Pile on and Tell Me Why I am Wrong

[Felix le Chat]

Remember I said START TOO.
There will be an active and very lucrative!! market for new and used replacement drones and Parts!, .
The value of my parts stash climbs daily. lol
We will see. Without DJI around many will start to learn that this stuff aint cheap nor easy.
But the Whole point was that the Government would have had a steeper hill to climb to get this all done if they didnt have all the idiot pilots to point to!

"...

"... But the Whole point was that the Government would have had a steeper hill to climb to get this all done if they didnt have all the idiot pilots to point to!..."

Fair point, but about five years too late - that horse is a dot on the horizon, so locking the stable door and having the groom police the yard is a redundant action.

Decisions have already been made - being watchful and informing on 'malfeasants' won't make a jot of difference.

 

[glocke12]

Long story longer.

I am still trying to get my stuff together. When my brighter tablet arrives, I look forward to getting more time in.

Meanwhile, there is a guy where I live. He has every form of social media that I know about; probably more. On them, he puts up some kind of impressive imagery:
His signature clip is his drone apparently flying up, up through a cloud bank (he calls it 'fog'), and panning around.
He has a clip essentially called a morning over our local dam. One that we used to be able to drive over until the TVA decided that was a Bad Idea and started enforcing some boundaries.
There's some footage of him apparently flying around one of our state parks (I'll save you the google, not lawful unless the Park Manager gives him permission).
He has footage of him flying over some schools, and flying around a school football game.

I had a couple of my friends poking me and telling me, man why aren't you doing that? So, it bugged me.

This week, I saw in our local facebook parks and rec group them fellating him over his coverage of the annual Christmas parade. His video apparently shows him operating above the parade route and where people are standing on the sidewalks.

(I know none of you are reading this far, so I'm just venting at this point).

I simply asked in the forum, how much trouble it was for him to get his waiver. He gave me a thumbs up... then blocked me. So I went and looked, he doesn't have any FAA waivers under the names I would expect. He doesn't have his dba name registered with the state, but he has had his 107 for about six months.

I am not going to snitch him out to the authorities, which is why I am not naming him here. Tell me why I am wrongly salty for him doing things I'd like to do, and he just does them. Not my business, right? (I ran across the Christmas stuff when my wife asked me why I wasn't doing things like that. That and a couple of friends mentioned seeing his drone at the parade).

I'm sure my response isn't going to be popular, but some of the rules involved are ridiculous and if someone can get away with violating some of them that doesn't involve potential damage to persons or property, I've no problem with them being broken, such as the no flying in state parks rule. We have that in Pennsylvania and I get around it by setting up outside park boundaries and flying into the park. I won't setup in a park but I have friends that do that. Walk back to a fairly remote spot, do a quick stealth flight then get out of dodge.

Flying over crowds without a waiver is just dumb and the liability involved isn't worth the risk.

Flying up through a cloud bank ? Not smart at all due to the moisture damage that the drone could get, not too mention it messes with the sensors.

I wouldn't get salty over what this other person does and wouldn't worry about what other people do. It sounds like up till now he's been lucky in not having anything happen, but his luck will run out.

Also, good on you for not being a snitch. There is nothing worse than people in a community that rat each other out.

 

[Cafguy]

There is nothing worse than people in a community that rat each other out.

Sure there is!! I would say not even having that community any longer is.... Don't you think we have a big enough black eye in the U.S. and do you really wish to tell the public that we cannot look out for their safety and our own as a profession or hobby because "we don't want to seem like snitches"?
That is a grade school argument that will only lead to us all losing a hobby and maybe even a profession in the long run.
We are already on thin ice as far as airspace goes, thanks to all these places that want to fill the skies with Delivery Drones!
It won't take much more and we will all be inside flying in warehouses! probably AMA warehouses. lol

 

[glocke12]

Sure there is!! I would say not even having that community any longer is.... Don't you think we have a big enough black eye in the U.S. and do you really wish to tell the public that we cannot look out for their safety and our own as a profession or hobby because "we don't want to seem like snitches"?
That is a grade school argument that will only lead to us all losing a hobby and maybe even a profession in the long run.
We are already on thin ice as far as airspace goes, thanks to all these places that want to fill the skies with Delivery Drones!
It won't take much more and we will all be inside flying in warehouses! probably AMA warehouses. lol

Not liking snitches is not grade school mentality. It is something that is guided by moral principles, and something that I feel deep inside of my psyche. I literally feel physically repulsed at the idea of being a snitch. It's quite simply not something I have control over.


I understand and respect your point of view. I just personally could not bring myself to snitch on someone for any reason except for whats listed below:

1) Their actions are extremely egregious, repetitive, and put others at extreme risk time and time again. Even typing that out makes me feel like a dirty snitch but I probably would end up reporting them if they didn't listen to reason.

2) My knowledge of their actions puts myself in danger of facing criminal charges.

Reading the OP again, the only thing that I really see as an issue is flying over the parade, flying over football games, and flying over schools ( thats borderline if not outright creepy assuming they are filled with school aged children ). Those are legit issues, and 100% are things I would never think of doing.

