Not the Drones again

Last week we were visiting our son in San Antonio. He got a drone for Christmas and we were out at Canyon Lake on top of the levee flying the drone and taking a video of the lake. We were lectured by a park ranger about flying a drone over "his" dam. He called it a sensitive area. I appreciate him doing his job and I totally understand the sensitive area but he could have been a little friendlier.

rockhillmanor wrote:

The law, in balancing the public interest in using the airspace for air navigation against the landowner's rights, declared that a landowner controls use of the airspace above their property in connection with their uninterrupted use and enjoyment of the underlying land....

X2

Also, when it comes to your home you have the 'right' to enjoy your home and property for what it is intended for. Air space and left and right.

I had a neighbor that hauled in 6 semi's of dirt to build a dirt bike track in his back yard for his kid. THAT is what I came home from work to every day.

I took it to civil court and won it all stopped immediately.
Whether what you are doing is on your own property or not IF it affects another property owner from enjoying his property you CAN legally have it stopped.

Bottom line, legally, NO one can affect your right to enjoy your property. It is considered a 'civil matter' And it is addressed at a civil court level not the police.

Calling the cops to stop the activity is not the answer. Cops do not know civil case law so do NOT listen to them when they say they can't do anything.

In fact they are NOT allowed to get involved in civil law 'you' need to file a claim in civil court. You can 'make' the cop give you a police report on the incident whether he feels its warranted to or not. The report will assist you in the civil case.

And for all the naysayer owners of drones that enjoy peering into others properties, and that say we have no rights, and that if it bothers us 'we' must have something to hide?

"Methinks thou dost protest too much"...look it up. :C

Airspace is airspace so what are people going to do, stop all low flying aircraft too?? After all you don't know what that person is doing inside that plane, pictures, videos maybe?? Personally it makes no difference to me, I'm not a hermit living in a cave with anything to hide. I feel its no different than someone driving by the house or if I'm camping people walking by my campsite...People feel they want to control their airspace but if a corporation would want to control the airspace then that's a whole new ballgame...get over it people or go live in a cave!!!

No need until YouTube has a bird brain memory upload function :B

Texas State Parks will let drones operate in the park, provided there is a DESIGNATED safe place to operate them. Other wise it is up to the park to decide if they will allow them. Most of the parks we know of will not allow drones.

DutchmenSport wrote:


For those of you who own drones, you can't blame us home owners, or even us fellow campers for the laws you now have to live by, by registering your toy as an aircraft. You can only blame your own kind. Those who DON'T have the common decency and courtesy, when, where, and how they fly, who think they are above the law, and rules and laws don't apply to them.

And what does giving the government $5 do?

Hondavalk wrote:

The low cost of unmanned aerial vehicles in the 2000s revived legal questions of what activities were permissible at low altitude.[6] The FAA reestablished that public, or navigable, airspace is the space above 500 feet[7]

Drones are limited to flying at 400ft, over 400ft and you're in violation of FAA rules. You're case doesn't apply with current laws on drone heights.

toedtoes wrote:
Because now those drones are coming with video, photography, and audio recording devices. It's not just about the drone - it's about what people are doing with the drones.

That was available and used a long time before anyone ever thought of a quadcopter being a reality. I've used a GoPro on my gliders long before quads (so called drones) ever came into existence.

Because now those drones are coming with video, photography, and audio recording devices. It's not just about the drone - it's about what people are doing with the drones.

Why is there a need for new laws? R/C planes and heli's have been around for decades with numerous rules applied. Since at least the 70's I have not been able to fly near airports, not more than 400ft AGL, not allowed in national parks and some state parks and so on. I realize the the rapid expansion of 'drones' (I still call em R/C aircraft) but the very same laws we had decades ago are the laws being discussed today.

Unfortunately, when people don't use common sense and decency, the gov't has to step in with laws to keep things civil. When they do folks on both ends (and those who have no end in the matter at all) loose.

As an example, -- our hunting wild game rules and laws. Unfortunately, people did not have common sense to keep a balance between hunting what is actually needed, vs greed for profit and the extension of a specific species of animals. So, in order to protect everyone's interest, including the animal, they had to establish "hunting seasons" and also rules for the quantity hunted, and whole bunch more. Why? Because people are just too inconsiderate and self-serving and self-greedy to control and mandate their own action. When that happens, Uncle Sam has to step in and create a law, because we (as people) just can't, ... or won't ... do it ourselves. Every "law" that's been enacted is because someone abused something and someone else or something else got hurt or lost be cause of it.

So in the "Battle of the Drones", if Drone owners use common sense, there should never be a problem. Unfortunately, it's those who don't have common sense that is forcing the new laws and the new regulations, and why the courts have to even decide or make an official statement about what is "air space".

I think, pretty much, everyone on this forum thread who is a drone supporter IS using common sense and respect, especially in the campgrounds and such. And I can probably rest assured that no one on this thread will ever fly your drone over my house. If you do, I won't have to worry about shooting you down, more than likely one of the surrounding farmers will come out and shoot YOU, not the drone, especially if your in fields tromping around.

The that drone would get shot down over my house, more than likely, it would belong to one of the "inconsiderates" who have no regards to common decency, laws or anything (much like poachers for wild game). If THOSE drones get shot down, I don't think too many people would cry over it.

For those of you who own drones, you can't blame us home owners, or even us fellow campers for the laws you now have to live by, by registering your toy as an aircraft. You can only blame your own kind. Those who DON'T have the common decency and courtesy, when, where, and how they fly, who think they are above the law, and rules and laws don't apply to them.

Us home owners don't want to be victims of their malicious and stupid behavior. We're not "out to get YOU" simply because you own a drone. We want to protect ourselves from the nut-cases out there rob our way of life, take our privacy, and invade our "space".

Out where I live, it's not uncommon for one of the neighbor farmers to go out and target practice or simply shoot their rifles, shot guns, and pistols. But my surrounding neighbors also have the common decency to go around and talk to their neighbors telling them, they'll be shooting, and when so if anyone has a dog, or animals, they can prepare them for the noise that usually scares them into a panic so easy. I do the same when I fire my shot gun.

If any of my neighbors purchased a drone and wanted to fly it, they probably would go around and inform the neighbors what they were planning to do. And I don't think anyone in my area would mind at all. We know who is flying and why, and what their intent is. There's nothing wrong with that. We all chose to live in the country so we can enjoy some laxity in our lifestyles. But let an "unknown" step in, and that is where the problem starts.

And yes, there is a BIG difference between a crop duster flying over head, Drug Enforcement flying over head looking for marijuana patches in the middle of the corn fields, and someone's personal drone flying outside my window taking pictures of my grandkids in the hot tub!