I’ve had a mini 3 pro about 2 yrs now, Insured , Op license, registered, insurance , done A2 Cof C and try to abide by the rules. I’m fascinated by the flying aspect and photography. The problem is you wait to the conditions are right and there’s no restrictions, you do your checks and take off,
It’s only a matter of time before ‘Excuse me is that your drone’ and so it begins, sometimes people just get abusive accusing you of all sorts ( most don’t know what they are taking about) many believe you are spying on them and actually care they exist, most of the time I don’t even notice them or what they are doing I’m too busy concentrating on what I’m doing, some you can talk around and go off happy, But the point is , I find it tiresome and the enjoyment goes, the experience is just draining, I’m seriously thinking of just giving it up as it’s just not enjoyable, If I’m going to fly my drone Inwant something interesting to photograph or film, not empty fields , what the point?… is it just me or does anyone else feel like this?
My first drone arrives tomorrow. But, I’m probably already thinking like you are.
Get a waistcoat to wear, they sell them on here in the shop, if you are licenced and insured they are not abiding by the laws by approaching you whilst flying your drone, I just ignore them now, don’t let others lack of knowledge ruin your fun
Sorry you get that.
I personally never get it. And i fly on busy promenades by the sea on glorious days. Hundreds of tourists about. Not one issue.
I know it’s easier said than done, but ignore them.
If you’re flying within the relevant rules / laws, you should not worry or let them grind you down.
I’ve been flying drones for nearly 3 years, and I’ve been fortunate enough to not have met anyone who has been negative about it, they’ve been more inquisitive, so I’ve spent 5-10 minutes discussing it and answering their questions.
Don’t let the negative ones grind you down
What sort of areas are you flying out of interest? I’ve had nothing like this flying either a Mini 2 or an Air 3S. More often than not I get the chatty, curious types who eat up your battery time asking about how far/high it goes
Sorry to hear you’re losing enthusiasm for the hobby. I went through something similar a few years ago, but that was more down to me being more conscious about where I was flying than I needed to be. As others have said, once I got confidence that I was “in the right” then I was much less concerned about flying around people etc.
Must be me then, I give up, your my hero
I think we only had one time when someone came at us and had a moan. We generally told him we were within the law and it would be worth him checking up on the law.
Apart from that we have had a lot of interest. We were at one place and a person pushing someone in a wheelchair loved the idea of a drone, they said they are not sure if they were going to continue along the path as they did not know what was ahead, we said, let’s find out for you, we took off and sent the drone down and let them see what was ahead, we made sure that we bent down to show the person in the chair and they were thankful for that.
One guy who passed us in a car showed us a mini 2 and said he never leaves home without it. Sadly there are the times that you will meet someone who wants to have a go but generally I find that people are interested in them as most people have never seen one.
It is a shame you are losing enthusiasm. We have not flown since the last meet apart from testing out a new drone but the interest is still there. Just not got round to it with this and that going on. Finding the time. When we do go out we do enjoy flying (even if last time my drone ended up landing in a bin and I had to clean someones milk shake off it lol.
Hopefully you will have some more positive flights and it will convince you that it is fun and you will get your interest boosted again.
I’ve only had a few people moan on Facebook when I posted a video taken around where I live. One neighbour told me I wasn’t allowed to fly within 150m of a building, until I corrected her with the sub 250gm rules. She then complained that her roof was clearly visible in the video.
This sounds terrible, and I have to say that in the year or so that I’ve been flying, I haven’t experienced anything like it. Perhaps my experience is unusual and I’m lucky, but I hope not! I can honestly say that the nearest thing I’ve had to a negative reaction was up the pub, where there was a bit of banter about me looking in on bathroom windows, ya perv, which lasted for all of a minute and then they passed on to the next victim!
By and large, bystanders are interested and I’m not so up myself that I won’t put the drone into a hover and chat for a few minutes. I was filming a church tower in the centre of Cardiff when a studentish-but-slightly-older-looking lady asked me if I had permission to film there, and happily accepted my explanation that I didn’t need it for a sub-250g drone.
A security guy outside a funfair in Caerphilly came over and told me that his boss had asked him to tell me not to overfly the crowded fairground and to be careful of the height some of the rides were whirling around at, not unreasonable requests; I was able to show him that I could get all the footage I wanted from outside the perimeter and was more than happy to do what his boss asked. He came back about half an hour later with a lady security who I assumed was his girlfriend, enthusing about the drone; I got the impression he knew what he wanted for xmas and I may well have made a convert!
I am not a fan of wearing ‘drone pilot do not disturb’ jackets; it feels a bit up myself tbh, but that might be the solution in your case. It gives an impression that you are somehow officially there, and have the imagined requisite ‘authority’ or ‘permission’. I’m not good at carrying off this sort of deception and think I’ll be rumbled because of some sort of imposter syndrome; as I’ve said, I don’t get negative responses in general and don’t feel the need to assert myself in that way. But it might give you an extra level of confidence to be able to deal with situations, and it does of course point out that distracting the pilot of any aircraft including a drone while it is in flight is dangerous and illegal.
