Flying the Mavic Mini over people & anywhere I want (Sofia, Bulgaria)

[Ivan_LCF_666]

Hello guys...

As you all know and see by the title I'm from Sofia, Bulgaria and I own a Mavic Mini which I really really love to fly every single day! I got my Mavic Mini for Christmas and ever since the 1.0.4 update I'm super happy with the lil baby drone! Here in Bulgaria I've been flying my Mavic Mini literally everywhere! The worst thing which has happened to me was when I was flying downstairs in front of my work office building, the security came and said to land immediately! When I asked why, what am I doing wrong, he just said: "Land immediately..." - I said NO, I will not land until you tell me why!

He says, screaming: "I work here, land the drone now!!!" -> so I said, also screaming: "I also work here bro, and now it's my lunch time and I like to chill and fly during lunch - so go away!!!" He just went away to call for backup, his security buddies. I flew the rest of my battery all sweetly and went back upstairs to work. Security never came back!

Oh yeah and there was my one neighbor which the one night when I was flying outside at like 23:30 he pops his head out the window and says: "what time you planning to fly until", I say: "another hour at the least hey" - just to [Language removed by Admin], flew for 15 mins and went to bed! The Mavic Mini is a very quiet lil drone, if you're in a building you certainly cannot hear it outside unless its near a window.

I love to Fly everywhere! Obviously I fly responsibly, I will not fly in such a way to deliberately harm someone or to endanger people! The worst thing I do is that I fly over people, but the drone is like at least a few meter above them - never at their level. It's not very difficult to separate right from wrong - do we really need so many rules and regulations!?

Its amazing how many stupid rules and regulations have come out in the last few years because of drones! I'm totally amazed at how the drone pilots are just allowing the so called authority to walk all over them and take advantage! We are not stupid - obviously we'll not fly and cause danger to others with a lil Mavic Mini or anything else for that matter. Only stupid, irresponsible people might do something dangerous - but any normal person would know what not to do when!

I know that there are rules and regulations for drones in Bulgaria, but I don't think anyone follows them! I've never even read them once. I've been flying 3D helicopters for over 4 years, and never had any problems with flying over people and flying in crowded places. This is why I love to fly in my home country so very much - and it is also very beautiful the nature in Bulgaria - can't wait to take the Mavic Mini to the mountains, will be epic!

I see people flying in the parks, in the car parking lots, in some sweet places! I'll take care to read the rules now actually, as I've never red them ever for my country and be back with a post about it here.

I really love to fly my beloved Mavic Mini so very hectically much hey - today after work I'll makes the sweetest 2.7K , 30fps video of me chasing my cat inside my lil penthouse.

So have you guys ever been in trouble for flying your drone in Bulgaria? How about in your home country - if not Bulgaria?

 

[markp99]

Yikes, man. Doing things "just to [Language removed by Admin] " sounds like odd approach to fostering the hobby, and your new-found passion.

 

[Ivan_LCF_666]

Yikes, man. Doing things "just to [Language removed by Admin] " sounds like odd approach to fostering the hobby, and your new-found passion.

I see what you mean - and I really respect the way you interpreted it. I really was not trying to do anything on purpose or [Language removed by Admin] anyone. I was just flying my lil Mavic Mini during lunch break downstairs in front the office. The security guard who wanted to chase me had no idea that I fly there every single day during lunch. The other security guards have no problem with me flying as I fly really high up most of the time. So when I take off and fly you cannot even hear the lil Mini!

About the old man who shouted at me at night, asking what time I'll fly until - this man is always fighting with his neighbors about everything!

I was trying to get across the point that here in Bulgaria I've been flying my drone almost anywhere I've desired to fly it! Even if there are rules and regulations they are not enforced hard at all. I'm still busy reading now about the actual rules in Bulgaria - I really really am not trying to piss of anyone though. If you or anyone came to me while I was flying and spoke normally to me, with a normal friendly attitude, saying something like: "Hello, excuse me - please don't fly your drone here because whatever..." I would be totally compliant and land the lil fella and go fly elsewhere! Its this whole attitude that I'm up against, coming to me all screaming and demanding of me to land or something - no........

I'm from Bulgaria, born in Bulgaria, but when I was 9 years old me and my whole family went to live in South Africa, Johannesburg! I lived in South Africa for 19 years! I grew up there and everyone in SA(over 95% of the people) are always smiling and happy and never come with attitude and weird behavior! As soon as I came back to live in Bulgaria I noticed that the people were all different here. There was no smiles on their faces, there was no polite people greeting me in the shops and the streets! Everyone looks depressed here in Bulgaria, well most people do. Only the very young kids have smiles on their faces!

