Nervous to fly today in UK

[Jayfdee]

It was a beautiful day today for flying, cold clear and crisp, no wind ,lovely sun over clear skies.

So why nervous, after all I have hundreds of hours clocked up on my Mavic and P4.

I always try to stay away from people, but I thought today I will get affronted by Mr angry, who will accost me and say these things should be banned etc.
I rehearsed my possible responses, from a downright rude response telling the accoster to make love elsewhere, to just ignoring them. Fortunately there was no problem.
I do fly very carefully, in a relatively unpopulated coastline area, but the Gatwick affair makes me feel like a criminal, I fear the worst for our hobby, we are an easy target for a government struggling for populist support, and appalling media such as the Daily Mail, who accused 2 innocent people, saying "Are these the Morons", with a front page spread of their lives.
Feeling sad for the future.

 

[Oglo]

I'm about as far away from you & Gatwick as you can get on this earth (and yes, my head hurts all the time from the blood rushing to my head because I'm standing upside down compared to you northern hemisphereans... .
I too have decided to keep a v.low UAV profile these last few days because of the media reports. The underlying tone has been very anti "drone" even this far away. I'm thinking there is about to be a mass of new laws enacted in many countries. Reluctantly I'm starting to accept that the only way to keep it a "safe for all" hobby/activity is for the introduction of registration combined with mandatory ability to be tracked & intercepted on all units. Sad

I'm absolutely appalled at the UAV pilot's actions, this wasn't a bit of fun/frivolity but a dangerous, potentially deadly act. My sympathy goes out to the effected stranded people, and even the innocent companies that have lost megabucks.

 

[bushie]

Took my MP out for a flight yesterd aay morning in a local park
A runne rf and a couple of dog walkers there. All they said was "Giday" and kept on go ikng. No animosity.

 

[Jayfdee]

I'm about as far away from you & Gatwick as you can get on this earth (and yes, my head hurts all the time from the blood rushing to my head because I'm standing upside down compared to you northern hemisphereans... .
I too have decided to keep a v.low UAV profile these last few days because of the media reports. The underlying tone has been very anti "drone" even this far away. I'm thinking there is about to be a mass of new laws enacted in many countries. Reluctantly I'm starting to accept that the only way to keep it a "safe for all" hobby/activity is for the introduction of registration combined with mandatory ability to be tracked & intercepted on all units. Sad

I'm absolutely appalled at the UAV pilot's actions, this wasn't a bit of fun/frivolity but a dangerous, potentially deadly act. My sympathy goes out to the effected stranded people, and even the innocent companies that have lost megabucks.

Yes we will be getting registration next year, it will make absolutely no difference, as the bad boys will not register anyway. But UK Gov has to be seen to be doing something.

If there had been an incident near where I live I would have been first on the list for the Police to visit, many people know me locally, and know I am a pilot. With registration, they will have a ready made list of possible offenders, feels a bit like being on the sex offenders register.(which I am not)

Fortunately I live a long way from airports, and have plenty of deserted coastline and hills around, now if only we had your weather.

 

[DesG]

52 is the number of highly amusing times I was aked by friends and associates if I'd been to Gatwick lately and I live in South Wales. I lived through the same thing in the eighties and nineties with my pistol shooting.

 

[Oglo]

It's starting.....
This was the headline item on our National News channel website today.

Drone operator stops Christmas Day bushfire waterbombing on Bruny Island
Drone operator stops Christmas Day bushfire waterbombing on Bruny Island

Mention anything to do with interfering with bushfire fighting in this country and the terms like "hang'em" "lock him up and throw away the key" start getting bandied around.

Add the word "drone" and it becomes a national emergency, ISIS move over, we've got far more dangerous people in the neighbourhood......... (sic!)

 

[Steve Murray]

Yes we will be getting registration next year, it will make absolutely no difference, as the bad boys will not register anyway. But UK Gov has to be seen to be doing something.

If there had been an incident near where I live I would have been first on the list for the Police to visit, many people know me locally, and know I am a pilot. With registration, they will have a ready made list of possible offenders, feels a bit like being on the sex offenders register.(which I am not)

Fortunately I live a long way from airports, and have plenty of deserted coastline and hills around, now if only we had your weather.

Sadly, I am in an even more difficult position here in Tenerife. The field 20 minutes away, where I've flown fixed wing and quads for 10 years, is now out of bounds, and the local patch is even more so!