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Drones, as in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), come in all manner of different shapes and sizes. While the larger ones capable of raining death and destruction down from above are reserved for military operations, smaller ones designed for less harmful activities can be bought for a few hundred dollars HEXO+: An Amazing Aerial Camera Drone That Will Follow You Everywhere HEXO+: An Amazing Aerial Camera Drone That Will Follow You Everywhere Imagine you're hiking up the side of a mountain as your aerial drone captures the footage like a scene from an epic movie. Thanks to a new drone called Hexo+, this science fiction may soon... Read More .
This raises the very real prospect of someone flying a drone around your neighborhood. Perhaps innocently, or perhaps for more nefarious reasons. But what would you do if that drone hovered over your property? This question forms the basis for this week's We Ask You all about drones and people's reactions to them.
Determining Drone Decisions
We want to know, A Drone Hovers Over Your Property: What Would You Do?
This question was prompted by the recent story of a man in New Jersey alleged to have shot down a drone as it was hovering over his property. We're guessing most of you wouldn't pull out a shotgun and take aim at the flying intruder. Because that is madness. But it did prompt us to start wondering what MakeUseOf readers would do under similar circumstances.
Shooting a drone out of the air is a rather extreme reaction to what is usually a harmless, innocent activity. Sure, drones are increasingly associated with surveillance operations and the loss of privacy we're all feeling at the moment. But the average Joe or Josephine who spent a week's wages on a drone in order to fly it as a hobby is unlikely to be spying on his or her neighbors. In the future, it could even be Amazon Air delivering a package to your next-door neighbor.
So, what would you do? Would you immediately get your gun and shoot that drone out of the sky? After all, the airspace above your property surely belongs to you. Would you call the police and report the drone and its operator as a nuisance which is disturbing the peace? After all, these things don't exactly run silent.
Would you identify who is flying the drone and head over in order to ask if you can have a go yourself? After all, actually controlling one of these things is a lot of fun. Would you assume it's a UFO Top 8 Websites To Find The Latest UFO Sightings Top 8 Websites To Find The Latest UFO Sightings Read More , shoot a grainy video of it flying, and subsequently upload it to YouTube claiming an encounter of the first kind? No, probably not, but you get the point.
Simply let us know what you would do if you discovered a drone hovering over your property, and why. Whether you answer seriously or humorously, do please answer the question. Be honest, you haven't got anything else better to do. And drones are here to stay 7 Industries Drones Are Set to Revolutionize 7 Industries Drones Are Set to Revolutionize Seven industries that are ready and braced to be (mostly positively) impacted – if not revolutionized – by drones. Read More , so we should have the conversation sooner rather than later.
Have Your Say
All comments will be read and most will be replied to, before a follow-up post is published containing the We Ask You Results. One reader will win Comment Of The Week, receiving a geeky T-shirt chosen from those available through the catalog for their effort.
We Ask You is a column dedicated to learning the opinions of MakeUseOf readers. This column is nothing without you, as MakeUseOf is nothing without you.
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I'm not sure when this article was written. But I am replying September 2018. Every inch of the sky over my property in the country seems to be occupied by a drone. my first encounter with a drone came not very many years back. I am an avid meteor shower watcher and would write the schedule of when each shower would be appearing and the Peak night. I would sit in the dark and look up at the heavens scanning from side to side back to back and look for that strip of Fire that was race across the sky. it was then that I began to notice Oddities in the night sky.. I thought reflections of headlights from a Highway a quarter of mile possibly. Fireflies although it wasn't always the season for them. the eyes of an owl hunting at night. Maybe. but then overnight the solitude and Majesty of my beloved Country Nights were over. just that fast. Seven generations of my family could lean on this land for comfort. we could look up at the night sky and find peace and feel close to God. but that all ended suddenly and without warning every square inch above my property we're taking over by drones. I have had a front-row seat to the obtrusive uninvited and disrespectful Behavior of drones with cameras being piloted by God only knows who. And God Only Knows Why. they would hover over my head and then move on making room for another drone. Pointing their lights a tower cars, farm implements, trailers, tools, and