DJI Mavic, Air and Mini Drones
Friendly, Helpful & Knowledgeable Community
Join Us Now

"No Drone Zone" on private property

I guess we'll see in March for sure!
Good to see another WNC'er in the mix. I was over near you this weekend in "Cowee" shooting for a client.
 
Prolly meant that you cannot film their property more than a prohibition for any over flight
But that also doesn't mean anything, as you can film anything that doesn't have a reasonable expectation for privacy so long as you are filming from a public place. There is lots of case law on this -- you can't use a telephoto to shoot directly into into someone's bedroom from the street, but if someone is standing in their front yard they can't restrict people from photographing them (though they can restrict how such photos are used; that's why model releases exist).
 
  • Like
Reactions: AMRE2ME2
I think we can ALL safely say that we don't like many FAA rules - that's almost a given in America - you know FREEDOM. A big YET & BUT - is they make the rules of the AIR SPACE we fly in - both as a UAV or pilot in an airplane. So they do have the authority to control it.

We have RULES - plain and simple and every UAV pilot NEEDS to know them. Whether that is taking a course on the subject from a Drone Company or even video's on YouTube. That is YOUR responsibility to know, understand, and abide by. Many of these rules come about for one main reason - pilots total disregard for their environment and safety of them and people, wildlife, and objects they are flying around. It's the one bad apple syndrome that hurts us all.

Don't like the rules - then choice of 2 things. #1 - DON'T FLY A UAV! #2 - contact the FAA and your DC Reps to let them know their rules are an infringement on your / our FREEDOMS to fly. Up to them to change those rules and maybe if enough people band together, then some of the "stupid" rules can be eliminated. Much like the FAA is "looking at" changing the rule on flying over people and maybe relaxing it some. I don't like flying over groups of people, as we see many posts here of drones gone wild / crashing / etc. If that happens in a crowd - someone can / will get hurt. That's the reason for that rule. Now, flying over a vehicle is pretty stupid to a point. While nobody typically would get hurt if a drone crashed into it - the reaction of the driver may cause an accident, thus hurting people and property.

All that being said - I have no problem getting good pics / video's being away from people, cars, property (buildings / etc) at a safe distance. We all can do that and keep flying safely and hopefully establish a pattern that allows those making the rules to see we are RESPONSIBLE PILOTS and know when we've gone beyond safe and sane flying. Yes, there will always be people breaking the rules, but WE as a group need to keep that to a bare minimum.

I know a few wild and crazy drone pilots (typical racer types) and if they can follow rules and not be in harms way - then us more sane and safe folks can do the same.
In my opinion, the safest time to fly drones is at 4am with collision lights, if your doing it as a hobby. Practically no people or moving cars are out at that time. Crossing streets is a breeze. I also use a 2000 lumen spot light to see the ground. Also, You can crash land you drone on a road without it being run over. They are easier to spot at night with all their blinking lights. You'll see it by its anti collision lights. As a hobbyist, I feel safest flying at 4am. Nobody is around to get hurt. Also, their is less WIFI interference. Cops don't like it so much, not sure why, but I never get in trouble. They just wonder how I can fly three miles away from my position and see the drone. The 6 led drone lights FIREHOUSE sells, are powerful. They also make a beacon sound if you land and it sits their too long. If you cant see it, you will hear it. P.S. You can fly over privately owned land anytime you want, just be respectful and stay at a decent altitude. Don't hover over private property either. Just fly on by and don't take pics, even though the general populace believes drones are always filming and can see everything, They listen to the news too much. Makes their brains mush.. I wonder though, If your 400 ft up and 500 ft horizontally away and over public land, i would think you can take pictures of anything visible from that point. You just can't take pics while over the privately owned property. Google does it. They take pictures of your property, not from directly above it, but at a slight angle to it.. Not all of their aerial photos are from satellites either, many are from drones. The big military type.
 
Last edited:
Those signs are usually designed to stop drones from taking off and landing while trucks are coming in and out during the day for business. You get a bunch of worker out for lunch and its Drone time.

I Would not let it worry you as well as you follow the Air space guide lines your fine.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your Mavic in the Rain and Land on Water.
I had a fellow once tell me I couldn’t fly over his farm while I was doing a commercial shoot. I had to try to explain to him that, while he may own the land, he does not own the airspace above it.

