Original Poster here - Every mission I've flown this year has been LAANC or outside of any airport airspace. All flights (save one) was for clients. Here in
MA, real estate sales are considered essential, and the projects are all property overviews and listing images. *During each MISSION, I request NO personal contact. No owner, no REALTOR, no people. I also do INTERIOR listing images, but I refuse to do those right now because the inside of a house could be a total infection zone. Additionally, I am media and none of my flights has been specifically for a publication or an outlet, I have a standing contract from a news outlet to capture aerial images of two towns. This is a quarterly/seasonal contract, so soon I'll have to go out to capture SPRING around those towns. THEN a few weeks later I'll have to capture SUMMER (though I could delay that until end of July. Otherwise, I am staying in 94% of the time and away from people 99% of the time.
When provided this info, any changes in opinions? If I don't accept some of these missions, there are at least two drone owners WITHOUT 107 who are happy to fly them. The complete lack of FAA intervention and enforcement of non-107 flights is ridiculous and it's putting me in a hard place. I could report and show dozens of flights (this guy does video of all his 'training missions'. He calls them that to get around the 'business purpose' of a flight. He says he's just trying a new ND filter or new software or new props and then goes flying 400 or more feet in restricted air space. I explained this to the FAA rep more than a year ago and he said he needed ME to get all this guy's info, have proof of a flight that went outside the rules, then he'd look into it. Just looking at some of his videos you can tell he's higher than 400; out at night; above people; above cars; and other stuff. The WORST part is his stuff is freakin' amazing.
Thanks for everything. One more mission in the next couple days, then nothing on the horizon for a bit.
J