San luis obispo (police called)

[wormhole123]

Hi guys, I was flying my drone along the coast and some photographer called police on me. I will attach photos so you guys can see where I was. I was not in the red line. In the end, state park police just gave me a warning and left. But I'm curious if I was allowed to fly here or not.

 

[DanMan32]

If you were operating within state park grounds, then you may have been violating state statutes.
By operating, that means takeoff from, land on, or standing in with the remote.

However they can't really prevent you from flying over, though that may be impractical without operating in.

 

[itsneedtokno]

Hi guys, I was flying my drone along the coast and some photographer called police on me. I will attach photos so you guys can see where I was. I was not in the red line. In the end, state park police just gave me a warning and left. But I'm curious if I was allowed to fly here or not.

I agree with Danman.

What did they "warn" you about?

 

[wormhole123]

He says, "you can't fly your drone here."

 

[wormhole123]

Does superintendent order number expire? I looked up on Google, I couldn't find that document anywhere. The state park website does not mention where I can launch, land my drone.

 

[Vic Moss]

As others have mentioned, park authorities can restrict you from flying from within the boundaries of a park. Those parks can be local or national, and everything in between.

So, if you were flying in the park, you were illegal. It was nice of them to just give you a warning.

However, if you weren't on park property, he overstepped his authority. Big time.

No local authority can prevent you from flying over any area. That is strictly the domain of the FAA. For some reason, California cities and counties seem to be the ones that like to make rules they can't enforce. It must be a California thing?

But just because they aren't supposed to control the airspace, doesn't mean they won't cite you. If they do, you may have to fight it.

 

[MavicAir2Hal]

People can't mind their own business. I tend to fly from my vehicle. When your standing outside with a RC in hand its just too obvious what hour doing. One time I asked if it was ok to fly at Redrock Canyon in Vegas. One guy had said yes but stay clear of people and animals. Then when I asked again at a different time. Said the same thing but was told no filming and the park guy could look at your phone and could get hefty fine
I flew and no pics or vids..then along came a ranger in the parking lot. He probably got tipped that someone asked about drone flying. So therefore was trying to make some money on a ticket. I flew from my car and snapped pics and a video of the ( Mod Removed Inappropriate Remark)

 

[hiflyer201]

That area is a National Marine Sanctuary. I see it as running right along the shoreline but you could run into people who see it differently. Early morning is your friend.
.

 

[BigAl07]

People can't mind their own business. I tend to fly from my vehicle. When your standing outside with a RC in hand its just too obvious what hour doing. One time I asked if it was ok to fly at Redrock Canyon in Vegas. One guy had said yes but stay clear of people and animals. Then when I asked again at a different time. Said the same thing but was told no filming and the park guy could look at your phone and could get hefty fine
I flew and no pics or vids..then along came a ranger in the parking lot. He probably got tipped that someone asked about drone flying. So therefore was trying to make some money on a ticket. I flew from my car and snapped pics and a video of the ( Mod Removed Inappropriate Remark)

Does flying from inside your vehicle affect your range in any way? What do you guess your range is from inside the car/truck? Do you have boosters etc to help with range/signal?

 

[MavicAir2Hal]

I fly my Mavic Air 2 south of Vegas over the flat desert. Flying from the car with ac on to keep the tablet or phone cooler during the hot summer. I don't have any range extenders and pointed the rc directly toward the drone according to the detail on the screen display. Was able to fly 5.25 miles or 27720 feet in mostly sport mode with no wind and altitude of 300 to 400 feet. Some signal breakup but reconnected and then hit RTH. Had 10% battery remaining. Not sure if being outside the vehicle would have made much difference. But the view was directly out of my windshield. This also helps out on those bright ? days so that you can see your screen. Only outside for take off and hand catch the drone. Happy Flying!

