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Dealing with passers by who hate drones?

Keisersozze

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What's a good way to deal with passers by who ask questions and seem to hate drones? They have no right to see my drone license or registration number etc as far as I know. Any suggestions? This is of course assuming I'm flying according to the rules.
I hear drone pilots getting harassed and now that I have my Basic Drone License and will start flying I want to know the best way to deal with such situations.
 
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Please don't start out with the assumption that everybody that stops and/or passes by hates drones. Some people are just curious about what you are doing and what the drone can/cannot do. It is you golden opportunity to enlighten and educate the person about drones and what was required of you to obtain your license. As @anzacjack stated be polite and calm and be a diplomat for the drone hobby
 
Please don't start out with the assumption that everybody that stops and/or passes by hates drones. Some people are just curious about what you are doing and what the drone can/cannot do. It is you golden opportunity to enlighten and educate the person about drones and what was required of you to obtain your license. As @anzacjack stated be polite and calm and be a diplomat for the drone hobby
Thanks. I agree this is good advice. I guess I meant in more of a situation where it seems hostile. Such as "demanding" to see your drone license for example. The "Karen" types.
 
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Talking to them isn't a really good option.
It takes your attention away from the aircraft, both mental concentration, and eye contact when taking . . . it's really hard to seriously converse without eye contact, and can make you seem very detached / disinterested to the other party.

Maybe print up a simple 1/2 page size sheet with some pretinant text.
Something like (make your own terms up) . . .

..

Thanks for you interest in my drone flight.

My drone is in flight and need to focus 100% on this.
Please wait if you wish to talk, I am happy to after landing.

I am a registered / licenced pilot.
I am flying legally.

Thank you.

(Contact info, perhaps just name, phone, email , web as desired)

..

This addresses both interested people, and more hostile people.
 
Talking to them isn't a really good option.
It takes your attention away from the aircraft, both mental concentration, and eye contact when taking . . . it's really hard to seriously converse without eye contact, and can make you seem very detached / disinterested to the other party.

Maybe print up a simple 1/2 page size sheet with some pretinant text.
Something like (make your own terms up) . . .

..

Thanks for you interest in my drone flight.

My drone is in flight and need to focus 100% on this.
Please wait if you wish to talk, I am happy to after landing.

I am a registered / licenced pilot.
I am flying legally.

Thank you.

(Contact info, perhaps just name, phone, email , web as desired)

..

This addresses both interested people, and more hostile people.
Thought maybe there was a go to response that drone pilots have. A stranger certainly doesn't deserve to know my phone number and other person information, in fact that could be dangerous if they're some sort of psycho. More than happy to give that sort of info only to proper authorities.
 
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Firstly, you're in control of an active aircraft so I'd politely advise them that you need full concentration. Up to you if you finish your flight or land straight away to talk to them!

Keep it polite, they might not be haters. Depends if they're uneducated/hostile/think you're invading their privacy/curious etc on how you deal with it. Seen some crazy vids online, even one where the woman shoved the drone in her jacket and tried keeping it and then went hysterical and spouting total lies when the police showed up to deal with it- and luckily saw her for what she was!
 
Talking to them isn't a really good option.
It takes your attention away from the aircraft, both mental concentration, and eye contact when taking . . . it's really hard to seriously converse without eye contact, and can make you seem very detached / disinterested to the other party.

Maybe print up a simple 1/2 page size sheet with some pretinant text.
Something like (make your own terms up) . . .

..

Thanks for you interest in my drone flight.

My drone is in flight and need to focus 100% on this.
Please wait if you wish to talk, I am happy to after landing.

I am a registered / licenced pilot.
I am flying legally.

Thank you.

(Contact info, perhaps just name, phone, email , web as desired)

..

This addresses both interested people, and more hostile people.
This is a great idea. Even making little slips with this info. I’ll do that for sure.
 
What's a good way to deal with passers by who ask questions and seem to hate drones? They have no right to see my drone license or registration number etc as far as I know. Any suggestions? This is of course assuming I'm flying according to the rules.
I hear drone pilots getting harassed and now that I have my Basic Drone License and will start flying I want to know the best way to deal with such situations.
Have you considered buying one of these?- listed on Amazon yellow vest for drones. There are more listed than shown here.
 

