Why is there such high stigma around recreational drone flying?

1. Because, despite the noise, you can be looking at people’s back yards with out their permission.

2. Because of the noise – that is annoying.

My neighbor recently bought one. It’s very noisy, he’s always standing in the middle of the street not paying attention, and because it has a camera and he’s flying over our homes, I’m pretty sure he’s taking pictures of us and our houses and yards (and kids and pets) without our permission. There’s also the high likelihood of this drone crashing into something in our neighborhood, but most likely it will be in our yards and not his, because he flies the thing over our yards, not his.

Well yeah, but
1. What would randomly interest someone in a stranger’s back yard?
2. Drones are no worse than the booming planes that also fly overhead or the helicopters that periodically circle neighborhoods for naval, or news reasons.
not to be combative, but if people are okay with large aircraft easily being able to look at their house and even satellites constantly taking pictures without their permission, then why can’t I get some areal footage of my city that’s invading no privacy?

I would expect that someone who has no business filming me and my family or my home is up to no good. They might be thieves, or even if they themselves are not thieves, it is likely that these drone flying dingbats are putting the footage up online, making it visible to God knows who. Anyone watching could be a thief or a child molester. Taking pictures of our home and families makes it much easier for thieves to know what is in our house and yard, including how many kids we have.

I can’t do a thing about airplanes flying overhead, except to not live in the flight path. I can’t move my house out of the flight path of someone using a drone (until there is a law made that they can’t fly them over my house or neighborhood).

Also, planes flying overhead are not in the business of photographing me and my family or my house. That is about the only business some random person using a camera on a drone has, or else he/she wouldn’t be doing it.

And again, I’ll point out, that it is highly likely that a recreational drone user (someone who is not trained) will eventually crash the thing into a tree, a car, a house, or a person, eventually.

I don’t understand people’s heebie-jeebies about drones. I find them fascinating and enjoy talking to our neighbours who have them when they are out with them.

@BellaB The creepy guy in my neighborhood is the only person who uses a drone in our neighborhood. I’m pretty sure he is up to nefarious acts and it is scary and disturbing.

There is nothing you can do about drone pilots either. The drones have to be legally registered and tracked at all times and there are laws regarding the use of footage. There are also laws regarding flight areas. You can’t hover under 25ft above a person’s house or other private areas. random guy in your neighborhood would still be creepy “pervert” if he didn’t have a drone. I feel it would be easier for him to walk down the road with his phone camera taking pictures of your house rather than dishing out thousands of dollars on a drone just to non-stealthily spy on people. These are big professional machines, not cheap toy helicopters with cameras.

@Obscurethinktank He does use his drone right on top of our street and homes. He’s usually not outside, other than to use this drone. I’ve never seen him using his phone.

I found out he was a creep when he started shouting at me in our neighborhood hot tub where I had gone to relax. He wanted to talk about right wing politics. I wanted to sit quietly.

The problem comes from so many who do use them wrongly.
They have been used to peep. They have been used to harrass pilots.
They have been used just generally recklessly.

Did you know they are training eagles to bring down drones which are being operated illegally? They drop a net over it, disabling the blades.

I love flying drones and don’t completely get the angst either. They are very versatile film production tools. I use mine to do practical things like inspecting my gutters or just about anything I can’t reach with a step ladder. If it’s my land who cares? Also you don’t have to register them all. Many are simply toys and don’t even film. I have a 1080p camera drone that is below the weight restriction so it does not need to be registered with the FAA.

@ARE_you_kidding_me several states have registration of ANY drone required, confiscation is what they can do. We fly our grandkids’ drone over their property and it is fun (it is state registered). The laws may also restrict flying over any state owned property, any group or crowd and causing property damage.

@Obscurethinktank you may feel you own the airspace over someone property but if they feel threatened or feel you a a “peeping tom” target practice will result.

Yeah, I don’t really understand people’s angst with me looking around the neighborhood with my binoculars ether. I’m just trying to peacefully take in the sights.

FAA rules exempt drones under .55 pounds from registration. My state does not require it. There are laws that still need to be followed and a lot of them are open to interpretation. I have neighbors that mess around with drones too. Nobody is getting any flak over them here. It’s when people are flying them legally like with their kids in a park that allows it and people lose their shit on sight for no reason that I don’t understand.

Drone enthusiasts should be aware that this is a self-inflicted wound.

My god, I have spent so much money on RC helicopters and planes. What is the difference? I am not a fucking idiot and flew them in big fields where there was very little chance of them hitting or falling on anything.

When the idiots got easy drones and started flying them near commercial airliners and crashing them into people the government had to get involved. This is a good thing.

Again… a self-inflicted wound.

Like so many other things in life, it is the idiots who don’t read or follow the rules and regulations that muck it up for all of the rest of us.

It’s an invasion of privacy and trespass when they are flown over private property. I support laws that allow property owners to shoot them down and not return them to their owners.

@Obscurethinktank: You say “random guy in your neighborhood would still be creepy “pervert” if he didn’t have a drone. I feel it would be easier for him to walk down the road with his phone camera taking pictures of your house rather than dishing out thousands of dollars on a drone just to non-stealthily spy on people.” Yes, but the guy in the neighborhood who is a creepy pervert is limited with what he can see if he’s walking on the street or sidewalk with his phone. If someone has a fence and creep can’t get into the yard or backyard, he can’t see much other than the facade of the house. If creep has a drone, he can see the yard, into the back windows, see someone sunbathing on the balcony, see little kids playing in the yard, etc. There’s not much he can’t see unless people are inside the house with blinds shut.