livestock. And the summer they jockey for position to hover and spy on us in our swimming pool. they follow us everywhere we go. To the stock tank to the mailbox, can feed the cattle, to break ice off of the water trough in the winter, as we mow our lawn pick dewberries from the fence row. Needless to say the luxury of peeing outside and the freedom of making love on the trampoline is no more. the need for human being to be alone with their thoughts. To have privacy especially on ones own property is so essential to a person's mental health and well-being that article 21 was made into law and says the right to be left alone. But still people hide behind the drones and observe us for no other reason other than to have something to do. and of course there's always the outside chance they can float around and catch some unsuspecting person who believes that they are alone skinny dipping will be skinny dipping. I have watched them go from Bright Lights noisy and clumsily bounce off my window screen to get in just the right position to peer around a curtain org app in the Venetian blinds. I've watched their technology grow watch them become sophisticated and Pilots more skillful. now they're cutting off their lights and much smaller much faster was cutting edge camera. they have night vision infrared and can spot a warm body from Lord knows how high in the sky. they break the speed of sound flying down to hover over someone sitting on their chaise lounge enjoying a cup of coffee. they've even taken away the pleasure of watching meteors far from me. Now the Browns have the ability to appear as a meteor themselves. flashing through the sky for a very short distance to get from point A to point B without being seen. I have watched their changes how they have become more covert. but I can see them. and that really surprises the pilot. The rotary blades on the drowned cut off a very subtle pattern that I am able to ascertain in the day or the night. the only thing that I can compare it to they hot air at the end of a road in the summertime that puts off a wave of mirages. I can see them. but what I can see even more clearly than the Drone is what has been taken from me. making it very easy for me to believe they have just begun to take away the things that I love . the civil liberties that I never gave a second thought to. I'm an American I thought they were a part of my lineage. the thing that made us unique from other countries and have no liberties. The military spy drones very tiny and in the Sky by the thousands fly over civilians using us as targets so they will be ready for Warfare. there is no legislation on the books that protects me are offers me some legal way to make them go away. The FAA have been given the absolute Authority to commandeer every breath of air and then proceeded to give every drone no matter the price no matter the pilot the very same rights given to military plane Learjet or passenger airline. do I want to shoot these drones down. What do you think? do you think that I would be justified and trying to reclaim my rights to enjoy my property. The government, law enforcement, hobbyist drone pilot have managed to devalue and claim something that I always thought belong to me. and Just look at my property tax every year shows you they haven't gone down. I pay taxes on property I can no longer enjoy. I pay taxes on a home who's Solitude and peace is lost to me. I must say I never saw this coming
On the ride back from visiting a friend, I noticed a light that seemed "odd" . First I thought it was a security light. But It was obviously moving. About 4.3 miles and 4 turns later, I was back home. This thing had followed me home and was hovering ... maybe 2-3 hundred yards to the west above the tree line. Here in rural Mississippi there are no city lights. I KNOW what I witnessed. The thing comes several nights a week. It makes no sense to me why or who. Pretty boring around here. So... every time it appears, I go out and drop my drawers and spread my butt cheeks. HA! If it takes pics or video, then several shots of my rectum will be there for their viewing pleasure!
After submitting my comment, I read through the others. WOW! We definitely have a problem. There are too many ways these things can be corrupt. Understanding all the useful things that drones can do, in years to come the sky is not the limit!
I am very concerned as to what the government, the outlaws, crooks, etc. Will suffer us all. Maybe we all should invest and join them!
We have a guy who only flies his in the middle of the night. We believe he is looking in our windows. He's very creepy to begin with so we are quite alarmed and are filing a police report. I doubt it'll be over all our properties in the middle of the night much longer. There's no other reason he's doing it at the time he is. Creep.
I'd probably first find the person and warn them to stop and I they continue, Use a modified drone to take it down. I'm thinking pneumatic spike , I certainly wouldn't mind making protecting my airspace my hobby.
Let the hunt begin.
I have drones shining red and green lights in my window in morgans point in belton tx I think it's the Fed's !