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Have you considered buying one of these?- listed on Amazon yellow vest for drones. There are more listed than shown here.

I considered a hi-vis but think that draws too much attention to the recreational user who's trying to not attract attention! Just my opinion ;)
 
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I use the vest that says "FAA Licensed Drone Pilot". Also use a "flight buddy" (usually spouse) that handles such questions and interruptions. She sets in her chair and reads magazines until some interested 3rd party comes around. Works real well for me but then again I normally fly in remote locations that would not have any well meaning curious individuals to distract my flying.
 
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Never had an issues, usually i stay away from people. Sometimes people will just get close and see what you are doing and a lot of kids are interested too.
 
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Reactions: Keisersozze
What's a good way to deal with passers by who ask questions and seem to hate drones? They have no right to see my drone license or registration number etc as far as I know. Any suggestions? This is of course assuming I'm flying according to the rules.
I hear drone pilots getting harassed and now that I have my Basic Drone License and will start flying I want to know the best way to deal with such situations.
Why would they not have a right to see you certificate or registration? Certainly, if they call the police, you'll have to produce both.
In any case, as @anzacjack says - polite and calm.
Start by telling them - politely and calmly - that your are licensed and the drone is registered. Tell them that you need to keep your attention on the drone and that will be happy to talk with them once you land it. Start you landing procedure and explain that legally, they have to stay at least 100 feet away from the drone, that you are going to land it as soon as they move back, and that they can come back to talk once you have landed and done your post-flight checks. Side note: it might be possible to interpret bystanders refusal to move back as interfering with an aircraft in flight, or interfering with flight crew - those are Criminal Code offenses with huge maximum penalties.
Once you've landed, if they haven't gotten bored and wandered away, ask them what they'd like to know (keeping social distance :)).
In general, I think people are either curious - everyone I've encountered so far - or scared (spying, dropping bombs, etc - all that prime-time TV nonsense). If they're curious, you get the opportunity to share your enthusiasm. If they're scared, you may get to help them understand the reality - not to mention that 'bad guys' probably wouldn't be flying a drone out in public, or have a a certificate or a registered drone.

Another reason that you might actually want to show your certificate and registration: it gives you a chance to talk about how strict the rules are and how hard the exam is. Even if you found it easy, you can play it up a bit. After all, you had to answer questions about safety, aerodynamics, human factors and the regulations that apply to being a drone pilot.

I also bring my Tello along when I fly. it is tiny and non-threatening. If there is a young person with whoever has approached me, I ask them to stick around while I pack up the drone and say I can show them a tiny drone that can do some tricks. It's a cool, safe way that I can use to demonstrate how drones fly. It also has a couple of party tricks - It'll do dronies (fly backward and ascend while shooting video) and it has downward obstacle avoidance (I hover it, show that I'm not touching the controls and have one of the people slowly lift their hand under it) - that lets me talk about safety features. Then I mention that, because it's so tiny, it can do something that would make the bigger drones crash. "Wanna see?" It can do backflips.? (Actually front, back side or corner flips).

Here's some Human Factors - when we are afraid, we may not even realize it, but we get flooded with neurochemicals that cause the so-called triple-F reaction - Fight, Flee or Freeze. So, that anger someone has when they start yelling at you about your drone? It's from the adrenaline (and other neurochemicals) that are lighting up their brain. When you get yelled at, you're going to get a hit of the same chemical soup. BUT -- if you KNOW that's what's happening, you can control it, and then you have a much better chance of controlling the situation.
Remember the old 'count to 10' before saying something in anger? It kind of works! But try something a little more complex - focus on safely landing your drone. By the time you're done the adrenaline rush may be starting to wear off for both of you.

In the end, you might not be able to get them on your side, but being calm and polite and inviting them to talk about it is the approach that is least likely to make things worse.

