Is there “ anywhere “ I can fly my drones legally?? Seems everywhere is off limits [emoji37]

[DRE1]

Took my drone to Egypt Completely off limits luckily they only took my batteries, No flying in London, No flying in Amsterdam, France you can but way away from anything cool, I did fly in South Africa but had to pay a police, ( I didn’t even ask questions I just payed) can barely fly in California nowhere cool , most of Florida is off limits, New York forget about it , Chicago No, I could go on forever. Yes the Caribbean you can fly all day and in Hawaii and Yes I have beautiful videos of so many bodies of water and there great, but also boring now. Is there any Historical sites I can fly legally???? Help !!! I’m about to give up on this hobby. Can’t seem to adapt any new gun Laws but pretty much ban drones everywhere in the matters of weeks ... smh .. are there any RC submarines I can buy !!!

 

[high flyer]

Life has its ups and downs so stop being so antic and be thankful of what you have and others are struggling in life you can't buy happiness you can figure out the rest. Have a Blessed Day.

 

[Jackcutrone]

[here is your submarine. Pretty pricey though. URL="{{::og.title}}"]{{::og.title}}[/URL]

 

[Gr8ful]

Life has its ups and downs so stop being so antic and be thankful of what you have and others are struggling in life you can't buy happiness you can figure out the rest. Have a Blessed Day.

+1

 

[Dglockitt]

Inconspicuous flying is the key! Avoid people like the plague as far as possible. Once you are up to a good altitude you can fly with out being to obvious. Avoid looking up in the air. Keep your head down and don’t draw attention to yourself. Get that footage and be gone ASAP. Think the days of flying for fun are over.

 

[Aussie Oldtimer]

Just move to Australia. You can fly wherever you like including airports, govt buildings, and even buzz people lying naked near their pool. You can fly over people in the streets etc. Then you can attend sporting fixtures and fly about 1m above their heard in the grandstands



Of course the above is crap so maybe you could check this new fangled thing called google to see where you can fly BEFORE you go

 

[mavic24theclouds]

Took my drone to Egypt Completely off limits luckily they only took my batteries, No flying in London, No flying in Amsterdam, France you can but way away from anything cool, I did fly in South Africa but had to pay a police, ( I didn’t even ask questions I just payed) can barely fly in California nowhere cool , most of Florida is off limits, New York forget about it , Chicago No, I could go on forever. Yes the Caribbean you can fly all day and in Hawaii and Yes I have beautiful videos of so many bodies of water and there great, but also boring now. Is there any Historical sites I can fly legally???? Help !!! I’m about to give up on this hobby. Can’t seem to adapt any new gun Laws but pretty much ban drones everywhere in the matters of weeks ... smh .. are there any RC submarines I can buy !!!

While i can certainly understand your frustration with the changing landscape of hobbist droning, if i read your post it seems to me your biggest obsticle might be that you just are not planning enought. It doesnt seem like you researched the local drone laws of any of the places you visited before going there, i could be wrong but it seems like it when you read your post. I can not comment on all the places you tried to fly but i am from one of places you mentioned (south africa) and there are many places you can fly and shouldnt and dont need pay police a thing. Before you go taking you drone to another country just google and read up on the local laws. In most countries you can happily fly your drone acept for military bases, airports, police stations and national parks most. Most parts, keep LOS high restrictions etc.. Just read up on the destination first, check you flight requirements for lipo batteries, perhaps invest in some lipo safe bags, always carry on your drone and batteries and, breath

As. Per the other posts here aswell some best advice is to be low key go take of and land far away from people dont anoy people or fly to low, just be respectfull and most people will not complain and leave you alone acept for oddball here or there. I have found ignorance be the biggest issue with people outide the hobby, i just low key go find a good take off/landi g spot away from people. You are most vulnerable to. Muggings and redicule from people if you are the anoying drone guy taking off right next to loads people at beach making niose. Just put distance between you and people.

 

[crlmjohnson]

Please do your research before you fly. and you should be ok.

