Just happened to be at the extreme of a 600mm lens during the cheese rolling today and it wasn’t until I got back to the laptop I came across a small addition. This was one of the 9 drones flying over 1000 plus crowd.
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just mess it up for the rest of us… FFS Y?
9 drones !!! FFS are they really going to look at that footage again!
Don’t think the limit is being pushed here, think the limit has been broken. The size of the crowd more than exceeds the number of non involved people that can be flown over. Bet that the owner hasn’t got CAA registration - either that or consideration for the safety of others. These clowns can only harm the hobby
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It probably was … however if the crowd is down the sides of the course, and if the drone flew backwards in line with the runners as they came down, then at what point would the drone be ‘over’ the crowd? It’d be over a mostly-empty hill with crowds at either side.
Valid point! Certainly a legal argument at that.
Just seen a bloke riding a motorbike on the pavement with no helmet 
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Helmet not required as he obviously doesn’t have any brains that need protecting.
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From a legal point of view as well, the lens compression (yes it’s more convuluted than this before someone chimes in with ‘lens compression doesn’t exist’) you get at 600 mm means that the horizontal separation distance could be significantly larger than it appears to be in the photo.
Not saying that it is looking at the scaling of objects, just that it would be an easy argument to make.
Several factors came to mind as I watched them buzz overhead, the major 2 being flying over the crowd, which they had to do to get to position and that some of them were clearly below the minimum ceiling of 50m.
Yes lens compression would factor in, but scale seems to indicate the drone was closer than 50m, even when the hill is 45deg steep.
If someone wanted to, they could have made a complaint on the day and it would be yet more bad press for drone flying. Luckily the event was not supervised by any of the blue light services, because they have an issue with people throwing themselves down a steep hill.
Stupid is as stupid does. 
But as you say, no blue light services will be there, let alone anyone from the CAA. It’s much the same if you were fox hunting and had a drone recording it. Chances of seeing anyone from the services there is pretty much zero.
On the other hand there could have been a CAA staff ,member from CAA Ops there as a spectator🤣
But if not acting in a official capacity would they really have said anything? If they did so after the fact I bet any reasonable solicitor would ask them in court why they didn’t step in, in an official capacity at the time, to enforce the law. I suspect the reason they wouldn’t is because they would get mobbed.
wearing a helmet is for your own protection… it’s a matter of choice really (set the law aside for a moment here).
in quite a number of the states in the US you don’t have to wear a helmet… again your choice… whether you wear a helmet or not does not increase or decrease your chances of injury to someone else…
there is probably a higher chance wearing a helmet that you will do something risky than if you did not. like reliance on your ABS brakes and potential better stopping distances. it’s a nice thing to have but should not be the basis of why you can and should tailgate someone.
flying a drone recklessly could injure someone else… not wearing a helmet on a motorbike will not injure someone else… just aides in Darwin selection which I’m more than happy to assist in thinning the gene pool. big supporter of the Darwin awards.
I still fail to see why nine drones at a congested event would really be beneficial to anyone…
just do things that may affect yourself and not others… or others enjoying the hobby which is under the media headlines microscope…
Doubt a drone would do as much damage top them as that actual hill, I have seen that many times over the years, they are all brain dead just entering doh!
But as for the use of Drones, I have seen them at local bike races, and even the Easter motorbike ride for children’s charities, but they were all done with a minimum distance to the riders
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What ceiling is that then ?
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I had a look at a few videos of the event and the crowd is definatey only to the left and right of the hill. There’s no large gathering at the bottom, meaning someone down there could fly a <250g drone up the hill between the people (i.e. over the empty hill), then film people coming down and land back at the bottom without breaking any rules or overflying any crowds.
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Id be a little cautious as to where it was exactly with the compression you’d get from a 600mm lens.
It may have been legal. Dumb but legal.
…and as of yet its not illegal to be stupid.
This one looks like a Mini 2, so no <50m distance needed…
Also the actual people running down the hill look a small group, spectators behind the fence…
So as long as this guy wasn’t flying over the 1000+ static audience then generally all good. But I am making an assumption on one picture and few words as a clue…
If there were bigger drones, and flying close/over the crowd then they’re numpties 
Has anyone considered some or all the drones had permission from the organisers?
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The real idiots are the ones chasing the cheese