I currently, for the last four years, have been harassed at my house by a swarm of drones… Not knowing exactly what was going on. I have been on a mission to figure out what harassment or the exact intent of this or persons has been. Let's just say it has caused me a great deal of emotional torment of sort. Not to mention a tremendous amount of time and effort trying to figure out this imaginary figure that has left the prints and light flashes all around our house. I won't mention the various other illegal activities that have followed. But this whole ordeal has opened my eyes to the illegal activities of drones that are possible. I have been on an ongoing mission to try to make these people known and report them to the proper authorities. Constantly taking pictures. And usually only having "lights" at night in my photos. The police have told me that I am to "catch" one and bring it to them in order to press charges. I laugh at that thought, to see me out there trying to catch a drone. However I am still bound and determined to try and bring them down somehow. What this person or these people are doing has caused emotional and physical torment to me and my family whether they know it or not. And I believe they know it. Because they run and hide when they see me. They know what they're doing is illegal. The free air space is not in the space they are flying their little to roun what this person or these people are doing has caused emotional and physical torment to me and my family whether they know it or not. And I believe they know it. Because they run and hide when they see me. They know what they're doing is illegal. The free air space is not in the space they are flying their little drones. They are flying them around my windows where they can spy, and in my yard that is surrounded by a privacy fence. They're free space is above the roof of houses. My Photos prove they are below that space. I want them caught. There should be a law I believe that protects the innocent people that are bullied by the ones who misuse what should be a fun toy.
I have the same problem unfortunately
I had one hovering over my house, over my deck where I was sitting for about 15 minutes. I continued to grab rocks and throw them at it. It flew away SO fast.
I have at least one every night and honestly they are a little scary. But I got two really powerful flashlights and I am going out to use them right now... They almost sound like a darn chain saw outside ... Which is why I am going out. To get more wood.. Build more fire... Which is a good thought for that flying police car is what it looks like to me
I actually have a ftonr hovering over my house every night for a couple weeks at least . Its scary because i dont knoe if it's the BaldKnobers (because I live in the Ozarks ) ,Police survellance or some weird rich neighbor who owns the woods around me. I am going to stop watering my garden in the nude for sure ! So much for living in the woods ! I think I am just going to ride this one out. Time will indeed let me know if it's the Police ! I sure hope I don't got a warrant ! I am feeling a little intruded upon if it's the weird private grumpy neighbors up the road or even the famous vigilantes the Baldknobers , who are still alive and kickn' right here in my mountain.
I lived through the european war years were allied bombers flew to their targets but found german radar on the Dutch coast a hurdle. One morning however our neighborhood was seeded with silvery bandage looking strips. We were told that because all these swirling reflectors polluted the airspace, leaving the german radar nullified.Where I live are often so called drones employed by nosey owners trying to get shots of swimming pool users like nudist, etc etc.
I know that shooting them out of the air above your property is illegal but I am allowed to set of fire works. What about wrapping such a rocket , in tiny aluminium foil particles.
Could this destroy the radiated drone waves and make it crash?
Lmfao My Favorite Response
WOW, just had to comment on here as I feel very strongly about this subject and would like to put straight some of the wild misconceptions that people seem to have!
First a little background, I am a 35 year old engineer with a masters degree in electronics. As a hobby I design, build and fly quad and hexa-copters (I'm not going to just call them drones as this is a generic term used by the media and by people who have no idea about the subject, and it does not describe what the vehicle is). I'd like to say that I do not condone the misuse of any device be it a UAV or any other technology!
Unfortunately tho there will always be idiots that spoil the hobby for everyone else. I am a responsible user and to be automatically put into the same category as these misusing idiots is down-right wrong! And for people to say that you would just shoot them out of the sky without first finding out the reason it is there is at best irresponsible or otherwise just dangerous and VERY stupid, and you should not be allowed to own guns!! (I would also like to say that I have a shotgun certificate and own several guns myself and would never dream of shooting at something that's not meant to be shot at, and if I did I would expect the law to come down on me to it's fullest extent). If you are really that bothered by it just wait 20-30 minutes for the battery to run low and follow it back to it's operator, tell them your concerns, most would be willing to talk to you and possibly even show you the footage they took. People who are worried should go onto youtube and watch the thousands of awesome UAV videos, the first thing you will notice is that most use wide angle lenses, and at the height that most people film at you cannot identify individuals as they just appear as little specks! Why do these people think they are so important? In the majority of cases they are NOT spying on you, the word paranoia comes to mind, unless it is law enforcement and you are doing something very illegal, they are not gonna waste there resources on your boring life!
I can't believe how some people react to technology they don't understand! The comments made by 'SurvivorMan' are just down-right laughable!! Spouting made up science like (and I Quote) 'voice 2 skull technology', 'direct energy weapon' and comments like 'Its some sort of gps tracker he uses to watch and communicate desth threats to me every day', SERIOUSLY! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU ON!!!!!! For you to say that you are of sound mind just re-enforces to me that you are defiantly not! May I suggest you get your gas boiler serviced as the symptoms you describe in your post sound a lot like the result of carbon monoxide poisoning! Also a comment by 'Curt Dauwalter' (who again I quote) 'if yo are being followed it is probably becAUSE YOU ARE A THREAT AND THEY ARE USING SCALAR WAVES T DEACTIVATE YOUR DNA'. I'm sorry but could you tell me where in the electro-magnetic spectrum these 'SCALAR WAVES' are, I only ask as I didn't notice them when I did my electronics masters degree.
