dronerdave
Well-Known Member
I think it really depends where people fly from. If confronted by someone who keeps yappin at me, I'll generally just leave. First off I try to avoid city flying unless it's out of a approved flying park. But I don't live in a large city and my photographic ventures are usually not city orientated. I fly from rural areas and have the luxury of close flying places. I run strobes day and night and never try to stealth operate. If I'm accused of spying, I tell them if I was spying I wouldn't have strobes on and operating in plain sight. I imagine inner city flying might be quite a different situation even though there are nut cases everywhere. So even in rural areas, I might get a dirty look from a farmer or rancher if I'm on a country road in the middle of nowhere. I prefer to find places that allow public access. Vista points, fishing access, bridges, and certain State and local parks/lakes are places where I have to share with others & have always worked well for me and my buddies. It seems people react differently in places where they have to interact with others in a rural setting. Most of the people who walk by me are curious. I've only had a few bad interactions. The spring bloom is coming up soon here in CA and I'll often go into the countryside and shoot images of the orchards. If I get a farmer asking what I'm doing, I'll just tell them I'm shooting the scenic area and ask them if they want a picture of their orchard or the surrounding area. Some have asked for an overhead picture of them in their vehicles. Then there are the grumpy ones where I pack it up and go. Another thing I noticed was when I fly with other friends at the same time. Flying in a group of people (even one extra person) seem to make the public more cooperative or less apt to make a scene. Maybe because flying by myself makes me look more suspicious. I'm into astronomy and have found it's similar.