Trigger happy neighbor.......

[wes93j]

So... Yep. About 2 months before Christmas I first got my mavic Pro 2 I have owned a mavic air for the past two years and I fly all the time around my house. neighbors know that I go over at 300 feet and 25 miles an hour . no way I can look in their house or look at them.... NOR DO I WANT TO SEE THEM!!! So I just got my new Pro 2, and I was checking out how the light works on the bottom, how bright the light is. I took the bird up around 7oclock , flew around a little bit, probably 300 feet at least, with the light on. Then as I was Landing I Heard a Voice coming from my next door neighbor's yard across his fence these words, ( if you fly that GD thing back over my yard again I'm going to shoot the SOB down)..... yes he did. In fact he said it the second time just to make sure I heard it. Thoughtful ( Mod Removed ). I said nothing back to him . being an ex-cop myself I did not really want to get into it with him .so I came inside and called our local sheriff's department. They come out pretty quickly and I conveyed my story to them, and the fact that I could barely see his house at night much less him. I then told the deputy, the four words I really heard from my neighbor...(IM GOING TO SHOOT)... Truly that was the only words that stuck with me. I told the cop not to mention he could shoot me it's a federal offense to shoot down a drone that's just like shooting down an airplane did you know that?... he did not ..he looked at me like I was crazy. but he did go over at my urging and talk to guy the about those words I didn't like..... I'm going to shoot! Well now. that was then. So that brings us to today I was flying my mavic.air air because my Pro 2 as having the controller fixed ..actually I was helping a neighbor across the street look for her dog and I was flying up and down the roads. Living in a rural area no one pays me any attention and I'm certainly not peeking in anybody's windows ,I'm usually going over at full speed.... when I looked up and lo and behold there's a cop car right in front of my house. He said I guess you know why I'm here... and I reply no. I don't. The cop says your neighbor called saying that you were flying your drone around his house looking in his windows. The bird was still fired up so I told the cop check this out... and I shot up to about 300 325 ft with the camera pointed downwards toward him and I. I said take a look right here and tell me what we look like.. he said we look like bugs,.. little bugs.... I said yes sir that's close enough ,why don't you go over there and tell him that.... that nice Deputy smiled and told me to have a nice day and that was the end of it as far as I know. So instead of getting in a shouting match with anyone just call the cops and let them handle it you're going to win..... I mean as long as you're not looking at the windows!!!!

 

[CaptBill]

Great story, thanks for sharing.

 

[Mtn. Man]

I'm a bit hesitant on flying around some of my local parks due to a couple 4-5 story apt buildings being right next to them (they are basiclly in the park). I'd rather go to a further flight spot and save the trouble of having the police called for something pitty like a drone buzzing around the park. People get pretty skittish in the city. Great story none the less! I hope your neighborhood educates himself soon, and saves his trip to jail if he decides to ever shoot at you or your drone.

 

[Lets Fly]

Great story. Just to show how some neighbors are, I started flying in January and of course my neighbors saw and heard it, (Mavic Air). Instead of a complaint four of the neighbors asked if
I could take photos with that thing and I replied photos and videos. They asked if I would take a photo of their house from the air, and of course I did. I told one neighbor that I could not go over his house completely because I was being blocked from getting closer to our local airport and the drone stops me in mid air. All were completely surprised at that.
I told him I can over ride it but will not do that and gave him a shot from two hundred feet away. All were happy with the photos. So I guess how you may get along with some is different than others. I also demonstrated how the settings worked and showed the altitude limits and just how fast it can fly, and, what you can and (can not) see . Education of the subject to others is vital.

 

[MichiganMavic]

I too get along with most of my neighbors...
I usually let their kids try a hand at it when it’s about 100’ in the air with me helping them. I figure this way, they can see what I see, not what they’ve heard or think.
And Yes, they all have pictures of their house from different angles. I even have a picture of the complete sub division so they can see their house in it.