People watch to much telly, and think all drones are like the one's law enforcement or the military use which can zoom in to view great detail, see in the dark etc etc, these things cost 10's of thousands of pounds and are not generally available to the average user. Most use Gopro or equivalent camera's, which if you know anything about cameras don't work very well in low light conditions and cannot zoom in to look at you or your ugly daughters face!
Also if you know anything about battery technology you will know that the 'LIPO' batteries used only last a max 20-30 minutes, which goes down drastically the more weight you carry, so the people who say they are being followed for hours at a time are clearly making it up, if not I would love to know what power source they are using as this would revolutionise the electronics industry, either that or would love to try some of the drugs you are clearly taking!
There is nothing sinister or magical about UAV technology, I would like to list some of the commonly used devices:
GPS: This is a global positioning system, it is a receiving device that listens for signals coming from multiple satellites, using the time difference between each signal and simple triangulation, an accurate position can be obtained (anywhere on earth). These devices DONOT transmit, therefore can't be used for mind control!!!!!!! (can't believe I have to explain this one!!!)
COMPASS: This device uses the magnetic field generated by the earth's rotating molten iron core to obtain it's orientation. i.e north, south, east, west. (trust me, this cannot be used for mind control!!!!!!!!!)
COLOURED LIGHTS ON ARMS: This is so the pilot can tell the UAV's orientation when at a distance. (and NO, these cannot be used for mind control or to effect you in any other way!!!)
FLASHING UNDERCARAGE LIGHT: This generally tells the pilot which flight mode they are in and whether they have a gps fix. (again NO, this cannot control or effect you in any way – unless you are epileptic, but even that is pushing it!!!!!!!)
TELEMETRY LINK: This device sends back information about the UAV, speed, height, orientation etc etc, generally to a computer, some are able to transmit back information to the UAV, i.e. gps waypoints for autonomous flights.
CAMERAS: Your average user is using Gopro or equivalent, these cameras cannot see in the dark (unless is has additional infrared illumination, but even then you would only light up a few feet in front of you and are heavy). They also can't zoom and are generally used to video landscapes as they have very wide-angle lenses. Granted there are cameras out there that can do all these things but your not going to find them on an average jo's machine as they cost a fortune and are generally only used commercially, in which case the UAV probably has a genuine reason to be there!!!
Trust me when I say this (I know your not going to believe me but that is because you are stupid!!!) THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS MIND CONTROL!!!!! Technology has come a long way but we are nowhere near close to being able to interface or effect human thought with electronics or signals in this way!!!!!
I think some of the commenters on here should get in touch with Louis Theroux, he loves doing documentaries on nutters like you!
Oh and by the way, you do NOT own the airspace above your property, you can say you do as much as you like but it doesn't make it true! That doesn't mean to say that people should fly over your property, just out of common courtesy.
I am all for controlling and regulating UAV use, and I really do feel for people who are genuinely being harassed by these but please don't tar everyone with the same brush, do you really think that the people doing these things are gonna take any notice of the regulations anyway?? No, it's the law abiding one's like me that suffer.
I am one of the lucky one's I live on a 300 acre farm and have loads of space to fly, but even there I have been met with hostility, and have been told it is illegal to fly these things..... UMM NO, YOU ARE WRONG, READ THE DRONE CODE!!
But hey, I'm just an obnoxious Brit!!
I live very close to banks of a river out of town. I have a neighbor who has a business selling drones. Been dealing with these things for over 2 yrs. I first thought they were lites from kinda magnetic field caused by water flowing over Galena ore/rocks in river bed. Finally learned what they were when I learned our county deputies are sitting in patrol cars playing with these things all nite. Since I have no reason to think they are spying on me I accept them with rest of nite life on the river. Lots of wooded areas so think they follow river for open space. If I had reason to think they were "unfriendly" I wud definitely shoot them down.
Flying drones over other people's property just going over to another destination is ok in my opinion but when you stop and look around other people's property that I feel is invasion of privacy and yet I would shoot it down
I would agree. I just had that last night, a drone hovering at night, it was not passing by and i felt like it was an invasion of my privacy.
