I was using my iPhone when flying my Mavic that day. Didn't even have a clue at the time the neighbor was shooting at it while cruising around the border of the neighborhood. He lives right behind me so I have to get kinda close to takeoff and land from my own property.
I thought about what to do after seeing the footage a day or two later. Thought about calling the police but ultimately decided I didn't want the trouble. My state has a law going into effect in July that makes photographing anyone's backyard illegal. Even if by accident. So pretty much flying my Mavic in my neighborhood will be illegal when I come back from my next deployment.
The guy just moved into the neighborhood and I'm not sure he knows where I live and don't want any trouble.
I'm deployed over seas for about half of the year. I don't want the guy doing something stupid to wife or family while I'm gone so I figured I wouldn't provoke the situation.
I'll just keep an eye on him now that I know he's an idiot and keep my quads clear of him.
Haven't flown much since this happened last week.
If I have to register my quad with the FAA and my quad gets treated like an actual aircraft. It would be nice if we had some backing to prevent this kind of situation.
I feel like the news and hysteria of all drones are out to spy you and reports of people shooting down drones has made this type of behavior acceptable.
As an example, when I mention I like to fly my quad around to coworkers, I get the typical "I'd shoot that damned there thing down if it was flying over my property herrrrrrrp derrrrrrp"
I could give a crap what anyone is doing in their backyard but I understand people's right to privacy and their concern. To them it's this evil thing they hear about in the news that's out to get them.
I just wish I could fly without any hassle if I'm genuinely not trying to cause any trouble. I'll be glad when the drone panic dies down and drones are more accepted if that ever happens. If it's like cameras, RFIDs and other similar inventions, it will die down eventually.
This was a very insightful read about "The Privacy Panic Cycle" and I thought it you guys might like it.
http://www2.itif.org/2015-privacy-panic.pdf
Edit: words