So I really really am not trying to be bad and to cause trouble. I fly responsibly I like to think, I mean I flew my 3D RC helis for the last 4 years. The Mavic Mini is my very first drone ever & I really love it!

Sweet.....

PS: so far there seems to be no issues flying in Bulgaria, anywhere you want - as long as some depressed soul doesn't feel like you're too happy for his liking and comes to disturb your awesome time with your sweet Mini.

 

[BigAl07]

Come on guys... this is a Family Friendly forum.... tone down the crude comments . . .

 

[Ivan_LCF_666]

Come on guys... this is a Family Friendly forum.... tone down the crude comments . . .

I apologize - will keep this in mind...

 

[Lastrexking]

Sigh - if there are rules, please follow them. Consider it's not just yourself that enjoys this hobby, and everyone that ignores the rules just so they can have fun makes it that little bit more difficult for the rest of us.

 

[Ivan_LCF_666]

Sigh - if there are rules, please follow them. Consider it's not just yourself that enjoys this hobby, and everyone that ignores the rules just so they can have fun makes it that little bit more difficult for the rest of us.

Not sure how it is in the UK, probably lots of rules and regulations, but I just checked Bulgarian law about this and here it is:

"Bulgaria does not yet have a system of regulations in place for drone operations. For the moment, the only way to fly a drone in Bulgaria is to obtain permission directly from the Civil Aviation Administration (DG CAA) for UAVs over 250 grams. If the UAV is below 250 grams it is free if regulation! no need to even let anyone know!

So bro, if I come to the UK I will surely be very very obedient and I'll read up on your rules before I even take off in the country of never-ending rain. But for now here in Bulgaria we can fly as we like, as long as we don't do anything stupid of course, like spying on your neighbors or disturbing anyone in anyway.



Sweet

I'm a 3D heli pilot with 4 years experince, flying in the mall even - and I know what it means to mess up the hobby - trust me that's the last thing I wanna do.

PS: I love my baby drone, Mavic Mini!!!

 

[sirbadger]

It's not just rules though, if we want to keep this hobby alive we should avoid bothering people even if you're within your rights to do it.

 

[Indiana_pyro]

Well if one is gonna break rules and or purposely do things to annoy others with a drone- this for sure is not the place to voice it and get a "Atta Boy"

 

[Ivan_LCF_666]

It's not just rules though, if we want to keep this hobby alive we should avoid bothering people even if you're within your rights to do it.

That's exactly what I'm trying to say!

There seems to be no drone rules at all in Bulgaria currently, except to inform the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority - like the FAA in USA) - but that's only for sUAVs(small Unmanned Areal Vehicles) over and including 250 grams.

Then the next thing I was getting across is that you should not disturb/bother anyone at all, at anytime! So fly as you want - just don't endanger anyone, and respect people's privacy.

Sweet

 

[Ivan_LCF_666]

Well if one is gonna break rules and or purposely do things to annoy others with a drone- this for sure is not the place to voice it and get a "Atta Boy"

Yes of course!!!

I'm obviously not getting my point across correctly here for some reason..... I'm saying that there are no rules bro, no rules to break here in Bulgaria. Nothing, no system at all yet. I'm saying respect peoples privacy and also don't bother or disturb anyone, don't endanger or damage anyone's property & fly safely always.

Sweet

 

[Olav van Gerven]

The point that comes across to me is, that you want to do what you want to do, regardless of wha other people that are effected by your actions thing about it.

Like the neighbour, late in the evening, asking how long you intend to continue flying. Probably it was not the flying in it self, but the noise caused by the drone that bothered him. You might consider the drone not being loud and relativly (there are certainly louder drones!) that might be true. But in the middle of the night (and that is what an old man of 60 like I am consider 23:30 to be), the sound works much louder and can keep people out of their sleep. That is certainly not what you intended, but it is a real experience for the neighbour. Your reaction was, let's put it mildly, a little immature and might cause more problems with the neighbours then you realize and ever intended.

The simple fact that there is no regulation in place yet, does not give you a license to ignore other people. Contrary, it gives you a much bigger rsponsibility. Not the legislator considers what is needed for a society where people can live in freedom and peace, but the individual. And though there might be differnce in what is considered "appropriat", it is the responsibility of every single member of the society to make that consideration. The impression you give by the way you report here about your actions is, that you tend not to care. That is definitly not a good advertisement for droning in general and for you as a person.

Show that you are mature, have a sense of responsibility and stop acting the way you described. Though it might limit the joy of droning in the beginning (in your experience), it will give you more joy when you see that people pick up what you do and show you the respect that you show them.