Well 3 months ago I noticed a drone sitting in a tree on my property and as I got closer it flew away....so then a week ago my daughter 17 yrs old was walking into the living room and seen a drone hovering at our picture window...now why in this world would somebody do that and also what do I do about this if it happens again?
If it is over my property I should have the right to shoot it down. I am in the process of manufacturing a shotgun shell with a wire net that will bring down any drones flying over my property.
I have also rigged up a water cannon that can reach low flying drones.
I was at a Mustang car show in WA and witnessed a drone flying over the cars and something happened and it lost control falling on a car. The owner promptly beat the shit out of the operator....funny thing is when the Police showed up there was no witness to the beating.
Hello! I stumbled upon this site while searching how to find out who operates drones and why. I live in Oregon in the high desert basically out in the middle of nowhere. This drone has been here ever since I moved here in 2012. I only see it at night if I am working outside which I do in the summer a lot when the temps get in the high 90's and triple digits. I just pull out my lights and go to work painting or whatever I have to do. At first it bothered me having that drone watching me. I often thought if it came close enough I would shoot it but it never gets that close. So now I have fun playing games with it. I wave at it and turn my lights off and hide and watch it. You can actually see the infer red light turning and searching. Then I will flash my lights on and off and watch it as it comes closer searching. Then I turn everything on and show myself. Sometimes I will wave it to come closer and then give it the finger. One night I put camo clothing on and I sat on the ground and hid behind a sagebrush bush. For 45 min it kept getting closer and just hovered almost over me. I could see the red light searching. Then I got up and went into the house. I have noted that when it is searching it gets quite close then backs away after it spots you. One night some friends came over and I said, lets go for a little hike with our flashlights and see if it follows us. Sure enough it did. I started taking photos and zooming in as far as I can but it just looks like a perfect full moon unless it moves when I am taking the photo which then it looks like the moon with a streak tail attached. I have no idea who is operating it and why. The only thing I can come up with is it has something to do with watching the ranchers properties. I wish I knew how I could find out who is operating it. It could even be a government controlled one. I dont know anything about them but I would guess it is a very expensive one to be that high up and that size. So for now I guess I will just continue to play games with it! Lol
This is the second time in two weeks a drone has been over our back yard about 20 ft from our windows. The first time was late afternoon. The second was tonight at 11:40 pm. All lights were off in our house. The drone came within 15 ft of our bedroom windows which have 90% opaque roller shades. It shined a bright light through the shades and lit up the room like a flare. This bedroom is on the ground floor. When I turned toward it, it immediately exited to the north. The previous incident it exited the same direction. We have a sheriff's deputy who lives four houses to the south. Tomorrow I'm going to talk with him about it. I'm a disabled infantry veteran. I didn't serve our country to have some pervert peeping Tom point his search light in our bedroom at 11:40 pm. Wish I had a couple of claymores. Just sayn'
Several times now a drone has hovered over our backyard while we enjoyed an evening swim. We had our bathing suits on but it's still a matter of privacy. If someone were creeping around our backyard with a camera at night we would call the police and have the right to defend ourselves. We haven't decided as to the action we will take with these airborne peeping toms but it will not end well for the drone, I assure you. If I lived out in the country it would have met it's demise at the business end of my rifle. I'll be creative. In the meantime drone owners beware, don't fly over people's houses and back yards and hover, PULL!!
Today 7/12/17 is third time in week in half we've caught a good size drone hovering on our property. Please keep in mind we have lots of mature trees so whomever is controlling this probably isn't a child. It didn't see me because I was bent down in kaseebo my cat looked behind me as I heard a slight noise. I look up and stand up put hand on hip and it flew away immediately. I live in Country with some land. This was no toy! It's on MY property without permission and when I get a clean shot I will shoot it down! If your in town out in public I know there isn't any privacy but I have a young daughter who hangs in our pool with me. I also know for sure some can record video and sound. I'm all for people having fun on THIER property or even a public park etc....but this is too far. I'm a good shot so someone will be out a lot of money! We've had one attempted break in. How do I know someone isn't using this to get my layout or other information. Go ahead bring it back on my personal property. Then I can see what someone is doing as I look through the tapes and sounds if there are any. Some may call me paranoid or stupid but I call it being aware. Big difference. Ps. Whoever it is can go through and in between high tress and fence very well. Concerned and ready to take down. "Only a matter of time"
Someone has been looking into our windows with a drone which has been caught on our security camera. I am going to shoot it down any chance I get.
please dont be one of them who just thinks that he/she can do whatever he or she wants just send the security camera footage to police and they will handle it since i am a droneowner my self i know how damn expensive these drones can be so just please take it to the police and dont wreck other peoples property because then you would be in a bigger trouble then he or she is
Maybe when people start shooting them down you will quit buying them.
