Drone Pilot article

[LazerMan]

When It Comes to Drones, Who Owns Our Backyard Airspace? (Contributed)

As unmanned aerial technology advances and regular flight paths sprout up, local authorities and residents will need to have more input over drone operations if the industry is to thrive.

www.govtech.com

After reading this its all but a for gone conclusion that recreational drone pilots days are numbered.About the only places we'll be able to fly if CBO fields and remote areas very far from home. Even our own back yards could be a problem.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Some terrible misinformation in this article, which is pro drone in general by the way.
This stuck out like a sore thumb, and totally false "Cities own or control the airspace above public roads, ".

FAA (or other relative airspace authorities) control all airspace right now.
This case in the article may have been a state that has strong privacy laws, and a lot of the invasion of privacy just can't be evaluated in this case due to lack of detail.
The judge may have made a (bad) decision based on the local privacy laws in that county / state, but the homeowner should have been convicted / fined for the discharge, for sure !

Simply flying over this property would have been entirely legal, given it was airspace clear to fly to whatever altitude the pilot had his drone.
If they loitered overhead at low altitude, then one can understand how this incident developed as it did, right or wrong.

Federally, that home owner could have been prosecuted for shooting down an aircraft, and in my mind should have been.
2015, consumer drones were in the early curve of development, today all this could very well be different.

 

[Thomas B]

The drone owner should appeal if possible, or counter sue for destruction of his property and should formally report the shooter to FAA. Eventually FAA sovereignty of airspace will be realized.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

The drone owner should appeal if possible, or counter sue for destruction of his property and should formally report the shooter to FAA. Eventually FAA sovereignty oof airspace will be realized.

Possible still within statute of limitations etc, but may be passed appeal limit at 5 years ?
Now of course, a lot more drone pilots are aware of the federal protection for their aircraft, so I'd expect something similar now to be followed up for sure.

 

[LazerMan]

My take on this was that all the big companies with all the money will be taking over most all of the air space allotted to us rec flyers. Well have very few places left to fly.