No drone zones: a matter of education?

[DanMan32]

There's a difference between FAA regulations on airspace vs other entities prohibiting takeoff, land or operating from certain areas. NPS for example governs what you do on the ground. They don't govern the air. However in most cases, it takes use of ground to operate and that's the loophole.

 

[Thomas B]

I thought NJ state law now prohibits local jurisdiction from prohibiting quads.

Likely they do... it may be like AZ, where the state law actually says that the state is the only entity that can make drone laws here, but localities persist in doing so... and LEOs are stuck enforcing them.

 

[Racin8de]

Just like every bushel of apples has a coupe bad ones, well so does all those who fly drones. No matter how great technology gets, some pilots will take their machines to the absolute extremes or ignore rules. Also, what doesn't help is all the bad publicity drones received when they were first released to the consumer. There were many False tales of drones striking airplanes, going through windows of family homes or spying on people through the windows of homes. Drones never got the chance to be introduced in a positive way for their capabilities. I'd bet that's why 95% of camp sites, some city parks ban them. It's a shame. If DJI & other drone manufactures really cared they should have collaborated and made some type of commercial with all the positives of these machines, newspaper ads etc... Until the public is educated drones will always be considered a nuisance and it's really sad... When I fly I may have a person approach & ask me a question or to and I take a few minutes to do whatever I can educating a the capabilities of my drone.The Mavic Pro and Phantom 2 Vison+, I do still fly it. It does help to ease peoples thoughts about drones. I let two adults two different times fly the Mavic in GPS mode and a younger kid who were absolute strangers. They had fun and when we were through talking both the adults said they would contemplate on purchasing a drone... All of us need to do our help in educating the public in any way we can..... It really will benefit us all in the end... Hopefully!

 

[jacquespa]

Parks are the one places they could actually enforce rules and regs. Park Ranger are the only law enforcement officers that actually could find a little time to take on the job.. Flying in empty parks during certain hours should b allowed, but in NJ even most county parks are off limits.. People are still going to fly some where.

At least the NJ state parks are back in play unlike PA.

 

[Manfred Waldmeyer]

Kind of off topic but how many miles did you drive each day? I was thinking of doing the same exact trip and flying as much of it as possible myself. Unfortunate to hear so many prohibited areas that you encountered, do you have a 107 license? Selling your video and photos taken along the way would’ve made it legal to use your 107 certification by turning it into a commercial venture which may have allowed you to fly in some of those places.

Total route was 2950 miles. Minimum per day 52 mi (Santa Fe ->Taos) Maximum 260 mi (Grove, OK->Weatherford,OK) average approx 150 mi.
As a non US citizen 107 was not applicable and IMHO not necessary for me. The weather in April /Mai along the route was a major problem. Too much wind and rain. More than half of the time overcast skies. Not the ideal lighting for drone videos. As far as I can resume 107 flights would not have been of any benefit. Or does the navajo nation handle 107 pilots differently? Well I got my share and one of the highlights was "Two guns" AZ. Plan at least half a day!

 

[superstarpup]

you can always call your local FSDO and ask for clarification.

Hahahaha

 

[BigAl07]

Hahahaha

Please enlighten us to the humor in that comment . . .

 

[superstarpup]

Please enlighten us to the humor in that comment . . .

Obviously you can always call the fsdo.

The funny part was where you said they’d clarify something for you.

 

[BigAl07]

Obviously you can always call the fsdo.

The funny part was where you said they’d clarify something for you.

Every time I’ve reached out to our FSDO I’ve gotten clear, concise, and accurate information. YYMV but to make such a broad statement is ridiculous.

 

[superstarpup]

Every time I’ve reached out to our FSDO I’ve gotten clear, concise, and accurate information. YYMV but to make such a broad statement is ridiculous.

More or less ridiculous than assuming that your experience with the (presumably) Charlotte or Greensboro fsdo is similar to what one would normally experience at fsdos around the country?

 

[BigAl07]

More or less ridiculous than assuming that your experience with the (presumably) Charlotte or Greensboro fsdo is similar to what one would normally experience at fsdos around the country?

Please share with us your first hand experience with a FSDO that has jaded you against the FAA. It's easy to read things on the internet and form an unjustified opinion but real-world experience is what counts.

For the record, I've been in contact with other FSDO's than just the NC FSDO. I've been around the block a time or two and worked in several states. My previous statement stands in that I've had nothing but great interactions.

 

[superstarpup]

Please share with us your first hand experience with a FSDO that has jaded you against the FAA. It's easy to read things on the internet and form an unjustified opinion but real-world experience is what counts.

For the record, I've been in contact with other FSDO's than just the NC FSDO. I've been around the block a time or two and worked in several states. My previous statement stands in that I've had nothing but great interactions.

My first comment was just joking. I apologize, i should have read your signature line and realized that while you’ve clearly been around the block a time or two you still lack the basis of experience to get a simple joke. To be fair, even if I had read your profile first I wouldn’t have thought someone would be offended by such a light hearted comment, so I’m sorry I’ve offended the honor of your beloved fsdo.

The good news is, most drone ops, whether operated recreationally or under 107 are fairly simple from a regulatory standpoint and most people won’t likely need to get ahold of their local fsdo.

 

[BigAl07]

My first comment was just joking. I apologize, i should have read your signature line and realized that while you’ve clearly been around the block a time or two you still lack the basis of experience to get a simple joke. To be fair, even if I had read your profile first I wouldn’t have thought someone would be offended by such a light hearted comment, so I’m sorry I’ve offended the honor of your beloved fsdo.

The good news is, most drone ops, whether operated recreationally or under 107 are fairly simple from a regulatory standpoint and most people won’t likely need to get ahold of their local fsdo.

This forum is about sharing knowledge & experiences and it sounded like you might have something worth while to share. You can rest assured you'd have to go well out of your way to offend me in the least. I just assumed (my mistake) that you knew what you were talking about and had a genuine negative experience with a FSDO and I was eager to hear more. Not everyone has a positive encounter with their FSDO and they have been known to give inaccurate information (I've actually been involved in one FSDO learning experience where they gave incorrect info) and I was curious to hear your experience. My bad . . . . carry on with your humor by all means.

 

[superstarpup]

The majority of my experiences with fsdos are outside the scope of operating a mavic, but suffice it to say you should hope that the regulatory environment for 107 never gets to the point where op specs are required, then you’ll really get to have some fun beyond getting some incorrect info.

 

[BigAl07]

The majority of my experiences with fsdos are outside the scope of operating a mavic, but suffice it to say you should hope that the regulatory environment for 107 never gets to the point where op specs are required, then you’ll really get to have some fun beyond getting some incorrect info.