FAA forbids interfering with the flight of an aircraft. If you down a drone, you have downed an aircraft under federal law. It would be unwise to do so unless it posed a credible threat to you or your property (i.e. livestock).
It's a frickin toy! Not a aircraft. If it's over my property it's a credible threat and I will shoot it down.
I think it's an invasion of privacy you're several draw above us I seen several in town I've been as far away as 35 miles and seen drones personally I think it's evasion privacy and I think they should be shot down if people can't climb with their own property go get some County Land drive to drive them over there's one girl and particularly comes it about 3:05 a.m. to 4:30 a.m. hovers loudly for about 2 hours and go straight up and disappears out of sight illegally fly that high when all these drawings shut their lights off in the morning they are invisible even with field glasses that's cause of the problem from the aircraft overhead I think they are all illegal there's no way where I live they could be insight of anyone operating them they're not cheap they come before dark the lights come on and they're still on when the sun comes up and they create a pattern which I have followed for three months what's up??
Hello everyone, just had to add one more comment. I have a drone that on some days I fly over my naighborhood and will make sudden stops to turn around or to get a shot into the horizon not focusing on anything inpaticular. The cost was $1500 for everything the flight time is only about 25 minutes and anything above the power lines would be hard to get a image of someone or there backyard in vary good focus. Google Earth or just walking through the neighborhood would be better to see a person up close if that's what one must do? I am guilty also of hovering over a house for a minute... but it's only to see the mountains... in the distance that I cannot see with all the trees around. From mine. Or just to test a certain flight mode. There is a FAA sealing limit here at 400 feet not to fly above but I will usually fly just above the power lines and trees to a safe height.
Stop being so paranoid people! Just wait till amazon starts dilivering your package with a drone. I can assure you I know if nobody personely who flys a drone to spy as they are a bit load and it would be like diving a UPS truck into your back yard to secretly see you drinking a coffee? OMG, LOL?
This happened to me just the other day, a drone was flying overhead and as i was watching it it stopped and just hovered so i waved at it and did a little dance and said "Are you looking at me? You must be looking at me cause im the only one here." I giggled then i waved for it to come closer. I dont know what i would have done but it would have been silly. It then resumed its flight and went away ?. I wouldnt mind i dont have anything i do that im worried about. My privacy is in my house where the drones dont go but if i saw one watching me through a window i would probably flash him. Lol
I also am a dronie and dont care about anyone in their yards or whatever i like the view that i cant get from the ground. People are so paranoid i just want to put a sign that says "im not recording you, its not all about you." Lol. Just saying.
If it's over my property I'll shoot it down.
That is not true about the cameras the cameras have clear legibility and if they didn't how could you see the mountains anyway so what you're saying is contradicting and untrue and you yourself if you have more than 5 of them above your house all night will to be paranoid and start wondering
Yea I own a drone and use it sticky for making home movies or shooting shots alongside the coast and also just for the different perspective you get when shooting from the air. I was out for a walk with my wife this morning walking the dog along the bay. I had the drone follow A's we walked. Them comes a roller blader and some kids. on skates as well and I hear the older male about 50 years old telling them look a drone" people who have those have no life and are just spying on everyone and should get a life....
After hearing this almost everywhere I go It was time to respond. I told him straight up! maybe a bit to far " lOOK DICKHEAD I DO NOT FLY THE DRONE NOR DID I PURCHASE IT FOR SPYING ON PEOPLE"
i think you should get a life and start understanding the future... chin drop all silance with there tales between there asses and skated away! It felt great to give one back for the done flyers out there?
Thanks from a fellow dronie.
Like I said before that's not true these rooms there are so many I can put up blinds outside like I was hunting ducks make the Drone go in a different pattern because they're scared they watch us they know what we're doing in or every move that's bullshit they should go on your own property and watch people or maybe we should borrow their drawings and watch them and see what we can video tape onto our phones and see how they like it stay away from our property and I guarantee you it's dangerous here
Agree 100 percent with you. The world is getting to crazy. I want to feel safe in our home. After the attempted break in I'm on edge especially having a beautiful daughter. I've installed security system and cameras. I just want left alone on my property. That's why we moved to country. Again, don't care if folks have them but respect others land. Thank you for your post.
