Drones!

[menzies]

Originally Posted by geoleo

I feel drones are basically used to intrude on others privacy and those attracted to drones are peeping toms at various levels. Have the same urges that those who put hidden cameras in dressing and bathrooms and such...............I also feel that using drones to bomb suspected terrorists in .say.......... Yemen.. is a cowardly way to fight.

Oh don't be bloody ridiculous.

[angus99]

I’m just glad to have another topic we can all agree on!

Don’t know if you’ll hit a paywall with this, but the Washington Post has an interesting story on the threat from drones flying over sensitive military and govt installations. Seems to me it’s the age-old problem of a minority of bad actors ruining things for everyone else. My money is on extensive regulation.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local...mepage%2Fstory

[geoleo]

Originally Posted by angus99

I’m just glad to have another topic we can all agree on!

Don’t know if you’ll hit a paywall with this, but the Washington Post has an interesting story on the threat from drones flying over sensitive military and govt installations. Seems to me it’s the age-old problem of a minority of bad actors ruining things for everyone else. My money is on extensive regulation.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local...mepage%2Fstory

Wierdos cant be trusted

[geoleo]

Originally Posted by leeman

I have a suspicion this whole 'boys and their toys' thing will run it's course fairly quickly. In a couple of years there'll be scads of used, parked and unwanted 'drones' for sale. The novelty will have worn off.

I hope so

[geoleo]

Originally Posted by twistedtree

I'm reading this differently, but I'm also not an attorney. The FAA regulates your behavior in the air, including 0-500'. And Congress has established airspace above 500' as public right of way. But teh space below 500' is the exclusive domain of the land owner. From the Wiki article "...but the Supreme Court rulings and space treaties are clear. A landowner's domain extends up to at least 365 feet above the ground. see Causby v US (1946)" That Supreme Court decision established that flight operation in that lower window is considered a "taking", just like seizing your property for a new highway.

And it doesn't matter how old the decision is. It still stands.

Now there is a clear distinction between operating over private land vs over land where you already have a right of access. For example, the ocean and most inland water bodies are public access, so that extends to the low flight zone over it. The same would be true for other public lands, or lands with public right of way. So you could fly over public roads, but not over the adjacent property that its private.

It really distills down pretty simply. If you have right of access to the land, you have similar right of access to the low flight space over that land. If you do not have right of access to land, then you also don't have right of access to the low air space over it. To fly over private land, you need to go over 500' (365' in rural areas).

Also, don't confuse lands that are open to you, with lands where you have a right of access. The two things are very different. Lands open to you are still full controlled by the landowner, and they can revoke permission at any time, and can similarly decide if they want to extend access to the airspace that they control. So don't assume that if you have access to the land, you also have access to the airspace. A right of access means that you have a right to access or cross the land, and nobody can deny you access. That's very different from being voluntarily invited to use land.

Using the example of a drone circling your boat in an anchorage, that's no different than someone circling your boat in a kayak. The waters are public and anyone can go anywhere they want, within limits of regulations. But someone circling your house is another thing all together, assuming you own the surrounding land where the drone is operating.

au contraie! Kayaks don't usually have a camera recording you--drones always do

[Donna]

Not a fan of drones in most cases. There is proper use and improper use. There are quite a few at my marina and when I’m working on the exterior of my boat, I prefer not to be filmed in in my boat yoga/CrossFit positions. Pull up a chair, but don’t film me. It’s creepy.

[geoleo]

Originally Posted by menzies

Oh don't be bloody ridiculous.

Are you from Britain?- Bloody is a serious curse word there and you could be arrested for using that word in public there since Britain became a snowflake empire. or are you trying to be pathetically emphatic? lol

[geoleo]

....from this thread-it is a total waste

[twistedtree]

Originally Posted by geoleo

au contraie! Kayaks don't usually have a camera recording you--drones always do

I didn't say anything about cameras, and you are correct that there are a whole bunch of other issues around privacy that come into play.

My point is solely that the kayak has a right to be there, just as you have a right to travel the waterways.

[twistedtree]

A big part of the confusion is that there are a whole bunch of issues/questions all getting lumped together, and they really need to be parsed and separated out. Here's an attempt at that:

1) Does the FAA spell out where and how you should operate a plane or drone? Yes, they do, both for flight above 500' and below 500'

2) Do you have a right to be in airspace above 500'? Yes, you do. It is public space, however your flight operation is regulated by the FAA per item 1.

