Spanish police blocking 2 drones near king Felipe VI

[pescobar61]

Spanish police blocked 2 drones
So sorry: in Spanish.
Two pilots, one from Poland and an American, were flying drones near king Felipe VI and obviously the police takes they. Without registration, identification card, safety...i think they are very stupid people because Mallorca when the king is in holidays is full of security forces.
Diario de Mallorca: Police neutralizes 2 drone pilots violating the rules

 

[CactusJackSlade]

Spanish police blocked 2 drones
So sorry: in Spanish.
Two pilots, one from Poland and an Amercan, were flying drones near king Felipe VI and obviously the police takes they. Without registration, identification card, safety...i think they are very stupid people because Mallorca when the king is in holidays is full of security forces.

Typical idiots... sounds like newbies or just didn't care about the laws. This is what irritates me: I would be so easy for DJI and other mfg's to require a simple online test and legal acknowledgements before a new drone can even be started up for the first time.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

Ouch those could be expensive flights, a 'bit' stupid if the pilots knew there was a VIP there.

 

[pescobar61]

Ouch those could be expensive flights, a 'bit' stupid if the pilots knew there was a VIP there.

Everybody knows when the Spanish king is in Mallorca every summer, like British knows when the Queen is in Balmoral.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

It sounds as if one was a local or at least a Spaniard but the other is a Polish tourist, would a tourist "know"?

 

[pescobar61]

A

It sounds as if one was a local or at least a Spaniard but the other is a Polish tourist, would a tourist "know"?

An American and a Polish pilots maybe they don't knows where they are...obviously don't know the rules too. But is too much usual in Mallorca and is horrible for most of the drone pilots who respect the rules.
Drunk man flew a drone over a beach full of people in Mallorca

How to fly a drone in Spain RULES

 

[Aerophile]

One American. One Pole.

American said he was shooting for social media. He did not have the required insurance, was not "registered" (they didn't specify pilot or drone, presumably both), and "he did not have any type of enabling certificate for the handling of drones and, in addition, the aircraft did not have identification plate", explained the National Police. Facing a fine in the range of €600 up to €250,000. Fewer details provided about the Polish guy.

This is why we can't have nice things.

 

[Robert Prior]

One American. One Pole.

May not have known about the king, but should have known about the requirement for registration etc.

 

[MS Coast]

It doesn't matter a bit whether the two pilots even know that Spain has a king. It's their responsibility to understand and honor the regulations in the location where they're flying. Ignorance provides no excuse or defense.

It's just discourteous, too. Like walking into someone's house and lighting a cigar without asking permission. Guests shouldn't behave that way.

 

[DARKSeifer]

Apart from flying near a VIP they were flying in a restricted area...

Welcome to Spain gentleman, don't mind bringing your flying camera with you because kings, red zones, and Aeroscope!

You can fly in the white spots, all other colors are forbidden to hobbyist. Yet in the white spots you need to leave 50m to buildings/people if you have the A2 or 150m if you have the A3. You can fly a <250g near buildings recreatively (not professionally) to 20m max altitude (for example in towns inside the white area), but bear in mind that anyone nearby can say to the cops that you are filming/spyng them, even in public areas, and it will be considered a presumption of crime.

Registration in AESA, A1/A3 exams and A2 exams are free and can be made online in their website, assurance is only 18€ per year in Coverdrone page. There's Aeroscope in every red area that belongs to a major airport or city. Fly in Palma, Barcelona, Madrid, etc with a DJI drone, and you'll be busted and charged with around a 4.000-6.000€ fine that can get increasingly higher depending on o what you did during the flight.

Enjoy

 

[Cymruflyer]

One American. One Pole.

American said he was shooting for social media. He did not have the required insurance, was not "registered" (they didn't specify pilot or drone, presumably both), and "he did not have any type of enabling certificate for the handling of drones and, in addition, the aircraft did not have identification plate", explained the National Police. Facing a fine in the range of €600 up to €250,000. Fewer details provided about the Polish guy.

This is why we can't have nice things.

Anyone "shooting for social media" would be aware of the regs about drone flying, it seems to be everywhere. These idiots who think they are above the law just because they are... "Shooting for (THEIR) social media" deserve everything that gets thrown at them. That should bring them back to reality.

 

[Robert Prior]

Anyone "shooting for social media" would be aware of the regs about drone flying

I suspect "flying for social media" translates to "grabbing cool clickbait for my YouTube/TikTok channel", and many of those types seem to be deliberately ignorant of regs, figuring they don't apply to august personages such as themselves.

 

[Red Pyro]

Apart from flying near a VIP they were flying in a restricted area...

Welcome to Spain gentleman, don't mind bringing your flying camera with you because kings, red zones, and Aeroscope!

You can fly in the white spots, all other colors are forbidden to hobbyist. Yet in the white spots you need to leave 50m to buildings/people if you have the A2 or 150m if you have the A3. You can fly a <250g near buildings recreatively (not professionally) to 20m max altitude (for example in towns inside the white area), but bear in mind that anyone nearby can say to the cops that you are filming/spyng them, even in public areas, and it will be considered a presumption of crime.

Registration in AESA, A1/A3 exams and A2 exams are free and can be made online in their website, assurance is only 18€ per year in Coverdrone page. There's Aeroscope in every red area that belongs to a major airport or city. Fly in Palma, Barcelona, Madrid, etc with a DJI drone, and you'll be busted and charged with around a 4.000-6.000€ fine that can get increasingly higher depending on o what you did during the flight.