 

[Aaron24]

Inconspicuous flying is the key! Avoid people like the plague as far as possible. Once you are up to a good altitude you can fly with out being to obvious. Avoid looking up in the air. Keep your head down and don’t draw attention to yourself. Get that footage and be gone ASAP. Think the days of flying for fun are over.

This is true, get your drone up high and fast and do not look obvious, like you are flying a drone. Once the Mavic 2 gets above 50ft or so you can barely hear it and hardly see it unless you know to look for it, or you fly drones and know the faint sound of one no one would know you are actually flying one.

 

[davidzimagery]

Yes, much of the "good stuff" is off limits. So I make it a challenge to make the boring stuff, "good stuff". I live in north central Illinois...midwestern farm land. That's good, because I live on a 200 acre farm and have access to several others. BUT, they all are cultivated farm land and talk about boring. I've still managed to get some decent views of forest preserves and such. Last summer I went to Colorado, and since it's 90% National Park land, it was tough to find legal places to fly. The last day, I finally found a National Forest Ranger, that clarified a few things. It was too late to utilize the information to my flying benefit. I have since forgotten the details of the conversation, since the rules she shared were confusing to comprehend without a detailed map showing the National Parks vs National Forests. I think she said I could fly in National Forests...which I'm still not sure is correct. There are neither anywhere near where I live, so I didn't pursue the answer any further. So right now I basically fly around the local open spaces, to stay in practice, in case I find a really good place that is "legal".

 

[JDawg]

 

[vadervideo]

Yes, much of the "good stuff" is off limits. So I make it a challenge to make the boring stuff, "good stuff". I live in north central Illinois...midwestern farm land. That's good, because I live on a 200 acre farm and have access to several others. BUT, they all are cultivated farm land and talk about boring. I've still managed to get some decent views of forest preserves and such. Last summer I went to Colorado, and since it's 90% National Park land, it was tough to find legal places to fly. The last day, I finally found a National Forest Ranger, that clarified a few things. It was too late to utilize the information to my flying benefit. I have since forgotten the details of the conversation, since the rules she shared were confusing to comprehend without a detailed map showing the National Parks vs National Forests. I think she said I could fly in National Forests...which I'm still not sure is correct. There are neither anywhere near where I live, so I didn't pursue the answer any further. So right now I basically fly around the local open spaces, to stay in practice, in case I find a really good place that is "legal".

We called the forest service here in AZ to confirm right to fly in our Coronado Nat. Forest and yes, Nat. Forests are good to fly as long as you follow the conventional rules as per FAA 107. What we recently discovered however are that some of the flight apps display Nat. Forests as Nat. Parks. But that is an actual app error and can cause confusion. Airmap does this and it is annoying more than helpful.

 

[Photo Booth]

I live in Southern California and there are so many neat places where it's legal to fly a drone that one drone is not enough. Please send me your drone so I have two.

Mark

 

[ff22]

Yes, much of the "good stuff" is off limits. So I make it a challenge to make the boring stuff, "good stuff". I live in north central Illinois...midwestern farm land. That's good, because I live on a 200 acre farm and have access to several others. BUT, they all are cultivated farm land and talk about boring. I've still managed to get some decent views of forest preserves and such. Last summer I went to Colorado, and since it's 90% National Park land, it was tough to find legal places to fly. The last day, I finally found a National Forest Ranger, that clarified a few things. It was too late to utilize the information to my flying benefit. I have since forgotten the details of the conversation, since the rules she shared were confusing to comprehend without a detailed map showing the National Parks vs National Forests. I think she said I could fly in National Forests...which I'm still not sure is correct. There are neither anywhere near where I live, so I didn't pursue the answer any further. So right now I basically fly around the local open spaces, to stay in practice, in case I find a really good place that is "legal".

Many years ago, backpacked in Hoosier National Forest, a bit to your east!!! Compared to your 200 acre farm, I can fly over my 5,200 square foot lot in Seattle and about half of that is house. All off limits in the City.

 

[clovis09]

This is true, get your drone up high and fast and do not look obvious, like you are flying a drone. Once the Mavic 2 gets above 50ft or so you can barely hear it and hardly see it unless you know to look for it, or you fly drones and know the faint sound of one no one would know you are actually flying one.