 

[johnbirt]

No legal rules in force is quite irrelevant. There are universal unwritten rules of behaviour and consideration towards others that you are abusing. Unfortunately not a very fashionable and rarely followed maxim these days. There are rules on this forum which "ask" for moderate language and you were unable even to follow that basic civility in your excitement to describe your supposed "victory" over someone making a perfectly reasonable request.

I really struggle to see the point of your post. If you were hoping for sympathy and support for your assumed entitlement of being able to do exactly what you want, when you want without any concern for others then I think even the first few replies to your post would suggest you have come to the wrong place.

Pretty much what others have said but repetition can sometimes drive a point home or not as the case may be. I would quit now as sympathy is unlikely to be forthcoming from here any time soon.

 

[WooZie]

ivan, when you will have a bad luck like me, when the drone fell of the sky from 65 meters high altitude, you definitely will be more responsible, because this 250 grams could kill a child easily if it hits in his head...be careful with this toy

 

[Mossiback]

...Its amazing how many stupid rules and regulations have come out in the last few years because of drones! ...

I love to Fly everywhere! Obviously I fly responsibly, I will not fly in such a way to deliberately harm someone or to endanger people! The worst thing I do is that I fly over people, but the drone is like at least a few meter above them - never at their level. It's not very difficult to separate right from wrong...

In most cases, the rules and regulations are made in response to careless or unsafe operators or accidents caused by such. Continue to fly "a few meter" over people, have a failure that injures (or nearly injures) someone, and you can expect new rules in Bulgaria.

With the exception of flying too low over people, it sounds like you try to fly responsibly and are just enjoying your freedoms. What will probably ruin that for you is someone losing control of a cheap drone and hurting someone.

 

[Steven So]

I have set some rule for me and I think they are good for your reference :
1. Never fly over people : you will never know how and when your drones go wrong, GPS signal, battery, RC, your phone, firmware upgrade or even a single bird may cause accident. A 10 meter drop of 249g drone may harm.
2. Avoid fly in the city, woods and under bridge : this rule is due to the GPS signal and sensor failure, your drone may lost control under those environments.
3. Avoid fly at night : the bottom sensor may not work at night. This may not a problem as long as the drone is within your sight, while GPS signal is good. Note that the drone will be forced to ATTI /OPTI mode if GPS signal lost and the drone will shift under the wind. In this case, you should land immediately. Have you ever practice the condition under ATTI mode?

 

[LibbyLA]

That's exactly what I'm trying to say!

There seems to be no drone rules at all in Bulgaria currently, except to inform the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority - like the FAA in USA) - but that's only for sUAVs(small Unmanned Areal Vehicles) over and including 250 grams.

Then the next thing I was getting across is that you should not disturb/bother anyone at all, at anytime! So fly as you want - just don't endanger anyone, and respect people's privacy.

Sweet

If your neighbor was complaining about you flying at 11:30 at night, then you were disturbing/bothering him, yet you are gloating about it. That’s just plain inconsiderate.

 

[Ivan_LCF_666]

I have set some rule for me and I think they are good for your reference :
1. Never fly over people : you will never know how and when your drones go wrong, GPS signal, battery, RC, your phone, firmware upgrade or even a single bird may cause accident. A 10 meter drop of 249g drone may harm.
2. Avoid fly in the city, woods and under bridge : this rule is due to the GPS signal and sensor failure, your drone may lost control under those environments.
3. Avoid fly at night : the bottom sensor may not work at night. This may not a problem as long as the drone is within your sight, while GPS signal is good. Note that the drone will be forced to ATTI /OPTI mode if GPS signal lost and the drone will shift under the wind. In this case, you should land immediately. Have you ever practice the condition under ATTI mode?

Hello, yes I have flown in ATTI mode, I'm a 3D heli Pilot, so I have that experiece, I would hate for the drone to go in ATTI when its far away from me and I cannot see it to compensate!

sweet...

 

[Kola]

It is all fun and games until it suddenly isn't anymore.

You use the word 'respect' a lot, expecting people to respect you, but it certainly seems from your posts so far you do not really care that much about others.

Just because people generally leave you alone to fly whichever way you want to does not make it the smart thing to do.

 

[Ivan_LCF_666]

I'm officially now leaving this forum,

It is all fun and games until it suddenly isn't anymore.

You use the word 'respect' a lot, expecting people to respect you, but it certainly seems from your posts so far you do not really care that much about others.

Just because people generally leave you alone to fly whichever way you want to does not make it the smart thing to do.

It's OK - I'm not the smartest...