As long as you were following FAA rules, you were fine.
 
When I check “B4UFLY” to verify I’m in a fly zone, I sometimes see a notice offering “No Drone Zone” signs to private property owners.
 
When I check “B4UFLY” to verify I’m in a fly zone, I sometimes see a notice offering “No Drone Zone” signs to private property owners.
Nothing but decorations. Have no legal bearing or force. Only legal rights they have is telling you that you can't land/takeoff from the property....otherwise not enforceable.
 
In my opinion, the safest time to fly drones is at 4am with collision lights, if your doing it as a hobby. Practically no people or moving cars are out at that time. Crossing streets is a breeze. I also use a 2000 lumen spot light to see the ground. Also, You can crash land you drone on a road without it being run over. They are easier to spot at night with all their blinking lights. You'll see it by its anti collision lights. As a hobbyist, I feel safest flying at 4am. Nobody is around to get hurt. Also, their is less WIFI interference. Cops don't like it so much, not sure why, but I never get in trouble. They just wonder how I can fly three miles away from my position and see the drone. The 6 led drone lights FIREHOUSE sells, are powerful. They also make a beacon sound if you land and it sits their too long. If you cant see it, you will hear it. P.S. You can fly over privately owned land anytime you want, just be respectful and stay at a decent altitude. Don't hover over private property either. Just fly on by and don't take pics, even though the general populace believes drones are always filming and can see everything, They listen to the news too much. Makes their brains mush.. I wonder though, If your 400 ft up and 500 ft horizontally away and over public land, i would think you can take pictures of anything visible from that point. You just can't take pics while over the privately owned property. Google does it. They take pictures of your property, not from directly above it, but at a slight angle to it.. Not all of their aerial photos are from satellites either, many are from drones. The big military type.
Who the heck gets up at 4am...lol.
 
  • Haha
Reactions: tlswift58
If you checked Kittyhawk, I believe you didn't violate FAA rules merely by flying in that airspace. The FAA controls airspace, and they publish restrictions on sectionals when the restriction is permanent, and by issuing a TFR for temporary restrictions. They don't issue restrictions for private landowners just because the landowner requests it.

But there are other potential problems.

FAA rules don't allow you to fly over people or moving vehicles, so be careful not to violate that rule.

You also must always be able to see your drone with your naked eye, which may limit how far you can go over someone's property.

Land owners can restrict you from using their land for takeoff/landing, as well as prohibiting you from operating your drone's controller while you are on their property, but they can't prohibit you from overflying their land. Imagine if airlines had to request permission from all land owners before overflying their land!

There are legal issues around photography and invasion of privacy. Don't take pictures/videos that might raise such concerns, and if you must overfly someone's land, remain at a respectful height.

There may be local ordinances that attempt to regulate airspace use. They probably don't preempt the FAA rules, but court challenges might be difficult or expensive.
The FAA recently clarified, "what is flying over people and moving vehicles". They now imply you can fly over people and moving vehicles as any other manned aircraft would. That is, from going from point A to point B. You can't hover, loiter or repeatedly fly over them, but you can pass over them. They didn't mention large organized crowds. I would go around them anyway. I feel it would be reckless not to.
 
Who the heck gets up at 4am...lol.
Give me a break. I have insomnia, so I get bored and fly when I wake up. Then, I go back to sleep. For some reason it relaxes me. Again, night flying is safer than day flying . It doesn't necessarily have to be at 4am. It's funny though, cops think you are up to nefarious acts or something, when someone flies in the dark at strange hours..
 
  • Like
Reactions: Howard70
And that surprises you?
Not at all, but it shouldn't cause such alarm as to cause the police to knock on your door an hour later. I'm the only drone pilot within 5 miles, so they know it's me who is flying in the area. The first time they made contact with me, they actually sent a police helicopter up to locate me. ($20,000 in fuel and pilot expenses) Does that surprise you? I hope so. A police helicopter?! The cop asked me why I kept flying away from the helicopter. They had no clue UAS pilots are required to avoid manned aircraft. I didn't know they were looking for me at the time. They were extremely embarrased. Haven't seen them but 2 or 3 more times since then, just because of an occasional nervous, paranoid neighbor calls 911. Now, I fly at least 200 feet up when over houses, just to make them feel safer. Perhaps the police thought I was a drug transporter. LOL.
 