3) Do you have a right to be in the airspace below 500'? The answer is Maybe. If you have a right to be on the ground, then you have a corresponding right to the sub-500' airspace above. A good example is over public waterways where there is a public right of access. If you do not have a right to be on the ground, then you do not have a right to the sub-500' airspace either. Just as you need permission to be on the land, you need permission to be in the airspace, and the owner can prohibit entry. Note that different states have different laws re entry onto private land. In some cases entry is allowed unless specifically prohibited. In other cases, any entry is considered trespass. Whether you are allowed in a particular air space or not, your flight operations are still regulated by the FAA and you need to comply.

4) Do you have a right to spy on people or look in their windows? The answer is generally no, but the specifics vary quite a bit about what constitutes spying and what is generally observable by anyone. This frankly has absolutely nothing to do with the right-of-entry issues above, thought the closer you can get to something, the easier it is to spy. But they get smushed together in people's minds because drones have allowed pictures to be taken where it was formerly impossible or very unlikely. But spying is different from being there, and being there is different from spying. #2 and #3 are about your right to be somewhere. #4 is about something you might not be allowed to do, and are a jerk if you are doing it anyway.

[dhays]

Originally Posted by geoleo

I feel drones are basically used to intrude on others privacy and those attracted to drones are peeping toms at various levels. Have the same urges that those who put hidden cameras in dressing and bathrooms and such...............I also feel that using drones to bomb suspected terrorists in .say.......... Yemen.. is a cowardly way to fight.

Ah... it is clear to me now. You aren’t just the regular ignorant, opinionated TF keyboard warrior (such as myself). No, you are definitely a Troll. Now that we understand that, we can go ahead and simply stop feeding you.

[jleonard]

Originally Posted by geoleo

I feel drones are basically used to intrude on others privacy and those attracted to drones are peeping toms at various levels. Have the same urges that those who put hidden cameras in dressing and bathrooms and such...............I also feel that using drones to bomb suspected terrorists in .say.......... Yemen.. is a cowardly way to fight.

So you are "Assuming" that everyone flying a drone is taking video of you?
That is about as logical as assuming everyone carrying a concealed weapon is going to rob you.

[Seevee]

We sure seem to have our fare of drone haters and lovers out there. And a bunch of folks that have no clue what the laws are and what can and can't be done.

Some ready to shoot drones down and some ready to peep in the ladies bedroom window with their drone.

I just prefer peeping over hating.

[Fletcher500]

Opinions on certain subjects will not change. Is, what it is.

If anyone gets one of those under water drones, let us know. I would be interested to see some vid/pics.

[geoleo]

Originally Posted by Seevee

We sure seem to have our fare of drone haters and lovers out there. And a bunch of folks that have no clue what the laws are and what can and can't be done.

Some ready to shoot drones down and some ready to peep in the ladies bedroom window with their drone.

I just prefer peeping over hating.

In Greece their socialist government decreed that being a Peeping Tom was a mental handicap and those caught doing are immediately awarded a government pension for life! There you go ---move to Greece and retire with your drone.

[BruceK]

Even paranoid people can be followed.
Wonder if "droned" needs an updated meaning.

[Giggitoni]

The camera lens focal length of most hobby drones is about 28mm. Therefore, the drone has to be single-digit feet from the subject to make it personal. Not exactly a “spy” setup! They are usually used by photographers as a landscape photraphy tool utilizing a different perspective.

[menzies]

Originally Posted by Giggitoni

The camera lens focal length of most hobby drones is about 28mm. Therefore, the drone has to be single-digit feet from the subject to make it personal. Not exactly a “spy” setup! They are usually used by photographers as a landscape photraphy tool utilizing a different perspective.

That is correct in live mode. However it does record in 1080p, so zooming/cropping video and stills in post processing will give you pretty good close ups.

[BruceK]

Here`s a good news drone story just today, reported as a world first drone facilitated rescue: Drone rescues teens just hours after being unveiled for trial at Lennox Head - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
They do have their positive uses. Shame about the misuses,but saving lives is hard to beat.

[cardude01]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-42731112