Can't fly over people???

787steve · Dec 22, 2018

Gioba59 said:
What I mean is I can fly over pp at 45 angle and be at 50 feet high?

If you are at a 45 degree angle, you are not over them. The rule is simply not to fly over people. Don't over analyze it.

caspian · Dec 22, 2018

Aussie Oldtimer said:
In Oz, you have a 30m radius where you cant fly over people or buildings that might have someone inside just in case they walk out of the building.

where in the Oz regs does it say you can't fly over buildings?

caspian · Dec 22, 2018

bushie said:
CASA defined 1 person as a crowd

and conveniently forgot to include the concept of "consent", so theoretically you can't even get a family pic.

deleted member 877 · Dec 22, 2018

caspian said:
where in the Oz regs does it say you can't fly over buildings?

I certainly didn't interpret the rules to include not flying over buildings in case someone is inside and then walks outside. But I may have missed something.

787steve · Dec 22, 2018

FMR said:
In NZ reference is to Don't fly over people no references to distance from just above.
Feel needs to be clarified.
To me even being say 600ft from someone you are still flying above .
Needs to probably state directly above **

In this discussion, I believe above would mean at a higher altitude. Over would mean in the same lateral location and at a higher altitude. If you are operating at 50' AGL over flat terrain, you would be "above" everyone in the area, but if no one is near your operation, you are not "over" anyone.
For someone to argue that you were over a lone individual would be a tough task. But if you were flying over a crowd, as some posts on this board have shown, it would be hard to argue that you were not over people.

Simmo · Dec 22, 2018

They dont mention buildings as they used to. However where the grey area is, is the hazardous operation, which does mention property.

caspian · Dec 22, 2018

if they're going to leave the interpretation to the reader, then fine - I don't consider flying over a building to be inherently hazardous. job done.

Aussie Oldtimer · Dec 22, 2018

caspian said:
where in the Oz regs does it say you can't fly over buildings?

I haven’t read the casa rules (no real intention to do so as I spent a lifetime reading laws) but when I spoke at length with a person from CASA and he said that although we could fly over land that isn’t ours, we shouldn’t fly over a building on the off chance a person could exit that building and therefore come within the 30m radius. (remote possibility but in my experience, those things do happen)

I think that’s a fair thing given that its not even our land

To be honest, I think we have very open laws at present allowing us to fly over private land but that will soon change when something goes wrong or if more people whinge about drones.

So to answer your q, I don’t know, just going on what casa told me.

old man mavic · Dec 22, 2018

Simmo said:
They dont mention buildings as they used to. However where the grey area is, is the hazardous operation, which does mention property.View attachment 56555

if i was not allowed to fly over or above people i would find it very hard to fly in my local park as there is always the odd person or two walking their dogs at the park the place in question is a large reclaimed area with many paths and different levels wooded areas and ponds etc i fly at 100ft to 150ft up and take off from the highest point in the park some 100ft above the lower levels i do not hover over people and i am moving most of the time but inevitably i will be over someone at some point in my flight so am i breaking the rules ?

Simmo · Dec 22, 2018

In Australia, yes.

old man mavic · Dec 22, 2018

Simmo said:
In Australia, yes.

thanks for your reply problem is where i live we dont have the large uninhabited places that you probably enjoy

cloneme · Dec 22, 2018

Simmo said:
In Australia, any height. You cannot fly over people.

I am reading Australian CASA Rules for drones and it says among other things, "You must keep your drone at least 30 metres away from other people."" You must not flyover or above people. This include beaches, parks, events, or sports ovals where there is a game in progress."

Simmo · Dec 23, 2018

cloneme said:
I am reading Australian CASA Rules for drones and it says among other things, "You must keep your drone at least 30 metres away from other people."" You must not flyover or above people. This include beaches, parks, events, or sports ovals where there is a game in progress."

Agreed, your point is???

Stiltskin · Dec 23, 2018

dannybgoode said:
In the UK at least if you are 150m or more from a built up area and / or 150m away from any crowd (both undefined) then you can overfly isolate people or buildings at a minimum altitude of 50m.

The CAA define (CAP 403 I think) a built up area as - 'any area of a city, town or settlement which is substantially used for residential, industrial, commercial or recreational purposes.’ This covers pretty much all places people live, including most public parks and playing fields. A lot of recreational flyers are flying illegally, although the CAA are taking a soft approach at the moment. Incidents like at Gatwick may result in stronger enforcement unfortunately.

The crowd has already been defined more than a 1000 people not under your control.

cloneme · Dec 23, 2018

Simmo said:
Agreed, your point is???

Just confirming what you have been saying.

Simmo · Dec 23, 2018

cloneme said:
Just confirming what you have been saying.

No worries my friend!!!!

Stiltskin · Dec 23, 2018

old man mavic said:
if i was not allowed to fly over or above people i would find it very hard to fly in my local park as there is always the odd person or two walking their dogs at the park the place in question is a large reclaimed area with many paths and different levels wooded areas and ponds etc i fly at 100ft to 150ft up and take off from the highest point in the park some 100ft above the lower levels i do not hover over people and i am moving most of the time but inevitably i will be over someone at some point in my flight so am i breaking the rules ?

If you are not in control of the person then you need to be 50m from them (imagine a bubble around them). So flying at 100' AGL you will be breaking this if you overfly/fly near them. That said the park may be considered a built up area so unless there is permission from the owner of the park (council I presume) to fly there.

caspian · Dec 23, 2018

Aussie Oldtimer said:
I think that’s a fair thing given that its not even our land

ownership of land does not grant ownership of the airspace over it.

FoxhallGH · Dec 23, 2018

caspian said:
ownership of land does not grant ownership of the airspace over it.

You are then getting into a whole lot of other Civil law about rights of privacy etc. If you are transiting land and going over buildings at more than minimal altitudes, you may get away with it, but you have to be prepared for a reaction from the landowner. This is an 'Emotion' issue, not a 'Legal' issue ...
Bottom line is - Put yourself in the shoes of the landowner. "Would I be angry if I though that drone was taking pictures of me and mine?" ... If you get into an argument about your rights to fly in a place, then it's already ruined your day ...

caspian · Dec 23, 2018

I don't get a say in light aircraft flying over my land now. I don't see why a drone is any different.

drone != automatic privacy issue.

in any case, I don't see how it's not allowed as per the CASA regs, and that's my primary concern. I have yet to meet anyone who been anything but fascinated by my aircraft, especially when given a welcoming intro.