act about their use telling me I shouldn't fly these without a private pilots license and instrument rating. That comment/interaction has basically ruined that relationship I have with that relative and at this point we are basically on non-speaking terms.

Those interactions with others basically robbed me of the innocent view I had towards flying drones and I basically feel slightly " dirty " when I go out to fly now but I still do.

Than there are the private pilots around me that dont seem to GAF about the rules they are given and do things like this ( screen grab but I have this on video and yes they are as close to that home as they appear to be):



That is just one local pilot that flies well below 500 feet in my area. This particular person is doing that almost every weekend and has forced a few of us that get together to fly to bring our drones down in a hurry.

I still consider it a great hobby, but I regret having shared it via words or photos with people who are not in the hobby.

 

[Felix le Chat]

All of this for me...

I will also add the negative impression of drones that others have and the reactions I have gotten from them.

I was 100% naive about that when I got into this hobby back in May. I viewed it as an innocent way to view the world, and an innocent thing I could do from my backyard...WRONG.

I've had neighbors accuse me of spying, I've had neighbors tell me to not fly over their property ( not giving into that and I am always at an altitude of 300-400 feet when flying over homes in my sparsely populated area ), I've shared footage and photos with relatives saying " look at this cool sunset/sunrise " and I could tell from their response/lack of response they didn't really approve of drones, one brother even read me the riot act about their use telling me I shouldn't fly these without a private pilots license and instrument rating. That comment/interaction has basically ruined that relationship I with that relative and at this point we are basically on non-speaking terms.

Those interactions with others basically robbed me of the innocent view I had towards flying drones and I basically feel slightly " dirty " when I go out to fly now but I still do.

Than there are the private pilots around me that dont seem to GAF about the rules they are given and do things like this ( screen grab but I have this on video and yes they are as close to that home as they appear to be):

View attachment 185610

That is just one local pilot that flies well below 500 feet in my area. This particular person is doing that almost every weekend and has forced a few of us that get together to fly to bring our drones down in a hurry.

I still consider it a great hobby, but I regret having shared it via words or photos with people who are not in the hobby.

Very well put.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Flying a drone now falls into the "don't ask, don't tell" category of activities! LOL!
Don't share it, and don't fly from home!
Otherwise, be discreet, enjoy it privately when others aren't around, and don't get caught!

 

[AeroJ]

This particular person is doing that almost every weekend and has forced a few of us that get together to fly to bring our drones down in a hurry.

Yep, that pilot should definitely be held accountable for flying that low over residences. Presumably you can get his registration off FlightRadar24 or even off a still frame in the video when he's that close ? Have you guys reported him to FAA ? You actually do have evidence, which is rare and hard to get. They might have to actually DO something about it if presented with it.

 

[Cafguy]

I mainly FPV... I love throwing on my googles and putting my little "jet fighter" thru its paces!!
The biggest thing I hate about it right now, is the fact that prices for everything have almost doubled this year! so most of my drones sit and wait for an expensive part.

 

[GadgetGuy]

I mainly FPV... I love throwing on my googles and putting my little "jet fighter" thru its paces!!
The biggest thing I hate about it right now, is the fact that prices for everything have almost doubled this year! so most of my drones sit and wait for an expensive part.

Don't crash so much! LOL!

 

[Christiaan]

I'm FPV pilot too. Own Neos and Avata2s. But actually started with a Tello + vr goggles, had a drone mask to the spark and the mini. Flying vlos is boring...

 

[BlueHeeler]

Best : Flying pretty much anywhere without someone giving me grief.

Worse : State Parks Regulations in some States that require one to contact the Superintendent for permissions, getting in contact with one is almost impossible, sasquatch is easier to locate and then you have Delaware, they extort money from you to fly in some of their parks.

 

[hank970]

Best: Being able to capture dramatic photos from an aerial perspective.

Worst: People's complaints about reasonable limitations imposed upon their use of drones. Just because someone invents a new gadget doesn't mean that folks who buy one should have free rein to use it when and where they wish or that folks with other interests and sensibilities have to embrace, accommodate, and tolerate it. They have rights too.

If you own a bullhorn, don't expect to be greeted with nods of approval if you take it to the opera and decide to sing along with the performers. If you aren't allowed to fly your drone in a park, fly it somewhere else.