Everything else listed ? I really don't have a problem with. Heck, I've even been tempted to send one of my drones straight up and than straight down when we've had extremely thick, low lying fog just to get some footage from above the top of the fog bank but did not because I was afraid of damaging my drone.

 

[Cafguy]

I don't look for violations and preach to the pilot and NO I will not rerport every little thing that I see. I mean I myself have flown BLOS a few times, and I do Fly my Mini Whoops in my backyard around the swing set SOLO and thats not really legal per say........LOOK---If you are doing something that could cause harm to the public then Sorry but those things need to be reported and I will cooperate with the FAA in that situation without any feelings of guilt! It is my belief that if we conduct ourselves as professionals in the eyes of the public, Maybe....Jusy maybe Daddy will let us keep playing with our toys. Its not looking good at the moment Tho.

 

[Droning on and on...]

One of my favorite quotes comes to mind: "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds" (Ralph Waldo Emerson).

Running a red light at rush hour can kill someone. Doing so at 3 am when there are no other cars as far as you can see in all directions is no risk at all.

Same with drone rules. Reporting someone for a completely innocuous violation smacks of old communist reporting on parents for trivialities.

 

[Dronecation]

It won't take much more and we will all be inside flying in warehouses!

I think what Hank970 previously said here:
"I'd be willing to bet that a chorus of drone operators "ratting" to the FAA about every infraction they perceive would be more likely to result in additional restrictions than would random complaints from citizens, many of whom are either completely oblivious of our activities or, if they see a drone in flight, couldn't care less."
is extremely pertinent! Something you should seriously consider before snitching.
Nobody is waking up to newspaper headlines about drones imbedded in peoples heads!

Happy droning in 2026 and hopefully 2026 is a snitch free year....lol

 

[Dronecation]

Not liking snitches is not grade school mentality. It is something that is guided by moral principles, and something that I feel deep inside of my psyche. I literally feel physically repulsed at the idea of being a snitch. It's quite simply not something I have control over.
I understand and respect your point of view. I just personally could not bring myself to snitch on someone for any reason

Period- Kudos! A man with a backbone and decent moral compass!

 

[Cymruflyer]

I'm not going down a rabbit hole of hysterical nonsense. Sounds like you are projecting. I'm certain you do exactly the speed limit but are steaming mad everyone else is not...

I'm sure everyone has exceeded the speed limit. Those that do on open low traffic roads are okay by me. The idiots who do it in high traffic areas endangering many others, are the ones that deserve to be reported and heavily fined. It's that simple.

 

[Cymruflyer]

Poor 'landing flare'...if done properly, he might have escaped unscathed.

I am wondeing if you are a pilot or not. As a pilot and past instructor, I think you may not be aware of all the facts of such a flight. He is in a low wing aircraft, so does not have the same, below visibility, that a high wing would afford, below and off to the side.

He was lining up to land and was, as I see it, about to set up to flair, but I am sure, was not able to see that a car was directly below and right in front of him, because sitting in that aircraft, you have no idea what is directly below you or close to you, out front. He was at about the right height to flair just as he touched the top of that car.

You don't want to flair too high or you will stall and drop in. Too low and you will never get to the flair, and smack in. I think he was just at the perfect point to flair but the car was in his way.

Had that car not been there, I think he would have done a flair and landed perfectly and a better outcome would have resulted, possibly with no damage to the aircraft either. I give a lot of credit to that pilot, and it was unfortunate that the car happened to be right where it was.

Of course, the car driver had no clue either, that an airplane, above and slightly behind them, was about to touch down on top of it, because of the drivers restricted view. It is just an unfortunate set of circumstances that had the best possible outcome on the day.

 

[Cymruflyer]

Wrong...but I don't expect a 26 year old to know any better. But you're part of the hyena pack now...lol

You just don't want to admit that almost everyone is against you here. Why do you think that is? Because we left grade school thoughts back in grade school.

Being responsible to your sport and reporting flagrant violations of the laws by others is the farthest thing from snitching. It's called being a responsible drone pilot, who cares about our sport and the rights of other responsible flyers.

I'm wondering if you might have also been a bully, back in the day. Most of us move on from school days and grow up, taking responsibility. Some, it appears still long for the school yard and wish everyone would go by those silly schoolboy rules.

 

[Cymruflyer]

These days it's called "If you see something, say something" renaming it as if that makes a difference; so it's quite common and acceptable for Americans to snitch on this friends and neighbors and often even their relatives. Russians and Chinese citizens take this as welcome news.

I don't like the see the rules broken but I have no plans to report anything other than the most agregious violations.

If an American's friends, neighbors and relatives were not doing anything illegal, they would have no reason to worry about being "Snitched" on. However, if they were up to no good, then they deserve to be caught for their wrong doings. It is that simple.

See something, say something is not even remotely close to ratting someone out. Only an idiot would make that assumption. You see someone doing something questionable, then yes, say something. It might be a person leaving a bomb in a backpack somewhere.