 

[RonanCork]

Interesting story @wes93j. You handled it very well. We just want to fly we've not interested in spying on our neighbors but some people have a genuine "fear" of drones and think there being spied on. I live in an estate on the edge of a countryside area - so I never fly in the garden - I just drive a few mins down the road. But I'd love to see my estate from on-high at some stage. It would be handy if I could launch from my back garden and fly straight into the countryside near me.
Thanks - Ronan.

 

[Babaganoosh]

Skip the first 20 seconds there's not much going on during the first clip

 

[Lets Fly]

WOW, some nerve! Did you confront her or the police about that?? And yes she probably will complain about your drone blowing leaves on her yard.

 

[Mtn. Man]

I agree with OP by calling the police. End it on a civil note on your part and let the authorities handle the wackos. I’d rather the cops get involved with that guy only, than both of us get involved with the cops. If the neighbor is that aggressive then there’s no point in trying to talk sensibly with them. In the end, it was resolved peacefully and if he retaliates again that’s between him and the police.

 

[Rick0504N]

Skip the first 20 seconds there's not much going on during the first clip

That is messed up. What’s the property line right there? Concrete is yours and where the grass starts (and therefore the tree) is her property?

 

[MichiganMavic]

I have the exact setup and fence as Baba. The property line is usually where the fence is put, so it looks like the tree is the line. Not sure if the tree is his ( I’m assuming since the neighbor thinks the leaves should go back to him), but I’m assuming it’s on his side.
My neighbor does the same crap with the leaves [emoji35].

 

[Drone on]

The police now have drones. I wonder what would happen, if a police drone was shot down?

 

[rlphoto69]

So... Yep. About 2 months before Christmas I first got my mavic Pro 2 I have owned a mavic air for the past two years and I fly all the time around my house. neighbors know that I go over at 300 feet and 25 miles an hour . no way I can look in their house or look at them.... NOR DO I WANT TO SEE THEM!!! So I just got my new Pro 2, and I was checking out how the light works on the bottom, how bright the light is. I took the bird up around 7oclock , flew around a little bit, probably 300 feet at least, with the light on. Then as I was Landing I Heard a Voice coming from my next door neighbor's yard across his fence these words, ( if you fly that GD thing back over my yard again I'm going to shoot the SOB down)..... yes he did. In fact he said it the second time just to make sure I heard it. Thoughtful bastard. I said nothing back to him . being an ex-cop myself I did not really want to get into it with him .so I came inside and called our local sheriff's department. They come out pretty quickly and I conveyed my story to them, and the fact that I could barely see his house at night much less him. I then told the deputy, the four words I really heard from my neighbor...(IM GOING TO SHOOT)... Truly that was the only words that stuck with me. I told the cop not to mention he could shoot me it's a federal offense to shoot down a drone that's just like shooting down an airplane did you know that?... he did not ..he looked at me like I was crazy. but he did go over at my urging and talk to guy the about those words I didn't like..... I'm going to shoot! Well now. that was then. So that brings us to today I was flying my mavic.air air because my Pro 2 as having the controller fixed ..actually I was helping a neighbor across the street look for her dog and I was flying up and down the roads. Living in a rural area no one pays me any attention and I'm certainly not peeking in anybody's windows ,I'm usually going over at full speed.... when I looked up and lo and behold there's a cop car right in front of my house. He said I guess you know why I'm here... and I reply no. I don't. The cop says your neighbor called saying that you were flying your drone around his house looking in his windows. The bird was still fired up so I told the cop check this out... and I shot up to about 300 325 ft with the camera pointed downwards toward him and I. I said take a look right here and tell me what we look like.. he said we look like bugs,.. little bugs.... I said yes sir that's close enough ,why don't you go over there and tell him that.... that nice Deputy smiled and told me to have a nice day and that was the end of it as far as I know. So instead of getting in a shouting match with anyone just call the cops and let them handle it you're going to win..... I mean as long as you're not looking at the windows!!!!

Well done