It's hard to believe most all drone owners are careless and leave their equipment unattended just waiting to be stolen. Certainly it is unlikely the criminal meant to steal a drone (as opposed to a camera bag or pretty much anything that isn't nailed down) but for sure, drones are being robbed from people. That database is one website that nobody knows about, the actual numbers in real life are likely quiet a bit more meaning you and I can easily become a victim, depending on the circumstances.
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I agree with that 100%. The drone doesn't put me at any more risk than an expensive camera, phone, or walking a French Bulldog - it is my age bracket that seems to be viewed as vulnerable.
All you have to do is look at the crime stats in your area. Crime is out of control. If I thought I could take out my drone and start flying it and thus make me immune from crime, I would fly my drone all the time.
Self-defense and personal protection is all up to you; please don't let my comments influence your decision to exercise your rights to stay safe, you are free to go out and about completely defenseless or anywhere up to the legally allowed by law. The difference with me is I don't look down on people who exercise their God-given rights and believe in the Constitution...regardless whether they are eating lunch, flying drones, reading a book, or shopping.
Well, I did it again this morning and three times over the weekend. I went out completely defenseless and exercised my rights to fly my drone.
It's raining today, so I'm here at the computer. And I'd like to ask all of you who have been looking down on people who believe in the Constitution to stop it right now. And I don't care whether they're shopping, reading a book, or eating lunch. Just stop looking down on them. And if you're flying and looking down on them, remember that FAA regulations prohibit your from flying directly over them, unless they're indoors.
As suggested, I took a look at the crime situation. Since we're concerned here with drone pilots having their drones stolen while flying, I looked at robbery statistics. And instead of focusing on my area, I considered the entire United States. Here's what I found.
USA - reported robbery rate 2022 | Statista
In 2022, the nationwide robbery rate in the United States was 66.1 cases per 100,000 of the population.
www.statista.com
Lo and behold, robberies were actually in an out-of-control dive since 1991. It looks like there was a tiny increase in 2022. Maybe that coincides with the introduction of the Mavic 3 in April of that year?
I firmly believe that being robbed of my drone is far less likely than me winning the lottery, and the odds on that are so low that I never buy a ticket. As you suggest, this does seem to be the best way to think about it. But, I'll definitely re-evaluate after I hear a few reports of drone pilots being robbed.
I'm not living in fear, even without a secret method. I do keep track of credible threats, but there just doesn't appear to be any right now. But if I ever do develop some serious fears about flying my drone, I'll definitely ask for details on the secret method. I promise not to tell anyone else.
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Was just going to post the same. I quickly perused several dozen of the stolen posts. All but one were lacking details, that one said it was taking during a B&E.
Stolen could be from a car, from public transportation, etc. I think we would have heard of at least one of the many strong armed robberies that Mavic3usa believes have happened. I've seen nothing in the media, including all of the drone centric media and social media I follow. Nothing.
If I am the victim of crime while flying my drone, I can pretty much guarantee the drone was not the cause of the crime.
Suddenly I feel the barrel of a gun in my back while a voice commands "Land that drone old man! Now shut it off. Now place the controller on the ground and back away. Wait 5 minutes before calling the cops or we'll come after you and your family!" That is not a scenario I imagine will ever happen.
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Look at all the obnoxious YouTube Drone pilots/influencers and the "Auditors" who love to fly in heavily populated areas. Not a single one has had a violent encounter. Ken Heron and his buddy have had a few "Karen" moments that were completely harmless. The Originaldobo recently had a drunk yell at him, which he escalated, probably for his YouTube channel. But no reports of fist-to-cuffs, let alone guns.
Same with the thousands of drone pilots posting on these forums, Reddit, FaceBook, IG, tiktok, etc.
I can't find a single report of a pilot being robbed of his drone while flying.
Same with the thousands of drone pilots posting on these forums, Reddit, FaceBook, IG, tiktok, etc.
I can't find a single report of a pilot being robbed of his drone while flying.
Donnie Frank
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I have seen videos of police using pepper spray and/or taser guns to no avail. These non-lethal measure will probably stop most people, but they are no guarantee. If I'm fighting off assailants, I want a guarantee.
This is false for a couple reasons:
1) When you're paying attention to your drone and your data collection, you become a VERY soft target. Even without the drone, if I were say involved with staring at my phone 30 feet from a homeless encampment, I'd say that that makes me a pretty soft target. Good thing I have a flip phone, so I'll never be that person. But when flying a drone, my attention is split between the iPad and the drone. And since my hearing isn't the best, I can't really count on that sense to keep me safe. My awareness hierarchy is as follows: iPad, Drone, Surroundings. Situational awareness is something I employ BEFORE a flight. I look for wires, buildings, trees, etc. But DURING a flight, I'm focused on my work. I have to be.
2) Drones piss some people off. Other people act sanctimonious toward drones and pilots because they feel they can. Hacking on drones and drone operators is the "in thing" to do.
A couple years ago I was shooting construction progress video downtown. After I had packed everything up, this homeless guy who had apparently made the construction site his home started chastising me for what I was doing. And, unfortunately for me, I had my girlfriend with me as my V.O. So now I'm in a position to not only defend myself, but my V.O. as well...all 110 lbs. of her. The man was aggressive. I got rid of that car, so I can't show you the footprint he stomped on my hood.
