Nightmare in the Catskills,,,also posted on Mavic forum

swings16 · Jul 20, 2019

A week ago my family and i flew the NYC Coop for some fresh air and mountain lakes

I found a spot off a very lightly traveled road off Rt. 28 that is a local park

This was last week...it was dusk..a HUGE beautiful moon hanging in the sky and i am up a couple hundred feet taking it all in

As i am filming and enjoying myself + i notice 2 people sliding down the side of the road and coming towards me

I am always happy to see people watch me and answer questions and as they come closer i see angry faces

One man was in his 30's and there was smoke coming out of his ears...the other was an older man with the same attitude

At first i thought they would ask questions about flying but their only motivation was to threaten me about "flyin over MY property "

Do you have a camera in that thing ?

I responded honestly and both of them started in with me..Who gives you the right to invade my personal property ?

YOU are up to no good etc on and on and i am responding that i have no ill will or intent in my flying near their homes

The Younger one...ITCHING to fight starts to ask me for my name...he is in my face and smoke is rising from his head getting angrier by the minute

I try to keep cool but i am outnumbered...i am in my late 60's and this kid wants a piece of my ***

after a few insanely tense minutes this Psycho P.O.S. Hillbilly looks me in the eye...6 inches from my face...if i see that thing over my house again i will get my shotgun and take it down...DO YOU HEAR ME ?

Totally f'd up my few days there...i did fly and film over a small lake and found some beautiful areas there but i was off...upset and ANGRY...Thinking of how i SHOULD have reacted...all a fantasy///

What would be the result of engaging him ?...all bad and negative ones and POLICE...I Swallowed deeply and i TRY to let it go..but a week later and i am still having trouble with it all

Jagerbomb52 · Jul 20, 2019

Ya thats a tough call. Sometimes its just better to pack up and move on even if you are totally in the right. Lots of places with out idiots to fly your UAV's in North America.

GEH7552 · Jul 20, 2019

A good example is Google Earth taking street level pictures of street, people (that end up in the pic) and property. The Google vehicles doing the pictures are on public streets. Then there is the satellite property views. My town uses Google Earth for property evaluations. Its a great way to find people that add sheds and pools without building permits.

GEH7552 · Jul 20, 2019

The best bet is to back away from the confrontation and go fly someplace else. Even if you are within your legal rights these situations can escalate into the red zone very quickly and end with a bad outcome. IMHO it seems society as a whole has become more agressive and less tolerant.

swings16 · Jul 20, 2019

GEH7552 said:
A good example is Google Earth taking street level pictures of street, people (that end up in the pic) and property. The Google vehicles doing the pictures are on public streets. Then there is the satellite property views. My town uses Google Earth for property evaluations. Its a great way to find people that add sheds and pools without building permits.

THAT is something that i wanted to relate to the weirdo ...his house...property...lawn..car etc./EVERYTHING has been recorded + filmed and noted by GoOgLe...No sweat to a dolt that isn't aware of what is going on...it was all about being a MACHO fool ganging up 2 on 1 he was just tweaking his weak hill billy ego

swings16 · Jul 20, 2019

Agustine said:
Ya thats a tough call. Sometimes its just better to pack up and move on even if you are totally in the right. Lots of places with out idiots to fly your UAV's in North America.

Thanks Gents

also thanks for making me aware of your show and the wealth of pertinent info provided in a humorous Informed way...BRAVO guys...LOVE it !!

Lyk2fly · Jul 20, 2019

This has always been a concern of mine. People react without reason to consumer drones. Its even possible that the "property owners" were engaged in an illegal activity.
It sounds like you handled a difficult situation pretty well. You might have even offered to supply them a copy of your footage...might have helped to cool them down a little.
Some of the places I film are also remote so I am usually armed. I hope to stay as calm as you did.

swings16 · Jul 20, 2019

Thanks for your take on my situation

The thought of playing footage to affirm the fact that NOTHING specific that could be identified had crossed my mind BUT there was smoke coming out of this dolt's ears...i told him that fact specifically..NOTHING SPECIFIC could be identified...i was hundreds of feet up catching the GLORIOUS moon over this beautiful area...sadly there was an infestation of a few cockroaches and they were on a mission...a hot night in hillbilly word with nuthin to do...let's go and f with some of those city folks and show em what for ! Dagnabbit ! ..What a Joke

butch · Jul 21, 2019

The very reason I carry. Never know when you run into kooks, some could be dangerous. You did well Swings
butch

swings16 · Jul 21, 2019

butch said:
The very reason I carry. Never know when you run into kooks, some could be dangerous. You did well Swings
butch

Thanks Brother...some sick F's in this world with way too much time on their hands

upspirate · Jul 27, 2019

Anonomosly turn in a report of a possible meth lab on their property

Ken Ramsley · Jul 27, 2019

Sensible people don't mind when we fly properly and conscientiously -- but that is not the world we live in.

For me, other than causing bodily harm or losing my drone -- being hassled out of the blue is my biggest worry. I can control my own actions -- follow the rules, fly safely, avoid flying where someone has a legitimate reason to complain. But I have no control over knuckled-draggers.

Wbrock001 · Jul 27, 2019

Seriously though if not open to discussion wiser to leave unless you’re ready for it to get out of hand. Some neighbors shot each other over a hole in the fence... some peeps just go insane over nothing and seem ready to die or kill for the cause.

danmleephoto · Jul 28, 2019

swings16 said:
A week ago my family and i flew the NYC Coop for some fresh air and mountain lakes

I found a spot off a very lightly traveled road off Rt. 28 that is a local park

This was last week...it was dusk..a HUGE beautiful moon hanging in the sky and i am up a couple hundred feet taking it all in

As i am filming and enjoying myself + i notice 2 people sliding down the side of the road and coming towards me

I am always happy to see people watch me and answer questions and as they come closer i see angry faces

One man was in his 30's and there was smoke coming out of his ears...the other was an older man with the same attitude

At first i thought they would ask questions about flying but their only motivation was to threaten me about "flyin over MY property "

Do you have a camera in that thing ?

I responded honestly and both of them started in with me..Who gives you the right to invade my personal property ?

YOU are up to no good etc on and on and i am responding that i have no ill will or intent in my flying near their homes

The Younger one...ITCHING to fight starts to ask me for my name...he is in my face and smoke is rising from his head getting angrier by the minute

I try to keep cool but i am outnumbered...i am in my late 60's and this kid wants a piece of my ***

after a few insanely tense minutes this Psycho P.O.S. Hillbilly looks me in the eye...6 inches from my face...if i see that thing over my house again i will get my shotgun and take it down...DO YOU HEAR ME ?

Totally f'd up my few days there...i did fly and film over a small lake and found some beautiful areas there but i was off...upset and ANGRY...Thinking of how i SHOULD have reacted...all a fantasy///

What would be the result of engaging him ?...all bad and negative ones and POLICE...I Swallowed deeply and i TRY to let it go..but a week later and i am still having trouble with it all