Crazy Neighbor and my Drone

[Mr Mint]

I find it very interesting that there seems to be a general opinion that flight logs would not be of any use to the police. I guess if you can delete any flight logs then this would render the existing log files to be useless. Am I wrong in thinking this way? It appears to show from most of the postings in this thread say that flight logs are a waste of time but then you have other postings that say that flight logs are a good thing to have with regards to legal issues. I am not sure what to think about this point Any further comments Mr Mint

 

[Mr Mint]

Just one more thing about my crazy neighbor and that is he just finished building a free standing double car garage on the side of lot. Now that I think about it I never did see any posted building permit sign which is required by law to be posted in open sight I see in one of the recent postings he mentions his experience with his neighbor building a retaining wall without a building permit and then the neighbor spreads bad rumors to get the drone flyer off of their back. That is quite the story. You have to be on your guard with everything. Mr Mint

 

[Barbara]

I find it very interesting that there seems to be a general opinion that flight logs would not be of any use to the police. I guess if you can delete any flight logs then this would render the existing log files to be useless. Am I wrong in thinking this way? It appears to show from most of the postings in this thread say that flight logs are a waste of time but then you have other postings that say that flight logs are a good thing to have with regards to legal issues. I am not sure what to think about this point Any further comments Mr Mint

Exactly the issue. One can simply delete the logs you don't want seen. Thus, they are rendered useless. The only way it could be used is if the complaint stipulated a date and time and you could produce a flight log showing the same time period and location nowhere near their property.

 

[DARKSeifer]

You don't need to prove you are innocent, he needs to prove you are guilty (Article 11 of the UDHR), so no need to show the logs to anyone.

If you said you didn't fly over his propriety (wich btw, is legal unless you were "trimming the grass") he has to believe it or prove the contrary, and you don't need to give further explanation.

Logs are private, and are personal data, never show your logs to anyone except if you need assistance from the drone community or the manufacturer to clarify a crash or a malfunction.

Be respectful to anyone approaching you when you are flying your drone, show your credentials if asked by the police, but never share the details of your flights because no matter how many permits you have of how legal you believe the flight is, you may always be unaware of something, so the less over information you give, the better.

You just need to say "Oh, I'm just taking some pictures of the sunset right over here, quite a nice day today" then smile, play dumb a little and bye bye.

 

[Mr Mint]

I guess Barbara is correct in her statement regarding flight logs. So how does a drone pilot defend his case with the use of flight records or is it a case of one person word against the other Thank you Barbara for you posting Mr Mint

 

[netfolks2000]

I guess Barbara is correct in her statement regarding flight logs. So how does a drone pilot defend his case with the use of flight records or is it a case of one person word against the other Thank you Barbara for you posting Mr Mint

The best use of a flight record is when an accuser says they have the date and time the pilot presumably "did" something. In that case, the flight log for that specific time, or absense thereof, where you have others for the same day, would, show how close you were, if you were in the air, and where you flew.

 

[Carlos56]

You can't prove a negative - that you haven't flown over his house. Anyway, in most cases like this the complainant does not have any facts behind his accusation, so even if you could, proving to him you haven't flown over his house would be a waste of time. He's not interested in whether you have or you haven't, he's probably just concerned that you could, and could photograph his property. My guess is he heard from someone you had a drone, and that alone was enough to prompt him to make the accusation.

I doubt he will go to the police because he has no specific evidence, just a fear of what you might do. The police would only act if he had a credible complaint with dates and times, and then only maybe. But he won't have proof, just an accusation. So it becomes his word against yours. I agree with DARKseifer - no need to give your flight logs to anyone. Better not to, because people can misinterpret stuff.

Most important is the advice to document any interactions with him. If you hear from him again, it might be good to go down to your local police station and preemptively let them know about his behavior. That way if he subsequently complains to them, they will already know you have no ill intent towards him, and he will look like the villain.