The thing is that that area was previously essentially safe. But then when structures start to rise, the homeless seize the opportunity for "free shelter." So this was a jobsite that BECAME dangerous over time. Hard to predict that. So I think it would be obtuse to assert that drone pilots are safe regardless of where they fly.
I see concern. As drone pilots, our entire life is "thinking ahead." So the homeless/illegal element is just another on a long list of things to address. It doesn't mean we're fearful. It just means we want to be prepared for all contingencies.
Let me bring this home for you. There are a thousand times more reports of drone pilots being accosted by hostile elements then there are drones running into airplanes or helicopters. Yet look at all the steps we take to insure against the latter. The FAA has little concern with the former. That one is on us.
I guess that depends on how you define "attack." If you mean that word in the purely physical sense, I tend to side with you. But it is worth noting that drones have been illegally confiscated (or attempted confiscation) from entities that had neither the jurisdiction or the authority to do so. I concede that these events are rare. In my entire career I can count on one hand how many people have been accosted by supposed "people in authority." But that is kind of comparing apples to oranges. The problem is that the homeless issue is a GROWING threat. For those of us who work out in the field, we see more and more of this.
FWIW, my business partner is CCW certified and, depending on location, sometimes packs. I feel pretty good about that.
D
Wow, I'm not about to argue these points on a drone forum, it would be inappropriate. There just isn't any need to convince anyone that I'm right on this topic. 
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I don't think anyone has stated this.
I think we instead countered the argument that piloting a drone is so dangerous that you need to be armed regardless of where you fly.
By "hostile elements" you mean loud neighbors? Angry Karens? Not armed threats, correct?
Hmm, like the twenty something guy in Ogden, Utah who was buzzing his neighborhood over a few weeks span, being genuinely obnoxious to all the neighbors? His neighbor confiscated the drone when he crashed it into a tree on the street. The kid shot and killed his neighbor over the drone.
We don't need to defend ourselves in that manner against uneducated security guards or police if they attempt to confiscate a drone.
We have a horrible homeless problem here in the Seattle area. It makes the national news. The vast majority of them, in my experience, are too under the influence, weak, or in ill health to be much of a threat to me when I fly. And if they are squatting, they tend to try and remain undetected and not go Mad Max on anyone who disturbs them. I'm sure there are exceptions and violence is possible, but again, not enough to stop me from flying out of fear. Or feel like I need to pack an arsenal to be safe. My pepper spray, wits, and large loud dogs will hopefully continue to be enough to keep me safe.
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Yeah, Ken Herron's buddy that I mentioned. I've always wondered why we never actually see an image caught on video of the gun. But I'll give this to you, one video where a gun was mentioned and possibly present out of millions of drone flights. Got more?
There might be more but any real violence is not the type of thing to be caught on video and posted plus I don't want to post a tone of drone confrontation videos because they don't happen that often. If it happened to me, I know I wouldn't post it. YT probably won't allow it either. Not only for legal reasons because those situations don't always come off as perfect or clean so it's not something to "brag" about, I wouldn't post it myself. You do everything you can to *prevent* the confrontation and that includes not posting it on the internet. So not right now but soon I think someone is going to post a compilation video....but these are the few that I am aware of:
Language and all of these have various levels of threats:
Crazy man aggressively yells at teen with drone!
Came House Drone confrontation
DRONE CONFRONTATION: Cops called on drone pilot in SoCal for just doing his job. Watch what happens!
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Angry Karens.
Not strong armed robberies.
Weren't you trying to prove there were "Stolen" drones???
We all are aware of the Karens.
No I sent these because they all had references to people claiming they would use violence.
I already told you there are no strong arm robberies [of anything] on YT.
These videos show you how someone can go beyond just being a nosy busybody and how it can escalate in a second.
For me personally, I don't need to see a video on YT to know that it happens. I'm smarter than that. But I get it, some people are in denial until....it happens to them.
So yes there are angry karens but people are firing guns, people are threatening violence, people are cursing and making threats, people say they will call police....etc.
Hope you enjoyed the videos.
Living in the Houston area, I also am quite aware of the serious crime here. I have many times dreamed of moving to a small town where it would not be such a concern. But living here my whole life where I have always made my living, the opportunity never came. I too sometimes find myself in areas to work that I would ordinarily never be in. The fact that I'm 65 years old and my wife is almost always my VO, I can't imagine finding myself in a situation where I would feel the need to pull my weapon. I pray that day never comes. But with the viciousness of crime in our world today and so many, particularly the youth who have such little regard for human life, I would do what I would have to do. I'm not talking about protecting my drone, that would be crazy and illegal. But to have at least the opportunity to protect my wife's life or mine, to me it would be crazy not to.
Have you not been keeping up with the hostility towards drone flyers from paranoid Karens and those who perceive every drone flyer to be spying upon them and invading their privacy, and potentially carrying lethal weapons? When I first started flying 7 years ago, a neighbor openly threatened to shoot down my drone! The paranoia and hostility has only escalated among the public over the last 7 years, with the recent war in Ukraine clearly demonstrating the lethality of off the shelf drones as killing machines. Have you not noticed that the number of daily posts on our drone forums have substantially declined in the last two years, as RID has been implemented? Flying a drone with RID now makes the location of every drone pilot a public target for confrontation by anyone, for any purpose. Anyone who believes otherwise is naive. It only takes one unfavorable confrontation to end badly. Most long time hobbyists are deciding it is not worth the risk, and is taking all the fun out of flying, and are hanging up their spurs, and selling off their equipment!
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