Not at all, but it shouldn't cause such alarm as to cause the police to knock on your door an hour later. I'm the only drone pilot within 5 miles, so they know it's me who is flying in the area. The first time they made contact with me, they actually sent a police helicopter up to locate me. ($20,000 in fuel and pilot expenses) Does that surprise you? I hope so. A police helicopter?! The cop asked me why I kept flying away from the helicopter. They had no clue UAS pilots are required to avoid manned aircraft. I didn't know they were looking for me at the time. They were extremely embarrased. Haven't seen them but 2 or 3 more times since then, just because of an occasional nervous, paranoid neighbor calls 911. Now, I fly at least 200 feet up when over houses, just to make them feel safer. Perhaps the police thought I was a drug transporter. LOL.


So you're expecting us to believe that your local PD dispatched a Police Helo to search for a UAS? When the fact is that any UAS activity means every other helicopter would have been grounded but the one in YOUR town was sent INTO the UAS hot zone? We have had Life Saving flights aborted because of a "potential" UAS flight and you're trying to sell the story that your PD did just the opposite????

I'd very much like to get your PD's Chief's name and pass that one, along with the Helo pilot info up the chain there.

Sorry bud, that story holds no water what-so-ever.
 
Was recently flying my drone at a park. Before the flight, I checked Kittyhawk--the area is totally clear of any restrictions, and I flew around the whole area for about half an hour.

The park is adjacent to a large warehouse area, which is private property and is fenced off. After the flight, as I was walking back to the car, I walked past this area and noticed a sign that says "No Drone Zone" with an FAA logo on it. I definitely flew over this area during my flight.

Did I unknowingly violate any FAA rules during my flight? I looked up the "No Drone Zone" sign, and it looks like something anyone can download from the FAA web site. Is this a sign that they just put up, or did they actually get an official no-drone-zone put over their property by the FAA?

PS: If I had seen the sign before my flight, I wouldn't have flown over the area. But there's no way for anyone to see this from where I launched, unless it's something I can gather from charts or the app, but I somehow missed.
 
Great example of a no-fly zone is Six Flags Great America posted no-fly zones at both entrances. I can totally understand roller coasters lots of people safety issues. Again could be questionable to some people. As long as you're flying in FAA airspace that's not restricted I believe you're fine. Just be smart, get in and get out.
 
Great example of a no-fly zone is Six Flags Great America posted no-fly zones at both entrances. I can totally understand roller coasters lots of people safety issues. Again could be questionable to some people. As long as you're flying in FAA airspace that's not restricted I believe you're fine. Just be smart, get in and get out.
In their case, they just don't want people taking drones into the park, then taking off and landing on their property with all those people about. This would be a hazard to people on the ground, not just those on the rides. Technically though, you can fly in from outside the park, but you would have to avoid flying over crowds or open air gatherings. That would be kind of difficult at Six Flags. I don't think you would be allowed to film or at least film and post your footage in public, unless you had permission from Six Flags. I believe the FAA has a rule against the filming of private property.
 
In their case, they just don't want people taking drones into the park, then taking off and landing on their property with all those people about. This would be a hazard to people on the ground, not just those on the rides. Technically though, you can fly in from outside the park, but you would have to avoid flying over crowds or open air gatherings. That would be kind of difficult at Six Flags. I don't think you would be allowed to film or at least film and post your footage in public, unless you had permission from Six Flags. I believe the FAA has a rule against the filming of private property.
The FAA has no rules about filming private property, that is outside of their jurisdiction, which is related to keeping the airspace safe.

It’s legal to film private property from a public place, with a few very specific exceptions. What you actually do with that footage may be restricted based on various state privacy laws, trademark laws, and sometimes copyright laws.

Note that if the place you are filming is determined to be a place with a reasonable expectation of privacy (this is a tall standard to meet), then the photography is illegal. Hovering outside someone’s bathroom window to watch them take a shower would be a pretty good example of this.

Nobody walking around six flags has any reasonable expectation of privacy.

I’m not a lawyer.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: rickfmdj

DJI Drone Deals

New Threads

Forum statistics

Threads
130,587
Messages
1,554,122
Members
159,591
Latest member
Albrecht0803