 

[AeroJ]

Worst: People's complaints about reasonable limitations imposed upon their use of drones.

I haven't seen anyone doing that. Nobody minds the reasonable limitations. It's all the unreasonable and unnecessary ones we are concerned about. If people can film from the ground on their phones, there is no reason to prevent us doing the same from a bit higher up, especially in a public place like a park where people, viewed from above, are about 2 pixels high on a screen.

 

[hank970]

I haven't seen anyone doing that. Nobody minds the reasonable limitations. It's all the unreasonable and unnecessary ones we are concerned about. If people can film from the ground on their phones, there is no reason to prevent us doing the same from a bit higher up, especially in a public place like a park.

National parks are established to fulfill specific and narrow purposes. What's considered reasonable conduct in a park setting may vary from one person to the next, but we the people, through our elected representatives, have delegated responsibility for making such determinations to the National Park Service. The agency has been empowered by congress to promulgate regulations intended to provide not only for resource protection, but also for non-injurious and non-intrusive public use. Further, park superintendents are authorized to publish additional restrictions on use peculiar to each administered area. You may not like where the NPS draws the line between permissible and non-permissible, but it isn't your call. If you enter a park in consonance with the reasons for which it was established, then enjoy yourself. But, because park regulations forbid launching, landing and operating aircraft, either leave your drone at home or content yourself with flying it somewhere else.

I live within one mile of a 20,450-acre Colorado National Monument, which boasts of some truly spectacular western scenery, and I'm a frequent visitor. I respect the reasons for which it was established more than a century ago, and I respect the rights of other visitors to enjoy it without having to see my drone or hear it buzzing in their ears.

 

[paulhackerllc]

All of this for me...

I will also add the negative impression of drones that others have and the reactions I have gotten from them.

I was 100% naive about that when I got into this hobby back in May. I viewed it as an innocent way to view the world, and an innocent thing I could do from my backyard...WRONG.

I've had neighbors accuse me of spying, I've had neighbors tell me to not fly over their property ( not giving into that and I am always at an altitude of 300-400 feet when flying over homes in my sparsely populated area ), I've shared footage and photos with relatives saying " look at this cool sunset/sunrise " and I could tell from their response/lack of response they didn't really approve of drones, one brother even read me the riot act about their use telling me I shouldn't fly these without a private pilots license and instrument rating. That comment/interaction has basically ruined that relationship I have with that relative and at this point we are basically on non-speaking terms.

Those interactions with others basically robbed me of the innocent view I had towards flying drones and I basically feel slightly " dirty " when I go out to fly now but I still do.

Than there are the private pilots around me that dont seem to GAF about the rules they are given and do things like this ( screen grab but I have this on video and yes they are as close to that home as they appear to be):

View attachment 185610

That is just one local pilot that flies well below 500 feet in my area. This particular person is doing that almost every weekend and has forced a few of us that get together to fly to bring our drones down in a hurry.

I still consider it a great hobby, but I regret having shared it via words or photos with people who are not in the hobby.

That “one” brother was probably always a controlling pita anyways. You go fly and enjoy.

 

[AeroJ]

National parks are established to fulfill specific and narrow purposes.

Yes. rather too narrow in my opinion. I don't know why people in National Parks are expecting silent skies. Manned aviation faces no additional restrictions here to ensure that, public roads often go right through them, and other visitors all make a reasonable amount of noise, to which drones would contribute hardly anything. We all know how quiet (for example) a Mini series drone can be, to the extent that it's not really hearable from the ground at all once it gets to around 200 ft or so, so I find it quite hard to take seriously rules based on drone noise disturbing people's peace and quiet. So why have these regulators, in their 'wisdom', not simply confined us to 200 ft+ except while launching or landing ? or limited our numbers so there are never more than say 5 in the sky at a time ? Or ring fenced a few days a month / season drones are freely allowed to film ? Where is the justification or mandate for banning the entire hobby from access to the land ?

 

[eddocapo]

Thank you to everyone who responded to the original post by Daniel. I thought that I was the only one who had those same feelings regarding flying my DJI Air 2. I AM NOT ALONE!!