I like to get fairly high fairly quickly, higher than surrounding obstacles, buildings, trees, power lines &c where I am less likely to hit something! I think this in itself solves a lot of potential problems, as, if I’m 2 or 3 hundred feet up, I’m clearly not perving on your missis in the bath, and 9 times out of 10 you won’t know I’m there, out of earshot and a tiny dot against the sky; most people don’t look up much! It’s a good idea to stay away from obvious Karen-trigger points like schools as well. This is generally in keeping with the CAA Drone Code anyway.
Much of the above comment may not be applicable to fpv flying, which I know very little about but is, I think, more likely to cause annoyance and be noticed by the Great Unwashed as you whoop about the place just missing things! And I’m lucky to live in Cardiff, where there are plenty of big open public spaces that very rarely get crowded, and where it is not too difficult to put some distance between yourself and others.
Even so I avoid school chucking-out time and Saturday mornings when the parks are busy with football matches, and spectators; there is, I submit, a difference between asserting your right to enjoy your hobby and asking for trouble! Match days are a general no-no as well. I’m retired, and weekday afternoons when there’s nobody about but a few dog-walkers and pram-pushers are a solid bet, as is dusk, when the light is often amazing but there’s not enough of it to play football…
It is very easy in this Hobby to feel beleaguered with the massive over-regulation, anti-drone press hysteria, and discriminatory policies of ‘landowners’ - I’d be surprised if everyone doesn’t feel the weight of that at some point or other. It can rather feel like being pre-criminalised for having a hobby.
With my other hobby, Electric Unicycles, it’s a hell of a lot worse in that they have incorrectly been made illegal pretty much everywhere in this country, despite being generally accepted everywhere else in the world, but so far at least I am saved there only by the fact that our numbers are so small nobody is taking any serious notice of us yet !
Just keep flying, once you get loads of flight time in, you’ll start to see the positive interactions outweigh the negative. I had quite a few bad ones in my first year, including veiled threats with a shotgun. Just smile, stand your ground, and if the worst comes to the worst? Tell them they can call the police if they suspect you’re in the wrong. Don’t give up something you enjoy because of a small minority
It might be dangerous, but I don’t see how if it’s a camera ship though, take your fingers off the sticks and nothing happens. I wish people would get their facts right about the legality of disturbing a drone pilot. It is not illegal, please please please stop telling people this. "The term ‘aircraft’ within article 240 refers to any aircraft which is not a small unmanned aircraft as set out in article 23”
Sorry to her this hon, I had a similar feeling after about 6 weeks of flying, had one day out where I got shouted at by an NT warden for flying over their property - which I was within my rights to do - and then a few hours later by a farmer who was walking with 2 of his sheep - who looked up and saw the drone and bleated, he went mad, so I packed up and went home…
Since then nothing but interested folks, asking questions…
I do fly a lot, and usually out in nature, or when there arent many people around, but thats just my own choices…
I can say that after almost 3 years of flying my worries and initial fears were pretty much unfounded…
Why not come to a meet-up and fly with other GADC folks, it may give you some confidence?
Hi i am the same as you all legal etc i’ve had it a few times when i lived in leicestershire mainly by canal marina’s and last saturday in shrewsbury where i live now i just landed the drone some old boy was yelling abuse at me so i called him over showed him what i was doing was legal he was really interested and said he was sorry for his actions. i’ve bought a air 3s too that means less aggro in the countryside as you can be on the edge of villages and just use the 70 mm tele camera Don’t give up it’s a great hobby unfortunately there are a few out there who don’t know the rules and we are all tarred with the same brush
Hi Enjoy your first drone it is a bit daughting in the beginning but once you have done a few flights you will be okay have a look at dronecam uk facebook group
People who carry out such behaviour are called Walter Mitty’s.
I’ll be honest and say I’ve had nothing but positive interactions when I’ve been out flying. Maybe it’s because I do predominately fly over the sea. I’ve had some great chats with folk who are curious.
The problem - speaking from a pro-operator’s point of view - with close on 450 hours flying drones - is that individuals - or groups - who call themselves “Drone Auditors” annoy “the public” by doing stupid things - flying near or over police or military establishments to provoke a reaction - which is always followed by an eventual tightening of regulations. I make a point of avoiding people wherever possible - and especially dogs - as they become a dangerous entity near any form of drone operation. Otherwise - flying as a professional or hobbyist is good fun. There is/are an element of drone pilots - some mentioning here - that what they are doing is “legal”. That does not mean that it is “expedient” to fly there just because it is “legal” with say a sub-250g drone . Sometimes - “discretion” is as important as the legality of a situation - and it is better not to fly - even if it is perfectly “lawful” to do it.
Im gonna have to call rule 32 on that
Even in empty fields the thrill of flight is still there for me, 10 years and a few miles in.
Im with you all the way. I just sold my last one i have gone back to my DLSR, Life commitments are way to demanding and with the weather !! i gave up.