Welcome, Autel Pilots!
Join our free Autel drone community today!
Join Us

Upset Neighbors

Jim Jenkins

Active Member
Joined
Sep 7, 2016
Messages
32
Reaction score
15
Age
53
Anyone had an upset neighbor because you are flying your drone around? I took mine out around sunset tonight for a quick flight to look at the sky and a neighbor came over quite irate. I wasn't even near his house. Guess I have to limit use around my house. Bummer. I live in Mass where everything is illegal so I probably better play it safe.
 
yep had one crazy lady tell me not to fly over her house but wouldn't tell me where she lives . I fly all over my neighborhood
 
Yeah I had to ask this guy where he lived. "Don't fly that sh!# over my house" is kinda vague. He lives across from my property I guess. Well , I guess we got to meet for the first time!
 
If you are breaking any applicable laws in your area then I would find another location.

Otherwise you need to determine if the confrontation with your neighbors is worth standing up for your rights.

In any case make sure you're being very respectful of people's privacy. While somethings may be permissible, it may not be prudent.

Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD using Tapatalk
 
  • Like
Reactions: fundy and LuvMyTJ
I just emailed my local police dept to see what the laws are. I will see what they say. Everything I read is that it is a completely grey area.
 
I'm an LEO, and Part 61, I can tell you there are just groups of people in our society who are so miserable with their own lives, all they do is complain and whine about anything they can. I had a neighbor down the road call on me one day (he has no clue where it came from), but my dispatcher sent me a text laughing :D because apparently I was taking pictures of his back yard?!!!
 
I think I would just hoover over top of my house and see what they say about that
 
I fly conservatively and never fly over anyone's house, at least intentionally. I occasionally fly at a nearby elementary school (walking distance from my house). Recently I launched from my yard, then used waypoints to fly to the school, staying mostly over roads.
 
No one but the FAA can tell you where you can or cannot fly. The FAA controls airspace, not you, I, or your neighbor. We are pilots and our drones are aircrafts by definition and pilots and aircrafts are controlled by the FAA. If you neighbor has a problem tell them to call the FAA. Just like you don't control street traffic you would have no right to tell your neighbor he cannot drive in front of your house. I get really pissed with people who think they can dictate what others can or can't do based on their believes or fears. Sure glad I live where I do.
 
No we do not. Just like you do not own the street in front of it or the sidewalk. I can take pictures of your house from the street or sidewalk and it would be legal. I can't however step on your lawn or driveway and take pictures without your permission, that would be trespassing. There are plenty of laws covering trespassing and piping toms, weather with a drone , camera, cell phone or the naked eye. People who think they have expectation of privacy in public are confused and misinformed. Even in a private place such as you back or front yard where it is visible from a public pace such as a street you do not have expectation of privacy. Sun bathing in the nude in your back yard where you can be seen by others is still indecent exposure. I am not an attorney, but I have research this subject because I know there will be a day when I will be confronted with this subject, and I want to set the person straight with facts. Maybe there is an attorney on the forum that can chime in.

EDIT: A landowner owns as much of the air above the surface as she can reasonably use in connection with the surface. That isn’t a clear line, obviously. Land wouldn’t be useable at all if one didn’t own some of the air above the surface; almost any use of the land requires using some airspace above the surface.

Ref:The Property Rights of Airspace - dummies
 
Last edited:
Got a reply from my local pd. They say there are no laws that they can enforce from their level as long as the drone is not being operated commercially.
 
Got a reply from my local pd. They say there are no laws that they can enforce from their level as long as the drone is not being operated commercially.
awesome then have fun flying if neighbor bothers you again tell him to go call police
 
Got a reply from my local pd. They say there are no laws that they can enforce from their level as long as the drone is not being operated commercially.

Even commercially they don't have jurisdiction. Only FAA does. They may be able to apply some reckless and endangerment laws if you are flying in such manner, but that has to be proven.
 
  • Like
Reactions: paul holt
I have not had issues yet but when I fly in the neighborhood I am at almost ceiling limit so as to not bring a lot of attention to my drone. As far as airspace above ones house.......it is up to interpretation to a degree. What I mean by that is what one poster stated about usable space above the what we commonly refer to as our "property". If you fly directly over ones home at about lets say 200-400 feet I would say there is no area for gray area or interpretation for that is a distance high enough not to entangle any legal battle.

Bottom line is what my fellow LEO "UAVdude" stated, there are a lot of miserable people in life that just want to complain on anything......even the presence of the sun every morning through their window! Now I am not advocating pissing off your neighbor by buzzing all the time over his house, but you have a right to the air space as long as the FAA has no issue with the flight and it's pattern.

Hopefully the neighbor will fade away. Curious however, to the OP, what was your altitude over this guys house that made him upset.....do you have a any clue as to your altitude?
 
The problem is the people who get the most irate normally R doing something either illegal or they're laying around nude next to the swimming pool in their backyard they want that all around tan LOL.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Michael
I was hovering around 200ft. Wasn't over his house but he could see it from his house. I was looking at the sky and getting pics at sunset.
 

Latest threads

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
11,569
Messages
104,689
Members
10,432
Latest member
DJIpilot