Enjoy

View attachment 152744

Looks absolutely ridiculous, just like France. In France literally half the country is red, as soon as there's a house it's forbidden to fly. I'm going to a rally event in 2 weeks, it's on the outskirts of a small village. Still everything red, no way I'm following their zones, I want to film something else than trees and empty fields !

 

[Red Pyro]

Apart from flying near a VIP they were flying in a restricted area...

Welcome to Spain gentleman, don't mind bringing your flying camera with you because kings, red zones, and Aeroscope!

You can fly in the white spots, all other colors are forbidden to hobbyist. Yet in the white spots you need to leave 50m to buildings/people if you have the A2 or 150m if you have the A3. You can fly a <250g near buildings recreatively (not professionally) to 20m max altitude (for example in towns inside the white area), but bear in mind that anyone nearby can say to the cops that you are filming/spyng them, even in public areas, and it will be considered a presumption of crime.

Registration in AESA, A1/A3 exams and A2 exams are free and can be made online in their website, assurance is only 18€ per year in Coverdrone page. There's Aeroscope in every red area that belongs to a major airport or city. Fly in Palma, Barcelona, Madrid, etc with a DJI drone, and you'll be busted and charged with around a 4.000-6.000€ fine that can get increasingly higher depending on o what you did during the flight.

Enjoy

View attachment 152744

Sounds like I would just fly with my mini 3 anyway, at 150 meters it's almost impossible to spot and is super quiet

 

[DARKSeifer]

untry is red, as soon as there's a house it's forbidden to fly. I'm going to a rally event in 2 weeks, it's on the outskirts of a small vi

Be mindful of Aeroscope, for example the two pilots caught on this thread were caught by Aeroscope, and I'll bet that in France is plenty of them too.

Expect Aeroscope near major airports or important events, it's range is about 5Km for the portable units and 50 for the big antennas. Areoscope it's just a listener, so if you have the FCC mod it can be more. The best way to counter Aeroscope is by turning off GPS in the phone and walk away from the homepoint. You can also move the homepoint to a near location after take off.

The classic shoot&move strategy of a marksman works well here.

Homepoint is where the police will go, but if GPS on the smartphone is turned on, they'll go to your GPS.

DJI drones start transmitting to Aeroscope as soon as you turn it on, so a good alternative is to turn it the drone and the controller on way before the flight and wait to see if someone comes, for about 15-40 minutes, just like setting a trap. If someone comes, you didn't fly, so you are good to go. If no one comes, it's pretty sure that there's no Aeroscope nearby. You will lose one battery charge, but if you never flew in that place befor is a good strategy.

And the last alternative is private property, fly from a fenced area, For example in Spain flying in the red areas doing photos is just a fault, not a crime and police can't enter private property unless they have a court order. But depends on the laws of every country.

 

[Red Pyro]

Be mindful of Aeroscope, for example the two pilots caught on this thread were caught by Aeroscope, and I'll bet that in France is plenty of them too.

Expect Aeroscope near major airports or important events, it's range is about 5Km for the portable units and 50 for the big antennas. Areoscope it's just a listener, so if you have the FCC mod it can be more. The best way to counter Aeroscope is by turning off GPS in the phone and walk away from the homepoint. You can also move the homepoint to a near location after take off.

The classic shoot&move strategy of a marksman works well here.

Homepoint is where the police will go, but if GPS on the smartphone is turned on, they'll go to your GPS.

DJI drones start transmitting to Aeroscope as soon as you turn it on, so a good alternative is to turn it the drone and the controller on way before the flight and wait to see if someone comes, for about 15-40 minutes, just like setting a trap. If someone comes, you didn't fly, so you are good to go. If no one comes, it's pretty sure that there's no Aeroscope nearby. You will lose one battery charge, but if you never flew in that place befor is a good strategy.

And the last alternative is private property, fly from a fenced area, For example in Spain flying in the red areas doing photos is just a fault, not a crime and police can't enter private property unless they have a court order. But depends on the laws of every country.

Thanks for the tips, I don't plan on flying over crowds anyway, it's going to be on the outskirts of the village. I'll be on the lookout for cops and I'll turn off the gps on my remote. Crazy that they haunt us as if we were some drug dealers. I do however have hope the cops don't care too much since the red zones in France were drawn by a 5 years old kid. Want to have a good laugh ?

 

[Robert Prior]

the red zones in France were drawn by a 5 years old kid

Red zone is a no fly zone?

Looks like pretty much the whole coastline of Brittany is out-of-bounds. Pity, as that's where I was planning a holiday in a couple of years (wanted to photograph the coastline from the air).

 

[MS Coast]

I'd say go for it, don't let French bureaucrats dictate your life. They just painted 600kms of coastline out of laziness.

the red zones in France were drawn by a 5 years old kid.

While announcing your intention to violate the local laws while you're a guest, do you really find it necessary to insult the government agencies of the countries you plan to visit?

 

[Robert Prior]

I'd say go for it, don't let French bureaucrats dictate your life.

One thing I do when travelling is do my best to observe local laws and customs. Just as I would like tourists visiting Canada to do…

 

[brioni99]

I'm french and do not feel offended the slightest by what he said, the red zones really are ridiculous in some places