first with police

[teccer]

I wanted to video a sea bay in Spain that was just starting to be reinstated, got everything ready to fly with the controller on and just about to fire up the quad I heard a car behind me, looking round I thought this is it I'm about to be told not to fly, not so he came up to me and asked if I was about to fly so I said yes then he asked if I'd mine if he watched me fly, all the time I was flying he was asking all sorts of questions about the Phantom, most of the time he was looking at the tablet to see what was going on over the way, when he left he shook my hand and said "very good well done", so not all police are out to get you

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

 

[WalterPDean]

I wanted to video a sea bay in Spain that was just starting to be reinstated, got everything ready to fly with the controller on and just about to fire up the quad I heard a car behind me, looking round I thought this is it I'm about to be told not to fly, not so he came up to me and asked if I was about to fly so I said yes then he asked if I'd mine if he watched me fly, all the time I was flying he was asking all sorts of questions about the Phantom, most of the time he was looking at the tablet to see what was going on over the way, when he left he shook my hand and said "very good well done", so not all police are out to get you

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

Nice story. Always good to take a few minutes to explain. I even ask people if they mind if I fly so far not one has said no and each time they are impressed that someone takes them into consideration and believe we win people over by show most drone operators are not dirt bags and only a few ruin it for the majority. We have all heard some horror stories the the one who I heard flew into old faithful. Not sure if this happened but we can not fly I am told in Federal Parks so something pushed the button.

The more people we touch the more positive comments we will receive when people are asked.
When people respond in letters to the editor I hope for overwhelming positive comments to counter the few that may not follow the rules. Walter

 

[AeroMirage]

I was flying once shooting pictures of a new apartment building going up. I was bringing her in for a landing and I heard a voice behind me say, "Wow..... That's cool." I turned to see two police officers on bicycles about 10 feet from me. They had made no sounds whatever approaching. They remained quiet until I finished landing then had a few questions. I showed them the pictures I had just shot and they were amazed. They were respectful and told me there was a new high rise building going up in a few months that I will probably want to keep an eye on.

 

[Mike2A]

Most officers I've encountered will either totally ignore you or display some degree of curiosity or outright interest in what you are doing. I've let officers try their hands at the controls and maybe even made a sale for DJI at least once.

On the other side of the coin, if you are ever asked by an officer to cease operations, promptly comply with his instructions first then you can respectfully discuss the issue with him. Arguing with LE or refusing to comply is always a fast path to a bad situation; you can try calm reason or simply wait and contact your local police HQ for clarification or in extreme cases consult with a legal professional. Just don't be that guy who makes all of us look bad.