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I wonder what they do to fly over people?

New England Droning

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Here would be a good gig for a drone pilot... The Masters are bringing back drones this year for the masters...
I'm still going through my 107 training but I'm guessing the drones get allowed because all guests on the greens and in the galleries have to sign waivers. I know with remote ID will come where we can under the right situations, fly over people but those rules are not out yet...

So how would they do this?
 
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Here would be a good gig for a drone pilot... The Masters are bringing back drones this year for the masters...
I'm still going through my 107 training but I'm guessing the drones get allowed because all guests on the greens and in the galleries have to sign waivers. I know with remote ID will come where we can under the right situations, fly over people but those rules are not out yet...

So how would they do this?
They get a waiver or special exceptions because they can spend the money to hire the experts and insiders that can navigate the FAA to get one. Something we independent operators would have no chance at.
 
They get a waiver or special exceptions because they can spend the money to hire the experts and insiders that can navigate the FAA to get one. Something we independent operators would have no chance at.
When they have that kind of money to throw around, anything is possible. Although a mini with guards on may be able to do something similar in the near future... but the exact verbiage of the rules needs to be looked at. I'm probably leaving a couple of factors out like the flying over the assembly which I have to go read again... :)
 
They probably have to work with drones inside cages, or that have fully enclosed blades, tethered drones, even the ones that break apart if compromised.

The Elios collision tolerant drone
Enclosed blade example
Example of Snap drone

There will always be a risk in some way in this sort of situation, but risk assessments, risk elimination / mitigation, special areas they fly over devoid of they paying public, all these things are put together to at least try and bring the risk factors down to miniscule.
 
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Before Tuesday, you need a waiver and the only one I ever heard of was issued to CNN that allowed them to fly over people.

Under the new 107 rules it is legal to fly over people SUBJECT TO RULES such as weight and the force they would hit a person with if they fell, the props have to be guarded, etc etc etc.

If there are no spectators, and everyone there is part of the event (staff or players) it is easier to legally fly over them, it is flying over concert goers and attendees that are not part of the staffing that can get you into questionable legality, especially if something goes wrong.

Read the test prep for the new 107 exam that came out Tuesday, flying over people is covered in the FAA online prep video

also: Operations Over People General Overview
 
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Before Tuesday, you need a waiver and the only one I ever heard of was issued to CNN that allowed them to fly over people.

Under the new 107 rules it is legal to fly over people SUBJECT TO RULES such as weight and the force they would hit a person with if they fell, the props have to be guarded, etc etc etc.

If there are no spectators, and everyone there is part of the event (staff or players) it is easier to legally fly over them, it is flying over concert goers and attendees that are not part of the staffing that can get you into questionable legality, especially if something goes wrong.

Read the test prep for the new 107 exam that came out Tuesday, flying over people is covered in the FAA online prep video

also: Operations Over People General Overview


Staff/Players are not able to legally be flown over under the current regs because they aren't part of the Flight Crew. Many people mistakenly think that people part of the "Action/Movie/Event" are considered are part of the crew but under current Regulations state Flight Crew, aka people directly responsible for the Safety of the Flight (Pilot, VO, RPIC, Safety Officer etc). Merely telling someone "You're a VO, so are you, and you, and you, and you" doesn't count.

Also signing a Release/Waiver stating they understand and accept the dangers does NOT make the flight over people LEGAL! Many people thought this a few years ago when we started down the Section 333 Exemption path.

Allen
 
Staff/Players are not able to legally be flown over under the current regs because they aren't part of the Flight Crew. Many people mistakenly think that people part of the "Action/Movie/Event" are considered are part of the crew but under current Regulations state Flight Crew, aka people directly responsible for the Safety of the Flight (Pilot, VO, RPIC, Safety Officer etc). Merely telling someone "You're a VO, so are you, and you, and you, and you" doesn't count.

Also signing a Release/Waiver stating they understand and accept the dangers does NOT make the flight over people LEGAL! Many people thought this a few years ago when we started down the Section 333 Exemption path.

Allen
As a Part 107 holder, you hit the nail on the head. Now, they can get a waiver, but they would need to show how they would maintain the safety of the people on the ground. One way is with parachute systems. They are not cheap but a professional company would not have an issue with affording that. Come the 21st, won't need a waiver, but will STILL need to use some sort of safety device like a parachute. Even the Mini, as much as you wish it could, is not light enough to avoid needing one unless you plan on flying 7-10' off the ground.
 
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Unless you were privy to have have tickets to the Masters - good luck - you won't go in decades. Once people get tickets, they usually never ever let them go. More valuable than gold / platinum / diamonds / etc. I think the "waiting list" to try and get tickets is about a decade long.

With that being said. With current drones / cameras today - you could fly "safely" most of the time and not be too worried about "sitting" over groups of people in violation of rules. You'd also have to typically fly at about 100+ feet to clear all the trees that grow right to the edge of the fairways. Could probably get some nice pics / video with even a MA2 at 2.4k / 4k at 2X. Even closer at 1080p at 4x.

Always more than one way to skin a cat.
 
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Unless you were privy to have have tickets to the Masters - good luck - you won't go in decades. Once people get tickets, they usually never ever let them go. More valuable than gold / platinum / diamonds / etc. I think the "waiting list" to try and get tickets is about a decade long.

