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Dealing with spectators.....

Ifti

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So you take your drone out to a field/park etc and start a flight - suddenly you have kids running to you, or others popping over to either grumble or ask what you're doing.

I don't mind them asking, but also like to concentrate on my flight and getting some shots etc.

How do you generally deal with spectators?
Do you stop for a chat? Chat while you fly? Or ignore?! lol

Any spectator stories to share?
 
For one battery, I will indulge their curiosity as long as they're sane and safe.

After that, I will politely say I want to get the next video shot while I still have the right lighting.

molbam9.jpg
 
Politely answer 3 questions and then tell them exactly what you told us. You'd like to focus on flying as mistakes are expensive.
 
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Good drone ambassadors are needed to offset the knuckleheads involved in crashes due to risky behavior.

I always answer as many questions as practical, and even give RTH demonstrations when the conversation turns to safety issues and it's time to land anyway.
 
Sometimes, people go, even before saying hello: "Soooo, how much would one of those flying roaches cost?" (but withtout any clue of what it does, how far/good it flies, how&what it records etc. etc.)
Me: "Well, ...that much!"
They: "WHAAAAT?? But... But I've seen much cheaper ones, at... [insert cheap store name here]"
Me:"Well, why don't you go and buy yourself one of those?"
Here's where the conversation usually ends :D For polite questions I go with the polite explanations. Treat me rudely and condescending, and that's what you'll get.
 
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Only positive experiences so far... I let the drone hover high and far away from people while taking the time to chat... and showing them on screen what it is recording. I take the view that I am encroaching on others so I don't mind using up a battery (I have 3) to assure people drones can be used in a positive and responsible way and also enjoy the interaction. More people spreading good stories about drone owners can only be a good thing!


Sent from my iPad using MavicPilots
 
All the spectators i've dealt with so far have just been curious about it's capabilities. No one has given me a hard time or anything yet.
 
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Same here... Curious peeps. I invite them over to watch the screen while I get my shot. I will answer questions, but won't demonstrate anything until I complete my mission, if I'm on one. Any demonstrations take place when the bird is close by. Oh, and smile at them, as you're having fun and not doing anything wrong. If you act like a creeper, you will be treated as one.
 
Well well... today was my day I had an introduction to someone who isn't well educated on these beasts.

I was around the corner from a farm and did a hand launch from a layby at the side of the road to do a flyover of the farm. While manually flying the MP back in my general direction a couple of horse riders appeared from another lane...

After a weird look - I told them I was controlling a drone, pointed out where the drone was and told them I am holding it there in a hover - so not to spook the horses as it sounds like a load of angry bees stuck in a can of coke!

Horse rider B said it wasn't a smart idea to fly it from the road... I politely suggested I could say the same about horse riding on the roads but I won't... and I will leave it where it is so they can pass by without issue.

Horse rider A was thankful.

I brought MP back and did a hand catch... Again, opinionated people without much knowledge about the topic - sometimes not worth educating them on it either...

Amusing!
 
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My current strategy:

A huge takeoff/landing pad, four hi-vis cones, some bright yellow caution tape around the cones, hi-vis vests with "DRONE PILOT" printed on them over a pair of green or orange overalls (but not near a prison!), drone safety signs, anemometer on a tripod stand (forget you have to move it from time to time, it looks good), a small folding table, a laptop, an official looking flight log, an official looking flight plan with lots of detail (you can use the same one each time), a map of the flight plan with red and yellow and green overlays, a compass, and a laminated 25,000:1 ordnance survey map.

Then stand with your legs apart, nipples thrust out as far as you can without falling over backwards (you know, the Marvell Super Hero pose), and make sure to say "Keep Back. We'll Handle This!" in a commanding voice when people approach.

If all that fails, invite them to look at the screen but not crowd your arms ;-)
 
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I popped to a local country park last weekend, because of the nice weather there were lots of people around. I flew three batteries worth of flights and I would say for well over half of the that time I had people standing around asking questions. Generally people were really positive and just interested, they loved seeing the view from above. I know what you mean about trying to concentrate on flying but I think it is important to be a good drone ambassador. I do love showing the mavic off and talking about it to strangers, especially if they are really keen.
 