, what happened to my replies
Until you can prove when you are flying your drone that your not filming people without their permission I will keep shooting them down. Soon I will be the RED BARRON have knocked 3 down so far lol....Dronie
Difference is you clearly had the drone with you following you, not following someone around their acreage like I do! Not that the people you blasted could have known that unless you had a sign saying so, he probably thought it was being flown remotely. Not many who are not in the drone world know of all the new features they have either so most wouldn't know you can have them set to follow you. And yes people use them for the wrong thing and more often than most will admit and I'm sure that the party line all drone operators doing the wrong thing want you to believe.
The case you're looking for is Heron v. Sutherland, where an object cannot fly over a person's land without permission; so you could catch the drone and hold it, or otherwise identify the user.
In this case, if you didn't have a reasonable chance of catching the drone, you'd have the right to disable it, such as with a shotgun, as long as it didn't pose an unreasonable risk to anyone; then you could hold it for police in order to trace it and catch the trespasser.
This would be perfectly legal.
so when the game warden fly's over my property at 150 ft in his piper cub You say I can shoot him down
its not a question of what would i do ? my question is what am i doing , right now , there is and has been a drone hoovering over my house for the last 8 months , and it follows me every where i go. With that being said, i can say that i do not like it , and i'm losing my mind. i have every window in my house covered up. I dont even want to look at the night sky anymore, it has given me a new mental condition .!!!!
The people behind these drones, are out of control! who do you complain to when its BIG BROTHER doing it? Its beyond violating our civil rights. The right to feel safe in my own home, has gone down the shitter!!!!!! and these guys probably think its funny peaking in everybodys window, whos to say they arent ? my only question to them is, how would they like it if we followed them to their home and watched them interacting with their family !!!!!???? we all need to band together and protect our county from its government, NOW! not tomorrow, NOW!!! DONT THINK YOU WONT BE NEXT. I dont blame the guy who shot down that drone, if i had a gun big enough right now, id do the same goddamn thing . bottom line.
dhs, ca
My husband and I were working in the yard, by our swimming pool, in Arizona. I heard the "hum" and I knew...looked up and there was a drone above OUR pool, above OUR property, pointed at us UNDER our patio roof. Needless to say, if I had a paint ball gun I would have shot it. Turned out to be people down the street (that we don't know). I gave the drone the finger and found the people with the drone and told them to keep the darned thing off of our property. They seemed to chuckle. Idiots with a view tower off of their home. The SECOND time I called the local police. They said not to confront the people, they would stop by their home and let them know that their drone was not appreciated by the neighborhood (by then we'd gotten support to "kill the drone" from over 100 neighbors)...
Just remember, YOU are not allowed to shoot, hurt, do anything to the drone or you will be responsible. I know, this is insane because it's a privacy issue. If possible, take a photo of the drone on, above your property, find out who the owner is. Turn them in for invasion of privacy. That is your best defense at this point. The FAA is responsible. Write to them. Get these things off of our private property, looking at us/in our windows. Invasion of privacy.
Are you serious? Are the rules same in every state? I live in Indiana. I should darn well have right to shoot it. I can't get a picture because as soon as I see it and they see me see it they take off. Any suggestions on how I can find out who owns it? Even with a picture all they have to do is deny it. I heard many have range of over a mile and military ones way more. I'm glad you shared that information on your post.
Call the police. You DO have a stalker. No one should have to live in fear. At least get it documented. Please, please call for protection - very weird and I hope that you are ok.
We live in the country we don't have police we have sheriff's deputies I can't tell you what the reply was but the neighbor's cat is wild until he says it's his pet you get my drift
I'm in a similar situation, all night nearly every night for the past 5 months and min of 3 drones. The police can't do anything unless I can physically get hold of the drone or find the operators which obviously they make it very difficult, CASA (Aust FAA) won't do anything, I'm a single Mum and even my 8 yr old can see them and then she gets stressed too. Fly them over a park away from people and private property or in the bush because regardless of your intentions as an operator how the hell does anyone being looked at or in vision of your drone know? It does and will have a negative influence on peoples lives and emotional wellbeing, why would you?
Very well said. I agree with you totally.