That's exactly what I do. Get my MP just high enough so that it locks my location and as soon as it's ready go full speed straight up until I can't hear it. Noone ever knows I'm up there.

 

[kadras]

Here are links for the US Forest Service that clearly state that drones can be flown in national forests.

Unmanned Aircraft Systems | US Forest Service
Hobby or Recreational Use of UAS on National Forest System Lands
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has regulatory authority over all airspace, including recreational use of airspace by model aircraft. The U.S. Forest Service does not have the authority to establish any additional regulations regarding where UAS can or can’t be flown. Individuals and organizations that fly UAS on National Forest System lands must follow FAA guidance.

Tips for Responsible Hobby or Recreational Use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) or "Drones" on National Forest Systems Lands | US Forest Service
Tips for Responsible Hobby or Recreational Use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) or "Drones" on National Forest Systems Lands
Individuals and organizations may fly UAS for hobby or recreational purposes in compliance with FAA rules....followed by a list of do's and don'ts, including a few that operators might not be familiar with, and which may lead to some of the confusion:
- Do not fly over congressionally designated Wilderness Areas or Primitive Areas as many people seek these places for the opportunities for solitude and quiet that they provide. (these areas are surrounded by national forest land)

- UAS are considered to be both “motorized equipment” and “mechanical transport” as such they cannot take off from, land in, or be operated from congressionally designated Wilderness Areas.

- The Forest Service regularly flies aircraft at low altitudes to perform natural resource management. It is the UAS Operator’s responsibility to be aware of these flights and take the steps necessary to avoid them. Contact the local Ranger District Office or the FAA for scheduled flights in the area.

Here's a shot from my Mavic Pro in the national forest, which extends beyond the mountains on the horizon, 30 minutes from my house.

 

[hoggdoc]

Life has its ups and downs so stop being so antic and be thankful of what you have and others are struggling in life you can't buy happiness you can figure out the rest. Have a Blessed Day.

I think you may want to look up the word antic (grotesque or bizarre) as for me it doesn't seem to fit the way you used it... But I guess that's ok because you passed along your "Have a Blessed Day", whatever that means.

 

[Dizzy1971]

Where I live we have public land use zones. I can fly there,just to the west of my city in the foothills area of the Rockies,but one thing to think about in general, I’ve found that getting to know some of the land owners around my area has actually produced some positive results for me as far as gaining some permissions to overfly private land. It never hurts to just say hello to people and explain the hobby a bit if they’re willing to talk to you. Some people will just say no and that’s their right in my country,but lots of people just want to know what and why you’re doing something near their land out in the boonies. Like others have mentioned,you need to do some pre planning. That’s true of flying in another country,or just a few miles away. It’s up to us to be educated and to make contact with our neighbors before we go flying and causing people concern. People being “concerned” leads to “interaction with cops” which = more irritations and less flying.

 

[Remote Pilots Australia]

Chirst Aussie Oldtimer .... I ( Mod Removed near spat coffee all over my keyboard!

To the O.P. try this

Pay your money and get certified as in Part 107 I think they call it in the U.S. like I did here.

Then get a big bright Yellow high Vis jacket and have it stenciled in BIG letters with "C.A.S.A. Certified Remote Pilot" A.R.N. xxxxxxxxx KEEP CLEAR DURING OPERATIONS" (change it out for F.A.A. for you of course)

and go about your business of flying following your standard operating conditions. If any police or anyone tries to approach then tell them they are breaching regulations by being so close, that they have no jurisdiction and please back away.

Works for me. Of course it happens to be true.

Regards
Dec

 

[hermitdog]

So I make it a challenge to make the boring stuff, "good stuff".

Yep, like davidzimagery, I live on a farm surrounded by "boring" corn fields. I enjoy flying over creeks, country roads, ponds, and even a few barns (!) The thing is: every single time I fly, I discover something new. This afternoon's flight was no exception:

Expect surprises and they'll happen.