Police came by my house

[Donny66]

Did the officer tell you to stop? Or, just letting you know there were complaints?

Just let me know about the complaints.

 

[LowKey123]

The neighbors can complain all they want, if you are not breaking a law there is nothing the police can or should do.

Actually that is wrong, disorderly conduct is ANYTHING that interferes with your neighbor's way of life. So basically anything you, me or our neighbors complain about falls under this. If they ask you to stop and you keep doing it they can come back and charge you with persistent disorderly conduct if they complain again. The best course of action is to simply respect others. I know it seems trivial to you but it isn't to them. Just like loud music may seem trivial to your neighbor but annoys you.

 

[ToddCarey]

Some neighbors have nothing better to do than to see what they can complain about. My recommendation would be to do what you do legally (as it sounds you are), and ignore them. If the officer gave you an address to email (or text) him before you fly, it would not be a bad idea. It sound like he is willing to help defuse the situation.

I have an M2P, and specifically on my own house tried to see if it was possible to "snoop" into the home. If there is good lighting outside the answer is NO. The large sliding glass window acted as a mirror (high light outside and low light inside), unless you really have a LOT of light on in the inside. As my wife explained, other than my dogs freeking out about this critter outside, she was waving to me, but you could not see anything and I was within 20 feet horizontally at the same elevation of the window.

I also love flying around my neighborhood, but always do it at a minimum of 125 feet. I do lots of low level flying above my own few acres of property, and love to get about 20 feet above my miniature horses and put the M2P on a follow mode. It does not bother the horses, but when the neighbors dogs see the M2P, they start very heavy barking, which does upset the horses. I see those dogs bark a lot at people and other dogs walking by, and it usually does not bother the horses, they have gotten used to it. I suspect the horses are not "hardwired" to look up, and get more upset at not knowing what the dogs are barking at, as horses are VERY sensitive to possible threats.

Best of Luck with the neighbors....

 

[Wingman8209]

People are afraid of what they don't understand. And now that our quad copters have pretty much officially been renamed to drones thanks to the powers that be, people automatically associate drones with the military and what they see on TV. What they see on TV is basically spies in the sky. So I think it very worthwhile to attempt to educate the neighbors to put their minds at ease. If that didn't work, then I'd just ignore them as long as you are flying legally.

 

[JethroXP]

Actually that is wrong, disorderly conduct is ANYTHING that interferes with your neighbor's way of life. So basically anything you, me or our neighbors complain about falls under this. If they ask you to stop and you keep doing it they can come back and charge you with persistent disorderly conduct if they complain again. The best course of action is to simply respect others. I know it seems trivial to you but it isn't to them. Just like loud music may seem trivial to your neighbor but annoys you.

Actually, no, that’s not how that works. As evidenced by the fact that the police officer didn’t do anything other than inform him of the complaints. If what you stated were true, half the country would be in jail for disorderly conduct.

 

[Steve K]

At the moment, there is no max altitude for hobbyists. US law still states one must fly within VLOS though. It seems quite a few people are not aware of that rule.

Am I wrong here, or is everything I have read that says "400 feet" is the max altitude regardless if you are a hobbyist or part 107 pilot for drones wrong. Tha is in advance

 

[CaptBill]

My son, also a multiple drone owner just like me, is a police officer. He just told me that last night, he also had a call from a citizen complaining about a neighbor flying a drone and was concerned about this neighbor filming his kids. My son talked to all involved and determined that the pilot was simply flying over to return home from a short mission. He told the complaining party that it was no different than a car driving by with the occupants having cell phone camera's. It seemed the complaining party was bent on keeping the guy from flying, period. Fortunately, the pilot agreed to fly elsewhere.

 

[CaptBill]

Actually that is wrong, disorderly conduct is ANYTHING that interferes with your neighbor's way of life. So basically anything you, me or our neighbors complain about falls under this. If they ask you to stop and you keep doing it they can come back and charge you with persistent disorderly conduct if they complain again. The best course of action is to simply respect others. I know it seems trivial to you but it isn't to them. Just like loud music may seem trivial to your neighbor but annoys you.

This is not true, they must be in violation of a law or ordinance.

 

[jwt873]

I'm lucky.. I live in the country and only have 2 houses within a mile radius of me. Out of courtesy I stay clear of them.

But, as drones become more popular, I can envision cities/towns/villages enacting ordinances prohibiting drone flight within their geographical bounds.

 

[CC Rider]

Just tell your nosy neighbors you’re flying for Trump. That logic and rationale seems to get results.

 

[m chaussettes]

You'd have to be quite a distance away from other people in order to take off undetected no matter which props are being used. Even then, it sounds like these neighbors wouldn't be happy if they spotted it taking off again.