My advice, don't voluntarily engage with him or contact him in any way. The less said to him the better. If he comes to your door again, I suggest you don't get into a conversation/argument, and simply state that you have not and will not be flying over his property, and politely ask him to leave your property. And then give the local police a "heads up" of the issue.

 

[Fataltopdog]

I had the same thing happened to me I was flying my Mini 2 in the air and all the sudden I saw my neighbour jump in the car and drive round to my house where I was flying he told me I was filming his kids in the garden but it was about 6:30 at night in England and I told him I definitely wasn't recording his kids I am a family man myself with kids myself I told him I was doing nothing wrong it's not a restricted airspace and I can fly where I like and sure enough he went off and called the police and then the police came to my door the next day when the police showed up I show them my drone that it was under 250g it was a registered drone and there was nothing that anybody could do and I carried on flying and that was the last I ever heard of it

 

[SkittleBob]

Rethinking this, I'd be keeping an eye out on his property, waiting for the whole family to go out in the car, then looking to see if he's trying to hide something.

 

[Mikieh]

I was recently approached by one of my neighbors that lives about 1000 feet away from me just down the road. He came to my front door and told me to stop flying over the top of his house. I don't know this person so I am dealing with a perfect stranger. I just want to mention that we live in the country and there are open fields both in front and back of my house. I usually fly in the front field with no problems. He informs me that I was looking at his kids in their back yard swimming pool at his house. If I don't stop flying over his house he will call the police.
I told him that I have not been do such thing but I would check my flight logs to be sure. I did check my logs and sure enough I had not even once come near his property. I told him that I am flying legally and then asked him to leave. He was quite an aggressive neighbor. My wife says to me that I should go and see him at his door and inform him that I have not flown over the top of his house but I think that I just don't want to get into another war. He never did call the police but I was ready with my flight logs if need be What would you do. Go see the neighbor with the flight logs or leave things alone. Any advice or opinion would be appreciated. Thank You Mr Mint

I’ve always been amazed at how people react to drones, and what they think we are doing wth them. I am a semi-retired man who took up Photography as a hobby a few years ago. As I progressed in the hobby I eventally acquired more skill and now have professional equipment. Drone photography is a natural progression from terrestrial to aerial photography. I now shoot real estate photos , both on the ground and in the air. I acquired my FAA part 107 last year and have been getting “paid” for something I like to do! There is so much beauty
you can see from the air! I think even your neighbor would be pleased with the view. To think you would waste air time on his little parcel of land is quite laughable! People don’t suddenly lose their scruples when they get a drone in the air! I think treat your neighbor as yourself is the best adage here. Peace!

I was recently approached by one of my neighbors that lives about 1000 feet away from me just down the road. He came to my front door and told me to stop flying over the top of his house. I don't know this person so I am dealing with a perfect stranger. I just want to mention that we live in the country and there are open fields both in front and back of my house. I usually fly in the front field with no problems. He informs me that I was looking at his kids in their back yard swimming pool at his house. If I don't stop flying over his house he will call the police.
I told him that I have not been do such thing but I would check my flight logs to be sure. I did check my logs and sure enough I had not even once come near his property. I told him that I am flying legally and then asked him to leave. He was quite an aggressive neighbor. My wife says to me that I should go and see him at his door and inform him that I have not flown over the top of his house but I think that I just don't want to get into another war. He never did call the police but I was ready with my flight logs if need be What would you do. Go see the neighbor with the flight logs or leave things alone. Any advice or opinion would be appreciated. Thank You Mr Mint

 

[SlugHead]

This happens to a lot of drone pilots in all neighborhoods, it sucks.

 

[A.O.]

This happens to a lot of drone pilots in all neighborhoods, it sucks.

Basically neighborhoods suck!