With that being said. With current drones / cameras today - you could fly "safely" most of the time and not be too worried about "sitting" over groups of people in violation of rules. You'd also have to typically fly at about 100+ feet to clear all the trees that grow right to the edge of the fairways. Could probably get some nice pics / video with even a MA2 at 2.4k / 4k at 2X. Even closer at 1080p at 4x.

Always more than one way to skin a cat.
Do me a favor....search for "drone crash" in just this forum. Happens way more than you realize.
 
Do me a favor....search for "drone crash" in just this forum. Happens way more than you realize.
Don't need to SEARCH for anything. Understand the crash part very well thank you.

Somebody didn't have their coffee this morning!
 
Gallery's are kept so far away from golfers these days that there should be no conflict flying drones. Of course guests are not allowed on or near greens and even the fairways are pretty well roped off.
Alas...you used to be able to stand within inches of all the golfing greats. It's all changed. Don't even get me started on TV coverage :confused:
 
Ok! Drones crash but show me where someone gets killed or even hurt. Last time I searched there were about 25 "injuries" by drones world wide.

For sure, it's a bit like how many times do cars drift onto the wrong side of a roadway (fatigue, inattention / phone use, etc), and the driver wakes up / looks up and corrects with no incident.
Then, in very rare cases, some other poor driver, family, is coming the other way, wrong place, wrong time.

I guess pro active rules & regulations, and the associated risk management, can seem overbearing at times, but looking at crowd density of something like the Masters (at least the few times I've glanced at it on the news etc), the chances of actually hitting someone is a lot higher than down the local park on Saturday afternoon.

A case of "damned if you do, damned if you don't" be pro active on safety for such events.
 
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My best guess as someone with media experience is that the drone shots will be flyovers from the week before of each hole. The USGA, PGA, and R & A do this as well. This shows various things mainly topography. The fly cam they are talking about is most likely a cable system. Similar to the kind the NFL uses and was tested in the XFL more vigorously last year. They also have jibs with booms that stretch pretty far. It could ease give you the illusion of a drone shot. Let me also say if a jib crane fails it would be way more catastrophic than a drone.

Don’t take things so seriously. The difference between someone that flies what is essentially a flying camera with a certificate is way more different than someone that operates a studio camera for a major media outlet. Don’t take this so serious. This these are the best views in pro golf with the best players in the world. Enjoy the camera shots they are done by pros.

The final part of this whole thing is that the Augusta National Golf Club who puts this tournament on has some of the most prominent people in the country as members. I would also bet some of the country’s best lawyers are members and board members too. Do you think for one second they or CBS would so something to set themselves up for a liability battle with this?
 
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My best guess as someone with media experience is that the drone shots will be flyovers from the week before of each hole.

They were doing live shots using drones as they have been on PGA coverage all year. It is kind of an OK add on to the coverage but is not really adding much. They drone shots had a tendency to pixelate and break up which didn't help. I can't imagine being a pro golfer trying to concentrate on your swing when they decide to drone you. NASCAR on Fox is also using live drones over the race track. I'm sure there are lots of legal issues that were worked out before they were allowed to do this.
 
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Here would be a good gig for a drone pilot... The Masters are bringing back drones this year for the masters...
I'm still going through my 107 training but I'm guessing the drones get allowed because all guests on the greens and in the galleries have to sign waivers. I know with remote ID will come where we can under the right situations, fly over people but those rules are not out yet...

So how would they do this?
I read the rules. It seems you can pass over a crowd of people, like you would in a manned aircraft, but you can not hover or repeatedly fly back and forth over the crowd. You get one pass going to your goal and one pass coming home.
 
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Yeah but that is only if your drone has been categorized as Cat 1, 2, 3, and according to what Glenn at Pilot institute says. It's all a moot point until DJI and the rest of the companies get with the FAA and prove they meet the requirements. He put out a video this week showing that even the Mini (1 or 2) with the regular batteries are too heavy and would be Cat 2.
He got a made for Asia battery that is lighter so his mini2 with the guards is under the .55 weight requirement but he says no Drones outside of this particular setup, meet the requirements as of this time in April.
I saw the drones on Sat and they are enterprise-level drones (5 props) so I have to assume the PGA or the news organizations have the appropriate waivers (as was mentioned above)
 
Before Tuesday, you need a waiver and the only one I ever heard of was issued to CNN that allowed them to fly over people.

Under the new 107 rules it is legal to fly over people SUBJECT TO RULES such as weight and the force they would hit a person with if they fell, the props have to be guarded, etc etc etc.

If there are no spectators, and everyone there is part of the event (staff or players) it is easier to legally fly over them, it is flying over concert goers and attendees that are not part of the staffing that can get you into questionable legality, especially if something goes wrong.

Read the test prep for the new 107 exam that came out Tuesday, flying over people is covered in the FAA online prep video

also: Operations Over People General Overview
It's funny, the new rules about flying over people were announced Tuesday, and already questions about that rule were on the Part 107 test I took on the same day.
I passed the test in spite of the fact that that question, and several more, were never covered in any of the volumes of test materials I studied.
 
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