Reactions to drones in public

Maviac · Jun 13, 2019

People in Atlanta have been almost universally friendly. I’ve had a few people walk up to me and I was worried they’d complain but every time they’ve just been curious and we had a pleasant interaction. I spent a couple of hours doing some video in a small town recently and called the police chief just to let him know and he was very cool with it, and my video is now on the city’s web site.

LenSavage · Jun 13, 2019

I rarely fly without my vest on - even when I am NOT flying a 107 mission (similar to the image) and I have only had one 'tough-guy' confront me and when I explained that his homeowner's association hired me to map the surrounding property, he relaxed and said 'oh, cool' and walked away.

IShouldBeWorking · Jun 13, 2019

I had a funny one yesterday. I almost always fly way out in the mountains or desert where no one is around. But I’m on vacation this week so I broke my rule and flew around a noisy beach. The flight went great and I got some fun shots out over the water and of the surrounding area. Then as I’m bringing my Mavic in to land, some German lady 20 yards down the beach starts yelling (all in German) and giving me the finger. I was focusing on landing so I never noticed her. My buddy who was helping me as a spotter told me as I was packing up and we both had a good laugh. It’s always amusing to see what angers people. I mostly have good experiences with people though. Even on my trip to spots that are more populated than I’m used to flying in. It’s mostly curiosity and “oh cool!”

kensteele · Jun 13, 2019

same phases similar to what we went thru with mobile phones starting in the 80s. oh cool! then look at what we went thru (it was turning into a disaster) and it was ONLY after we put a cool, indispensable phone in practically everybody's hand that we gained compliance and acceptance. not going to happen with drones; there's no porn on drones.

johnmeyer · Jun 13, 2019

LenSavage said:
If you were bone in '33, then you were 45 in '78.

Very nice. Never heard that one.

MavicFT1P · Jun 13, 2019

Pe

davshev said:
Lately I've had a number of negative reactions from people while flying my drone in public. For the most part, many people don't seem bothered by it, and some will wave at the drone when it goes by. However, I've had other reactions which range from people displaying their middle finger, to those who throw things at it. I've been thinking about this and it seems that perhaps some people feel threatened by the technology of seeing this "thing" flying in the air with no visible human connection. I've had plenty of experience going out in public with my DSLR, but don't recall seeing people throw things at me or looking so suspicious.

This is what the news does, for drones who watch it, it decides their Status Quo, and suddenly people who were holding back a few years ago from yelling, flipping the bird, or most unfortunately; people who might have approached you with an interest/become a drone flyer; are now afraid to get involved.

Theirs definitely a sense of 'your one of that lot' no matter how sensibly you fly it.

Some people think you may have just taken it up recently (which is great btw) but then use that against you.
Like you werent flying phantom 3's 5 years ago, (when almost everyone showed an innocent interest in that buzzing thing btw)
No your just another person with expensive ****, so angry ppl to vent.

All of that said, I've yet to be hassled to my face. And id be lying if i said i didnt look forward to those moments.

And To be honest the majority of Anti-Drone information put onto you
come from the Drone Police on MavicPilots.com.

They were scared of something happening, so they went and made a self fullfilling prophecy, in the hope they
would seen as the good ones. A fantasy i think.

Caffeine wearing off, so i'll leave you with that.
New expresso machine. Not carcinogenic gheywad nespresso. A proper coffee machine like in the Cafe, with the Eagle and everything. You should come to my wharehouse and I'll show you what im working on
?

?

AMann · Jun 13, 2019

johnmeyer said:
I'm old enough to have seen the gradual, but massive change in how people perceive new things. When 33 1/3 records came along to replace 78 rpm records, everyone embraced the change. I can go through dozens of other examples of new technology and how pretty much everyone welcomed the new stuff.

Ever since the late 70s, and most definitely since the turn of this century, people have taken to looking at the hole in the doughnut, rather than simply enjoying the tasty pastry, and increasingly I find that a large number of people not only don't embrace the new technology, but they get very opinionated, nasty, outspoken, confrontational, and mean in expressing their often-times uninformed views.