I lived in London during the IRA bombings, and it was vital to keep everyone safe, to speak up if you think you saw something. Even if it turned out to be nothing, it was safer for all concerned to speak up and point it out, rather than stupidly think, well, it is none of my business what that person is doing. I don't want to be a rat or snitch. Such stupid "snitch" thinking is a childish thought, not a responsible adult thought.

 

[Cymruflyer]

I'm sure my response isn't going to be popular, but some of the rules involved are ridiculous and if someone can get away with violating some of them that doesn't involve potential damage to persons or property, I've no problem with them being broken, such as the no flying in state parks rule. We have that in Pennsylvania and I get around it by setting up outside park boundaries and flying into the park. I won't setup in a park but I have friends that do that. Walk back to a fairly remote spot, do a quick stealth flight then get out of dodge.

Flying over crowds without a waiver is just dumb and the liability involved isn't worth the risk.

Flying up through a cloud bank ? Not smart at all due to the moisture damage that the drone could get, not too mention it messes with the sensors.

I wouldn't get salty over what this other person does and wouldn't worry about what other people do. It sounds like up till now he's been lucky in not having anything happen, but his luck will run out.

Also, good on you for not being a snitch. There is nothing worse than people in a community that rat each other out.

There is no concern for anyone being ratted out, if they are not doing anything illegal. If they are doing something illegal, then yes, they deserve to be ratted out and thanks to the person that does report them for doing an illegal thing.

I'm sure if someone was robbing from your house or stealing your car, you would WANT your neighbor to "Rat" on the criminal, because it was your stuff that was being taken.

Yet you seem to be fine with not "ratting out" someone, as long as it was NOT you that it was affecting. Not a nice person to have in anyone's community.

 

[anotherlab]

These days it's called "If you see something, say something" renaming it as if that makes a difference; so it's quite common and acceptable for Americans to snitch on this friends and neighbors and often even their relatives. Russians and Chinese citizens take this as welcome news.

So people shouldn't say anything when someone like Luigi Mangione is spotted in a fast-food restaurant? Or Ted Kaczybski shouldn't have been "snitched" on by his brother?

 

[hank970]

I'm sure everyone has exceeded the speed limit. Those that do on open low traffic roads are okay by me. The idiots who do it in high traffic areas endangering many others, are the ones that deserve to be reported and heavily fined. It's that simple.

When I leave the familiar, low-traffic roads of my home on the western slope of Colorado and visit the Denver metro area, my experience has been that, unless I speed on the busy high traffic corridors like I-25, I'm going to be tailed-gated at best and rear-ended at worst. It seems like drivers over there think (or maybe know) that they aren't going to get anyplace unless they pick up the pace. Sometimes you've got to go with the flow. If there's any enforcement of the speed limit on that thoroughfare, I've never seen it.

Responsibility for enforcement of regulations governing the use of drones is a matter for the FAA, and it seems they do their job when egregious pilot behaviors result in accidents or interference with emergency operations. I can count on less than half the fingers on one hand how many times I've seen another drone in operation other than my own or my son's. Neither time was I alarmed by the conduct of its pilot.

I don't subscribe to the theory that our activities are unpopular with the public-at-large, and that every violation is a mark against drone operators. Most people I encounter are probably unaware of the regulations, they don't care what we do, or they're just curious.

 

[hank970]

So people shouldn't say anything when someone like Luigi Mangione is spotted in a fast-food restaurant? Or Ted Kaczybski shouldn't have been "snitched" on by his brother?

Apples and oranges. I hope we can all agree that there's a considerable difference between a responsible person reporting suspicions about a wanted, cold-blooded murderer and a busybody tattling on someone who's committed a non-injurious violation of Part 107.

 

[Riptide]

Sounds like different people draw the line in different places.

 

[Cafguy]

who's committed a non-injurious violation of Part 107.

A violation that when taken lightly and repeated without thought, will almost certainly lead to some kind of incident or injury? If you would like to visit your local Emergency room and ask around I am sure you will find a few "I didnt plan for that" stories in the lobby.

 

[Cafguy]

I don't subscribe to the theory that our activities are unpopular with the public-at-large,

Throw on all your FPV gear and go to the park with your buddies!...It will be very apparent to you in no time I promise.

 

[hank970]

A violation that when taken lightly and repeated without thought, will almost certainly lead to some kind of incident or injury? If you would like to visit your local Emergency room and ask around I am sure you will find a few "I didnt plan for that" stories in the lobby.

It's not as if news outlets are spewing out accounts of the gateway drug of minor drone infractions leading to an epidemic of serious emergency room visits. I wouldn't expect to see one ambulance after another dropping off folks injured by drones.

I think most of the people who frequent this site do their best to comply with regulations, but if someone goofs on occasion, and if the goof doesn't result in personal injury or property damage, then I think they deserve a pass. I try to maintain a sense of proportion about such things.

That said, I also think that 14 CFR 107 and 49 USC 44809 are poorly written. There are too many ambiguities and too few precise definitions.