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Hillbilly Pilot

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Not about how to or what should I do....
I have a question about if I’m legally allowed to.
My Grandkids are involved in outdoor sports and I thought it would be cool to fly and get some video. The one in-particular is cross country racing, another would be cub scout functions.
Now the better half says that would be cool but I would have to get permission from every childs parent. I don’t see that anywhere in the rules that I’ve read. I understand don’t fly over large crowds but we’re talking being away from the 50 or so people and behind or a couple hundred feet above the runners?
So what say you?
 
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Depends on who you are with, where you are.....
Talk to people in charge I guess...

Every situation is different.
 
Just don’t fly directly over the crowds - as long as you are in unrestricted airspace you are fine - nothing they can do in my opinion.
 
Sometimes just because we CAN do something doesn't mean we should.

John Q. Public is so drone negative and privacy sensitive you're going to open a can of worms you probably wish you didn't.

Is it LEGAL? Most likely yes unless the ground you're standing on has a No Drone Flight ordinance or something. Anytime you have children and you interject a "Nasty Drone Taking Pictures" you're automatically Public Enemy #1.

Ask the groups holding the event if they would mind but make sure you stress it's for YOUR USE ONLY and for HOBBY USE ONLY! If you go offering it to them for "their club/group" you've put yourself down another rabbit hole.
 
Apart from obvious drone safety issues etc ...
A camera is a camera.
It shouldn't matter whether it's 5 feet above ground level in someone's hands or 25 feet up, it's doing the same thing.
 
When I go to a college football game I don't have a say on whether or not they can film me. Meta4 nailed it IMO.
 
If the person has no reasonable expectation of privacy - ie. not in a fenced in yard, in a house, etc - then in public they can be filmed, by hand or by a drone. Now I totally agree with BigAl. Just because you can doesnt necessarily mean you should. Drones are getting (or have) a bad reputation already.

If it were me, I would talk to the race organizer (for the run) and let them know you intend to film. Like you said - 50ft high and 100ft behind. I'd try to keep it obvious that I was filming my grandkids and not someone else's child/kid. And maybe even offer to the organizer a docu or promo type film that you post on youtube and they can use.

For cubscouts, I would definitely talk with the troop leads and the other parents, offer them copies of the video if they want. etc. That just seems like a smaller venue and I would be hesitant to do it without telling them ahead of time.

My 2 pennies worth.
 
These days its as though if you have a camera where children are involved you are a paedophile.

This happened to me, I was in the local park testing out a new video camera when a little girl came cycling past, I thought it was a good opportunity to try zooming in while panning, how wrong can you be the child started shouting that man is taking my picture and I had a hard time explaining to the mother that I was only practising with my new camera, I deleted the footage in front of the mother but she still wasn't happy.
 
yes, much different if you are filming a group of athletes in an event vs. some random girl/boy going by.
 
Thanks for confirming I hadn’t lost my mind! My feeling so far was just forget it due to what the public might think.... I’ve only had one run in from a fellow while I was filming a sunset from the beach. He was saying you can’t fly over crowds, I just said I’m not I’m out over the ocean. He walked away.
 
This has opened my eyes to all sorts of issues I hadn't considered before. We have to "rethink" the video/photo aspect of what we are doing. I'm sure each states' laws are different and the governing bodies within those states are even more. We make assumptions when we fly. That might be a problem . . . when people are present. I fly over a creek and it is not populated. The second people arrive my strategy must alter to factor them in (even if I was there first). Some battles we are just not going to win. Not in this climate.
 
Not about how to or what should I do....
I have a question about if I’m legally allowed to.
My Grandkids are involved in outdoor sports and I thought it would be cool to fly and get some video. The one in-particular is cross country racing, another would be cub scout functions.
Now the better half says that would be cool but I would have to get permission from every childs parent. I don’t see that anywhere in the rules that I’ve read. I understand don’t fly over large crowds but we’re talking being away from the 50 or so people and behind or a couple hundred feet above the runners?
So what say you?
Hillbilly Pilot this was an EXCELLENT post and one much needed to open our eyes and consider avenues we had never explored before. In public we can record and photograph, the citizens do it, the media does it and the police also . . .it is legal to do (in public). So what makes "UAV's different? That is the question. . .
 
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How they are viewed by some of the public.
Exactly. I can have a DSLR on a neck strap and snap away . . . . no problem. The second it elevates to 25'; that's when it becomes invasive. How do we combat that?
 
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These days its as though if you have a camera where children are involved you are a paedophile.

This happened to me, I was in the local park testing out a new video camera when a little girl came cycling past, I thought it was a good opportunity to try zooming in while panning, how wrong can you be the child started shouting that man is taking my picture and I had a hard time explaining to the mother that I was only practising with my new camera, I deleted the footage in front of the mother but she still wasn't happy.
You can film anything you like with your phone but as soon as you produce a 'real' camera of any kind* you're a pervert, it makes my blood boil. That's why I mostly stick to scenery and landscapes with as few people as possible in them.

*DSLR, drone, video camera
 
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As someone who filmed over 100 events, from kindergarten to high school I can say, with certainty, that there is no restriction on filming these events, unless your specific school has enacted some stupid rule.

If, however, you are planning to make money off the video, you do have to get releases from anyone who can easily be identified in the video. This too I know from actual experience because I licensed some 1960s footage of my high school cheerleaders, taken by my dad when he got tired of filming my football games. Sony Pictures licensed this for the introduction of the Will Smith movie "Concussion." I had to search out the seven cheerleaders who could be identified (they were all still alive) and obtain signed release forms from each one of them before Sony would use the footage.

Finally, you have a completely separate issue as to whether you can fly the drone near the game. My guess is that you cannot fly the drone while the game is being played, no matter what distance. The problem is that no one can ensure that the lack of your piloting skills won't cause the drone to interfere with play, even if it doesn't crash or hit anyone. "Stuff happens."

The only way I would even consider flying near a game is if I had advance permission from both the school and home team coach, preferably in writing. I'd then look into whether some flying app, like Lichti, had a geofencing mode where you can make it "impossible" for the drone to fly over the field or over any place where people would be standing.
 
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