I don't know how much of this comes from seeing too many dystopian movies about bleak futures overrun by technology (e.g., "Blade Runner"), and how much is the coarsening of our culture brought about by people learning to take anonymous pot shots at each other in public forums, and then carrying that behavior over to real life.

I agree with others that unless you are a commercial operator and have permission from local authorities, you are best off not flying where there are lots of people milling around, and also not in downtown areas, even when deserted on a weekend.

On the flip side, I do not agree with the prohibitions about flying in wilderness areas, and would not back down from some hiker who gets belligerent. Some very uninformed people have very stupid views about "harming" wildlife with a drone. I have deer, bobcats, turkey, hogs, mountain lions, and many other critters around my house and believe me, every moment of their day is spent reacting to every little thing around them. And yes, they will of course react to a drone, but to them, it is just one of about ten thousand "threats" they deal with every day, and is no different and no worse than the natural threats they constantly respond to.

You are mistaken about why Wilderness Areas were created and for what their purpose is. Although a part of it, they are much more than to just protect wildlife;

“"A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain." - Wilderness Act, written by Howard Zahniser and signed into law by Lyndon B Johnson in 1964.

Steve Murray · Jun 13, 2019

I posted a video of a nearby village on their Facebook page. Some 30+ people "liked" the vid, which was taken from the sea, but one complained about me flying over her house the day after, when I wasn't even in the village, (I NEVER fly over houses or people), while another called me a "perv". Some people will always find something to moan about, particularly when they don't like or understand what's involved.

owg666 · Jun 13, 2019

I've mostly had good experiences with curious people. I'd say 50% look but don't ask questions. 30% approach and are very interested. The rest are mixed reactions. You can tell when they disapprove. I was flying a month or so ago at the river and decide to follow a creek inland. Went in a short distance to a bridge with a few houses around. Turned around and came back to land. Ten minutes after landing three local cops showed up. They said someone at one of the houses complained that a drone was buzzing their house. Untrue. Never got near the houses. The officers were cool and showed interest in the drone. I even gave them a quick flying lesson. Took my name, phone number and the FAA reg # off my drone. All procedure. Nothing ever came of it but you need to be aware that there are people who honestly think we're spying on them. Who the hell is going to fly a $1500 drone a foot from a bedroom window ?? Ridiculous. It's ignorance of the technology.

DroningOn · Jun 13, 2019

owg666 said:
Nothing ever came of it.....

Except your personal information being recorded it in a police field contact database for absolutely no reason other than a local cop being “curious“.

MavicFT1P · Jun 13, 2019

i think it's a Prerequisite for most Leo? The curious bit..

Bigbird48 · Jun 13, 2019

Cops can be curious all they want but have no legal reason to get your info unless you have committed a crime and have been arrested .

ottodawg · Jun 13, 2019

Well since I won't be wearing a crossing guard vest anytime soon, and not doing anything illegal, I guess I don't feel the need to explain. If they have legitimate questions I will answer/explain. Hasn't really been an issue where I fly..

MavicFT1P · Jun 13, 2019

LenSavage said:
I rarely fly without my vest on - even when I am NOT flying a 107 mission (similar to the image) and I have only had one 'tough-guy' confront me and when I explained that his homeowner's association hired me to map the surrounding property, he relaxed and said 'oh, cool' and walked away.

Some guy in another thread said to just stare at them all passive-aggressive. I dont know if I am that hardcore.
I used to love confrontation, slowly getting to 'cannot be **** with it' now. Life is too short (today anyway).

Bigbird48 · Jun 13, 2019

MavicFT1P said:
Some guy in another thread said to just stare at them all passive-aggressive. I dont know if I am that hardcore.
I used to love confrontation, slowly getting to 'cannot be **** with it' now. Life is too short (today anyway).

deleted member 877 · Jun 13, 2019

We should all be keeping the overall reputation of the drone flying hobby/profession in mind. If that means saying "Yes Sir, No Sir, Three bags full Sir" then that is what we should always do. Forget about your egos - there is a lot more at stake.