I was in a new development and decided to fly near the clubhouse. I lifted off and went up to about 90ft. A couple women were walking their dogs by me and saw the drone up in the sky. One of them asked if I was filming. I had forgottwn to hit the record button as i usually do and answered her NO. She immediately said "good. We had a problem before with some guy with a drone filming the kids in the playground around here." Needless to say I was a little taken back by that and told her that I was just practicing flying and learning the controls since my drone was fairly new to me. I offered to bring it down and discontinue my practice.

Other than that, most people here either ignore that you are flying a drone, or the kids will be excited and tell their parents "Look! A drone!"

Its guys like that perv, that will ruin it for the rest of us if indeed that is what he was doing.

On a local FB page, some lady complained that someone has been flying a drone over their house and "spying on them". Her post got quite a few replies. Half of them were saying to shoot it down. The other half were using their common sense saying "its illegal to shoot it down" or "what proof do u have that the drone was "spying"?

It alot of people are paranoid about drones being used to eavesdrop, or take surveillance video/photos. One guy was saying to shoot it down with a bbgun. I replied that at an altitude of 150', good luck with ur bbgun.

sent from my Galaxy Note4
 
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I was in a new development and decided to fly near the clubhouse. I lifted off and went up to about 90ft. A couple women were walking their dogs by me and saw the drone up in the sky. One of them asked if I was filming. I had forgottwn to hit the record button as i usually do and answered her NO. She immediately said "good. We had a problem before with some guy with a drone filming the kids in the playground around here." Needless to say I was a little taken back by that and told her that I was just practicing flying and learning the controls since my drone was fairly new to me. I offered to bring it down and discontinue my practice.

Other than that, most people here either ignore that you are flying a drone, or the kids will be excited and tell their parents "Look! A drone!"

Its guys like that perv, that will ruin it for the rest of us if indeed that is what he was doing.

On a local FB page, some lady complained that someone has been flying a drone over their house and "spying on them". Her post got quite a few replies. Half of them were saying to shoot it down. The other half were using their common sense saying "its illegal to shoot it down" or "what proof do u have that the drone was "spying"?

It alot of people are paranoid about drones being used to eavesdrop, or take surveillance video/photos. One guy was saying to shoot it down with a bbgun. I replied that at an altitude of 150', good luck with ur bbgun.

sent from my Galaxy Note4
The "perv" comment gets trotted out about many things. It's the passive aggressive go to statement for anything people don't like. Don't let it bother you.
 
The most condescending comment I get is related to "wow, only 23 minutes of flight time? Isn't that a little too less, for a 1000 EUR worth of flying toy and such a big battery?"
For those people I have prepared the below list, in order to make them understand that the so called "flight time" is actually more than meets their eye.

What the Mavic Pro battery actually powers (explained in a simple, “colloquial” manner):

- 4 rotors for lifting and flying a load of 750 gr. with a max speed of 65km/h
- 4 positioning/obstacle avoidance cameras
- 2 sonar sensors
- 2 IMU units (gyroscopes, accelerometers etc.)
- 1 barometer sensor
- 2 compass sensors
- 1 GPS/GLONASS antenna
- 1 color photo/video 12 megapixel camera, able to record video in 4K
- 1 motorized gimbal for the above camera
- Live video broadcast aired via two finger sized emitter antennas towards two other finger sized receiving antennas over a 7 km distance
- Flight control data aired via two finger sized emitter antennas towards two other finger sized receiving antennas over a 7 km distance
- 2 positioning LEDs and 1 status LED
- Its very own battery software & sensors (temperature sensor, discharge rate etc.)
- 24 computing cores successfully controlling all the software for the above described hardware; plus several intelligent flight modes, such as Active Track, Tap to Fly, Follow Me, Point Of Interest etc.

Trust me, they suddenly change their mind about the "reduced flight time" ;)

(Please feel free to add or correct stuff I have gathered in the above list).
 
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I usually tell them, when they start asking, that I will answer all they questions when I land because I need to be focused. And it work most of the time. After that we have a short pleasant conversation and all is good. I continue to fly and their curiosity is satisfied.
 
I just find it fun to interact with people that are intrested what you are doing! I am not that serious of getting the perfect shot so disturbance is not an issue. So far all of them have been genuinly curious about the drone and how it is controlled, very friendly people so far! :D Always tell them what I am shooting and planning to upload videos on Youtube. Even ordered a bunch of business cards with mail-info and Youtube-URL to give to those who ask me questions and wants to see the video.
 
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