Dealing with people like that is all part of paying your 'remote pilot dues' and you will get better at a) not flying in a way that provokes these sorts of problems and b) effectively dealing with it when the worst does happen / turning the situation around so it becomes less or not at all hostile. It is unfortunate that we have to anticipate and rebuff the problems that people
think drones cause as well as the ones they actually do !
Most angry citizens will be so about perceived privacy threats, as you have seen, whether those concerns are valid or not. So here's some tips for minimising those sorts of reactions and for calming people down when they come over and harangue you...
1. Choose where you fly very carefully. If you are in an area with adjacent houses do all your low-level flying at the other end of the field / whatever - away from where the houses are. Only venture into their vicinity when you are at least 150 ft high, and preferably a lot higher (<400 ft in the UK) where you won't be noticed.
2. Don't hover in one place very long, especially if you are close to people's gardens. Obviously NEVER hover directly over their gardens. People are a lot less worried about a drone that just flies over and past rather than one that 'remains' where they can see it 'watching them'. If you need to do panoramas or time-lapses, choose a static position the furthest away from neighbouring houses you can reasonably get. Never hang out directly over anyone's property - people will
always assume that you are not allowed to be there, even when you are.
3. Spend a lot of time online researching new fly-sites that don't border peoples residences - there are absolutely loads of them about !
Drone scene is a very good place to start in that it is one of the few websites dedicated to finding you places that you CAN fly rather than merely making sure you are aware of all the things that might prevent you doing so !
4. If you are going to fly in a local park, have a walk round the field before you start, doing your pre-flight checks, but also work out if talking to anyone in advance will help you avoid problems. For example, at my biggest local park there are sports fields where kids are normally playing some sort of organised kick ball thing and a skate park adjoining it, so I visit both areas before I start, find the parents who are watching their kids do the sports and approach, smiling, with my favourite opening line 'Hey guys, you don't mind if I do some scenic drone flying in the area do you ?!' Give them some 'enthusiastic eyebrows' and they find it very hard to say no ! Sometimes asking in advance IS better than apologising afterwards, though I do appreciate sometimes the opposite is true !
Most of the time, people are very nice and blown away that you thought to ask ! In that circumstance it is very easy for them to just say 'yeah no worries', and then you don't have to worry about them or anyone they subsequently talk to for the rest of your session !
...and when the angry drone karens do appear...
1. Remain absolutely calm in all your responses, even to aggressive questioning. Appear pleasant but professionally detached. Do not let your own anger levels rise, provoked by theirs.
2. When they first come over, and ask if it is your drone, confirm that it is, and that you will be happy to talk to them when you have landed it, but that whilst it is in the air you need to concentrate on the flight. Ask them if they could just wait there while you land and then don't say anything else to them until you have. A lot of the time they will agree and stand there waiting, which can allow them time to calm down a bit themselves / lose the impetus of their anger somewhat. Or they may just continue the rant, which is also fine - let them get it out of their system without interjection...
Some people like to have
a short flyer they can just hand to people to read, which can stop them right in their tracks and even prevent them talking to you at all ! At the least, it's good that it gives them something to do with their hands !
3. If you think there is any danger of them attacking your craft, walk away from them as it comes in to land and hand catch it. And if your remote is on a lanyard around your neck it can't be easily snatched out of your hand, so that is a good idea as well. Most of the time people will not be trying to attack you or the drone - they just want to be heard and to register their anger or concerns.
4. Once you've landed OK and the drone is secure, how the conversation goes next depends on how defensible you think your flying has been, and if you have actually been doing what they accuse you of ! And it's very difficult to advise about that as every situation is unique. I try and focus the conversation on making them understand that a) windows come out black in drone footage, b) I am not remotely interested in observing them or invading their privacy and c) that I am flying within the rules where I have been, but will move on if it is upsetting them (providing you don't have a compelling reason to stay and continue of course).
5. 'Pivot to the technical' if you can, as soon as you can !! (works best on guys for some reason). Offer to show them footage of your flight on the controller, and demo how the windows are black and how you weren't focusing on their property ! Tell them what you ARE there for, and if it's reasonable, most people will understand and feel reassured, which is all they want most of the time. Obviously, don't hand them the controller as you do this !
The point being is that anger is often diffused by technical fascination, and the sooner you can move the conversation away from privacy and on to camera quality or some other technical aspect, the better !
6. Sometimes people just won't be talked to and don't listen to anything you say. When that happens the only thing you can do to most quickly resolve everything is apologize that you have upset them, pack up and leave.
7. If people threaten to call the police, invite them to do so, land and await their arrival if you are confident in your legality and you want to plead your case for continuing, or if you decide you can't be bothered, again, just pack up, optionally apologize, and leave ! You can fume about it later in the car while you are driving to another site or in forums like this one !
I suppose the biggest tip though is 'try not to let it get you down / put you off when it happens' ! If you choose your fly-sites well it shouldn't happen often enough to get you down.
Hope some / any of that helped !