Oh, and if they threaten to throw rocks or shoot down your drone, politely and calmly explain that interfering with any aircraft in flight, including small Remote Piloted Aircraft, is an offence under Canada's Criminal Code:

Every one who causes damage to an aircraft in service that renders the aircraft incapable of flight or that is likely to endanger the safety of the aircraft in flight, is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for life.​
- Criminal Code of Canada (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-46) - 77 (c) (Criminal Code)​
 
Why would they not have a right to see you certificate or registration? Certainly, if they call the police, you'll have to produce both.
In any case, as @anzacjack says - polite and calm.
Start by telling them - politely and calmly - that your are licensed and the drone is registered. Tell them that you need to keep your attention on the drone and that will be happy to talk with them once you land it. Start you landing procedure and explain that legally, they have to stay at least 100 feet away from the drone, that you are going to land it as soon as they move back, and that they can come back to talk once you have landed and done your post-flight checks. Side note: it might be possible to interpret bystanders refusal to move back as interfering with an aircraft in flight, or interfering with flight crew - those are Criminal Code offenses with huge maximum penalties.
Once you've landed, if they haven't gotten bored and wandered away, ask them what they'd like to know (keeping social distance :)).
In general, I think people are either curious - everyone I've encountered so far - or scared (spying, dropping bombs, etc - all that prime-time TV nonsense). If they're curious, you get the opportunity to share your enthusiasm. If they're scared, you may get to help them understand the reality - not to mention that 'bad guys' probably wouldn't be flying a drone out in public, or have a a certificate or a registered drone.

Another reason that you might actually want to show your certificate and registration: it gives you a chance to talk about how strict the rules are and how hard the exam is. Even if you found it easy, you can play it up a bit. After all, you had to answer questions about safety, aerodynamics, human factors and the regulations that apply to being a drone pilot.

I also bring my Tello along when I fly. it is tiny and non-threatening. If there is a young person with whoever has approached me, I ask them to stick around while I pack up the drone and say I can show them a tiny drone that can do some tricks. It's a cool, safe way that I can use to demonstrate how drones fly. It also has a couple of party tricks - It'll do dronies (fly backward and ascend while shooting video) and it has downward obstacle avoidance (I hover it, show that I'm not touching the controls and have one of the people slowly lift their hand under it) - that lets me talk about safety features. Then I mention that, because it's so tiny, it can do something that would make the bigger drones crash. "Wanna see?" It can do backflips.? (Actually front, back side or corner flips).

Here's some Human Factors - when we are afraid, we may not even realize it, but we get flooded with neurochemicals that cause the so-called triple-F reaction - Fight, Flee or Freeze. So, that anger someone has when they start yelling at you about your drone? It's from the adrenaline (and other neurochemicals) that are lighting up their brain. When you get yelled at, you're going to get a hit of the same chemical soup. BUT -- if you KNOW that's what's happening, you can control it, and then you have a much better chance of controlling the situation.
Remember the old 'count to 10' before saying something in anger? It kind of works! But try something a little more complex - focus on safely landing your drone. By the time you're done the adrenaline rush may be starting to wear off for both of you.

In the end, you might not be able to get them on your side, but being calm and polite and inviting them to talk about it is the approach that is least likely to make things worse.

Oh, and if they threaten to throw rocks or shoot down your drone, politely and calmly explain that interfering with any aircraft in flight, including small Remote Piloted Aircraft, is an offence under Canada's Criminal Code:

Every one who causes damage to an aircraft in service that renders the aircraft incapable of flight or that is likely to endanger the safety of the aircraft in flight, is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for life.​
- Criminal Code of Canada (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-46) - 77 (c) (Criminal Code)​

They don't have the right to see my license because that's not a legal right they have. Simple. In the same way when I get into my car I don't have to show my driving license to a passer by who sees me getting into my vehicle, which by the way is much more dangerous than a drone.
 
@Keisersozze - I missed where you wrote that you are concerned about providing your personal information. That's a valid concern. I give out business cards and little plastic drone silhouettes that I 3D printed (Mavic shape or Inspire shape, depending on what I'm flying) - never know where the next customer or contract might come from.
Now, flip that around a bit and consider the poor person who has been led to believe that the only reason anyone would fly drones would be to invade other people's privacy.
 
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