 

[Vic Moss]

People can't mind their own business. I tend to fly from my vehicle. When your standing outside with a RC in hand its just too obvious what hour doing. One time I asked if it was ok to fly at Redrock Canyon in Vegas. One guy had said yes but stay clear of people and animals. Then when I asked again at a different time. Said the same thing but was told no filming and the park guy could look at your phone and could get hefty fine
I flew and no pics or vids..then along came a ranger in the parking lot. He probably got tipped that someone asked about drone flying. So therefore was trying to make some money on a ticket. I flew from my car and snapped pics and a video of the ( Mod Removed Inappropriate Remark)

Flying from inside your vehicle is a bad idea. It is very restrictive and limiting for your line of sight. You also won't be as apt to hear low flying helicopters coming in.

From the looks of your profile picture, you're also a manned aviator. I would hope that would give you some insight into how bad of an idea it is to fly for your vehicle.

It's a safety issue.

 

[MavicAir2Hal]

For verification,my drone is registered with FAA. And allowed to fly at 400 above the ground or at the height of a mountain. It has Air Sense for any aircraft detection. Most aircraft and helicopters only fly below the 400 feet when at air or heli port when taking off and landing. I would get the notification if any aircraft was near and lower under the 400 feet. For line of site. Im flying straight line out away from me. So visual sighting of seeing a small drone is nearly impossible. Not using the naked eye to spot drone. I fly in that spot as nothing is out there anyway. In my opinion I will fly in a vehicle or outside to whatever is the case an continue to be safe.

 

[itsneedtokno]

For verification,my drone is registered with FAA. And allowed to fly at 400 above the ground or at the height of a mountain. It has Air Sense for any aircraft detection. Most aircraft and helicopters only fly below the 400 feet when at air or heli port when taking off and landing. I would get the notification if any aircraft was near and lower under the 400 feet. For line of site. Im flying straight line out away from me. So visual sighting of seeing a small drone is nearly impossible. Not using the naked eye to spot drone. I fly in that spot as nothing is out there anyway. In my opinion I will fly in a vehicle or outside to whatever is the case an continue to be safe.

Hopefully people here don't bash you too hard but...

ADS-B is not 100% foolproof (there's tons of threads about it). I've even personally (this weekend) had a close encounter...with a plane that was not using ADS-B (a Piper Supercub if you're interested). It was a banner plane flying WAY under 400, about 100 feet off shore. I caught it out of my peripheral and avoided a possible collision.

There is two sides to every coin. Here in Florida, the A/C inside the car, the insect free environment, and the lack of attention make the shorter VLOS worth it.

I often fly from the car, but I have a VO with me so that makes things much easier.

 

[Ron Caballero CAP]

If you were operating within state park grounds, then you may have been violating state statutes.
By operating, that means takeoff from, land on, or standing in with the remote.

However they can't really prevent you from flying over, though that may be impractical without operating in.

DanMan32, You write about State Parks. How does that apply to National Parks?

 

[dirkclod]

Guys we seem to have wondered off what the OP asked.
Let’s get back on it if you guys don’t mind.

 

[Deleted member 103366]

Did anyone notice the range limit on the document shown?

 

[RangerEd]

As others have mentioned, park authorities can restrict you from flying from within the boundaries of a park. Those parks can be local or national, and everything in between.

So, if you were flying in the park, you were illegal. It was nice of them to just give you a warning.

However, if you weren't on park property, he overstepped his authority. Big time.

No local authority can prevent you from flying over any area. That is strictly the domain of the FAA. For some reason, California cities and counties seem to be the ones that like to make rules they can't enforce. It must be a California thing?

But just because they aren't supposed to control the airspace, doesn't mean they won't cite you. If they do, you may have to fight it.

I agree that he overstepped his authority and there's a lot of LEA's with bigger egos than brains so if you push back on these types you'll probably get cited. Fighting city hall may not be worth the time and money in this case.

 

[Vic Moss]

I agree that he overstepped his authority and there's a lot of LEA's with bigger egos than brains so if you push back on these types you'll probably get cited. Fighting city hall may not be worth the time and money in this case.

I fight (& train) city hall all the time. It's all in your approach.