 

[Mr Mint]

I still can't believe that this crazy neighbor expects me to believe that his property has controlled air space 50 meters upward around his property lines We live way out in the country with open fields both front and back of us. We are not near any airports for miles around us I guess it is true that most pilots do have some experience similar to what I have seen. I am a new pilot and I have been only flying since the last 2 months. I certainly will be more careful about how I fly and like always I fly within the law. Any further comments Mr Mint

 

[Galilleo]

hes an idiot. if everything is as you say......there is no reason to go to his house and prove!?! its just the nature of the hobby. We fly cameras, around people who think they own the air above their homes too infinity. It doesnt matter if you were on your property pointed at his property. The perception is nefarious, and hes an idiot Besides if hes bold enough to come to your house and confront you. The authorities should be involved sooner rather than later. Might be a great opportunity to get everyone on the same page!

 

[tvdwouw]

I see that the discussion mainly focuses on the legality of things. However, the topic here seems to me the broad distrust people have against drones. Here some time ago a parliament member visiting her sister saw a drone at about 200 yards away and tweeted she was spied upon! Actually, someone from a house at a distance with a camera with tele lens is much more capable of spying than any drone can do!
There is a broad feeling that drones spy on people and many people worry about their onw privacy.
What I normally do is tell them I understand their worries, then offer to demonstrate and check the footage and in some cases let them fly themselves (I have a 2nd RC as slave to the master RC for my M2P).
I even did a PPT presentation in my neighborhood. No problems here.
My advice: tell them you understand him, don't think he is an idiot and share footage, let him fly! It is better to have one more fan of droning than one more enemy!

 

[A.O.]

I see that the discussion mainly focuses on the legality of things. However, the topic here seems to me the broad distrust people have against drones. Here some time ago a parliament member visiting her sister saw a drone at about 200 yards away and tweeted she was spied upon! Actually, someone from a house at a distance with a camera with tele lens is much more capable of spying than any drone can do!
There is a broad feeling that drones spy on people and many people worry about their onw privacy.
What I normally do is tell them I understand their worries, then offer to demonstrate and check the footage and in some cases let them fly themselves (I have a 2nd RC as slave to the master RC for my M2P).
I even did a PPT presentation in my neighborhood. No problems here.
My advice: tell them you understand him, don't think he is an idiot and share footage, let him fly! It is better to have one more fan of droning than one more enemy!

So some guy comes to your house screaming and hollering about your drone and you say let him fly it??? Really?

 

[Mr Mint]

I agree with the most recent posting. I would never have any further contsct with this crazy neighbor if he comes back to my front door again i will call the police Mr Mint

 

[Tootalltodd]

I was recently approached by one of my neighbors that lives about 1000 feet away from me just down the road. He came to my front door and told me to stop flying over the top of his house. I don't know this person so I am dealing with a perfect stranger. I just want to mention that we live in the country and there are open fields both in front and back of my house. I usually fly in the front field with no problems. He informs me that I was looking at his kids in their back yard swimming pool at his house. If I don't stop flying over his house he will call the police.
I told him that I have not been do such thing but I would check my flight logs to be sure. I did check my logs and sure enough I had not even once come near his property. I told him that I am flying legally and then asked him to leave. He was quite an aggressive neighbor. My wife says to me that I should go and see him at his door and inform him that I have not flown over the top of his house but I think that I just don't want to get into another war. He never did call the police but I was ready with my flight logs if need be What would you do. Go see the neighbor with the flight logs or leave things alone. Any advice or opinion would be appreciated. Thank You Mr Mint

It might be too late but when I bought my mini I told all my neighbors that I would of course at all times respect their privacy and property, we live in a rural area probably not unlike yours. They all were very supportive and glad to know what I was doing with my drone.

 

[Mikieh]

It might be too late but when I bought my mini I told all my neighbors that I would of course at all times respect their privacy and property, we live in a rural area probably not unlike yours. They all were very supportive and glad to know what I was doing with my drone.

Shouldn’t have to do that, but there is always one who thinks they own the skies. Find a nice ball field or abandoned lot to take off from . No worries Mate.

 

[A.O.]

Shouldn’t have to do that, but there is always one who thinks they own the skies. Find a nice ball field or abandoned lot to take off from . No worries Mate.

Why not just take off from your yard?