There are really only a few solutions here:

1) Try to educate the neighbors by allowing them to see what you see on the screen when flying. Maybe they won't be so paranoid when they see everyone looks like ants on the ground.

2) If that doesn't work, fly elsewhere. Even if you are following the law, you likely won't enjoy flying if you're constantly in heated battles with people in the area.

Couldn't agree more. In sales, I learned that it is possible to change a negative into a positive. In this situation, positive for you and other drone pilots in general. You could walk over to the complaining neighbor's house with your drone and apologize that they are upset (though you've done nothing wrong). Acknowledge their concern and tell them you would like to show them the drone and show them what you see on the monitor, engage with them in a way that they are not expecting. Talk up the hobby and/or try to relate it to something about them like maybe you've seen one of them taking pictures and "this is a Hasselblad camera" etc. Try to find a way to show your beauty shots on your phone.

The very worst outcome is they think you're a jerk for playing with that thing near them. Which is how they felt, to begin with. The upside could be: diffusing the situation with a neighbor and letting them know that drone operators aren't all selfish, irresponsible twats. Be an ambassador for the hobby. Why do you think the AOPA is so successful with public relations and private pilots and A/C owners? You've got everything to gain (possibly the neighbors stop feeling threatened when you fly nearby) and you create a positive impression of the hobby which is good for the rest of us. In lieu of the misinformation floating around, we should try to be goodwill ambassadors for the hobby.

I know this is a bit pedantic. Just thought I would put it out there. Hey, if the neighbors turn out to be real jerks and by trying to be positive with them they dislike you even more... well, you can always key their car as you are leaving.

Just Kidding.

 

[LBC970]

At the moment, there is no max altitude for hobbyists. US law still states one must fly within VLOS though. It seems quite a few people are not aware of that rule.

Could you please post the reference info for this? According to the FAA...

Recreational Fliers & Modeler Community-Based Organizations

...you can't be over 400' in uncontrolled airspace.

I'd like to learn the correct regulation if there is one. I'm on a cell, so searching the FAR/AIM is a pain, but I'll also look more into it tonight.

 

[msinger]

Am I wrong here, or is everything I have read that says "400 feet" is the max altitude regardless if you are a hobbyist or part 107 pilot for drones wrong

There's a lot of inaccurate information in these forums and on the Internet in general.

 

[msinger]

Could you please post the reference info for this?

FAA Reauthorization Bill Establishes New Conditions for Recreational Use of Drones

 

[York]

Some neighbors complained I fly my drone from my backyard. The officer was very nice and embarrassed but told me even though it’s not his jurisdiction as drone flying is FAA, he wanted to inform me that they were complaining about their privacy etc. Their complaint was they were concerned on how can I control it so high. I explained to the officer that it’s ok in the US under 400 feet and the max height I fly is under 390 feet. Just sad that people are so paranoid. He tells me they email him when I fly etc. I think it’s the same two nosy neighbors that always complain about everything. Ugggg, get a life please!! Leave me be.

The private property area is inside fence and above ground 5m box area. Flight over 5m to viewing neighbors property is just like you'er viewing your neighbor from outside fence. It's your rights. It's everyone 's rights.

 

[lenabanana]

Just let me know about the complaints.

What a waste of resources.
We have a similar issue with bon fires - last year we got a permit, yet the neighbor called the fire department each time and each time they have to respond and "inspect". It got to the point where we would just offer the firemen a beer and some s'mores when they showed up.
You'd think that the neighbor would see it isn't stopping you and give up or at very least they would just tell the caller that its legal and to bugger off.

 

[Icelandman]

I can sympathise and understand how annoying it can be. I am very lucky as >I live in Iceland in the country so I have not had a problem with neighbours. What I did do was take a photo of the various houses around me and then made a print of each and gave it the house owners! They were very appreciative to have an aerial view of their house!

 

[Donny66]

I don’t really know which neighbor(s) complained. The officer did not give me this information. So I really don’t have a way to reach out.

 

[Montana John]

Did the officer tell you to stop? Or, just letting you know there were complaints?

From the OP. "The officer was very nice and embarrassed but told me even though it’s not his jurisdiction as drone flying is FAA, he wanted to inform me that they were complaining about their privacy etc. Their complaint was they were concerned on how can I control it so high."

 

[AMann]

I would try to talk with the neighbor, perhaps even let them try flying if they pass the attitude test. Orherwise, I wouldn’t waste the officer’s time flying from your backyard knowing that the neighbor is going to complain. Not worth getting into a fight over it.

But on the other hand, anyone know if a roll of TP weighs too much for a Mavic to lift?