WELL. I could tell by reading just a few lines of this article, that the writers is ALL FOR DRONES.. Well, there ARE laws that can be filed AGAINST the drone operator,, SHOCKED ?/ Right, the air ABOVE your house, to the heaves does belong to you, the home owners. First, most all drones have a camera on them. You can file charges on the droner for Trespassing, invasion of privacy AND VOYUERISM .] PEEPING TOM ] So if anyone of you has to go to court for shooting down a drone, remember these few steps. Saw a video from a law person that gave those pointers.
Wow. That is great information. Thank you. I believe this will help me. It's starting to freak me out given the circumstances.
A drone is stalking me and it's been 8 years and yes I've thought of shooting it down out of the sky. But wouldn't . I want to know who this person is. I have no privacy it follows me wherever I go. I think it's a pervert. But let me say this when it's not in the sky over my house I worry that whoever is driving this drone may harm me. It won't leave me alone. I just want it gone from my life. How do I go about who is driving this drone?
I'm so sorry for the fear it's put in you. Same here, but mine hasn't been that long. That's exactly what I want to know. Who the heck is flying and how to find them. Good luck to you. I pray you are kept safe. Please do same for my family.
Theres one that works its way back and forth for about 3 hours after it gets dark out. (I thought you couldn't fly after dark) But i have 3 1000 lumen flashlights i stocked up on batteries and shine it the whole time i can see it . I have a small drone already lost 1 fixing to uograde soon there a blast. I want to get a good 1 i climb cell towers want take one up the tower with me...
Drug task forse using droams to investigation of suspected drug users an dealers!!!
Reading the thread of comments, I feel there is much fear and anxiety about drones, which is the largest growing technology medium for photographers and videographers. I am a licensed FAA UAV Pilot and feel that perhaps I can calm or hopefully lay to rest some of the concerns that other posters have written. I too was recently approached by the police as my neighbor claimed I was flying against her window and peeping on her. My wife (who is also a pilot) and I laughed and showed the police my flight map log, footage and proved I was never closer than 300 ft. from her house; despite her overly reactive thought of what she believed to be the case, I was actually shooting the sunset. I never at one point faced the camera at her house and I was completely operating within the law. She ended up getting in a little trouble for making false allegations and the police where not happy with her misuse of the 911 system leaving her with a warning.
As far as some of these post I have read, the police do not use drones for surveillance on ordinary citizens (ask your local law enforcement about their policy). Law enforcement including Feds are under very tight privacy laws and they have even more restrictions than the "recreational UAV pilots". If you feel you are being targeted by some clandestine plot to film/record you it would be in your best interest to contact your local FAA district office and your local Police. I would also look into your personal life and see if there are any kids or an ex that plausibly would carry out such extravagant taunting and invasion on privacy? No UAV's shall fly higher than 400 ft. AGL and by descriptions in some post they claim they are being followed from very high altitude. One poster claimed bright lights beamed down on her and that is very unlikely as the UAV's have very restricted weight limitations and the flight time would be greatly reduced. The cameras on the best consumer available models cannot zoom in from 100's of feet away and shoot images or video that would be clear, as there is massive pixilation the further away you shoot from your subject, even with a 5.6k camera there really is no chance of someone "peeping on you unless they are very close to you. Again UAV's that are close to your windows on a regular basis; yes even I would take concern as that is unusual behavior, and would contact authorities if I could not locate pilot to confront them of their intentions.
The laws are very specific, if you shot a UAV down you will be facing serious charges as all UAV's .05 lbs. or bigger must register with the FAA and are issued an official aircraft number to be posted on the UAV. By shooting down an unmanned aircraft you are most likely facing the same charges for shooting a weapon at a regular aircraft, you also most likely be facing discharging a weapon in a urban area, which is another set of charges one would be facing. The FAA has defined airspace as the ground up, so there is no violation of flying above your property or house as long its done in a safe manner and not causing a risk to persons, being flown in a manner that is considered hazardous or a nuisance. Pilots must be 16 years old to fly and all pilots of UAV's must fly in non-restricted airspace unless a licensed pilot receives a FFA waiver to perform their flight with the FAA ahead of time for commercial reasons e.g. real-estate, survey for electrical lines, roof inspection etc. Night flights are prohibited with exception to one hour of twilight window at sunrise and sunset and / or if a waiver to perform activity is obtained by FAA. Recreational pilots still fly at night (violating the law) however the they are typically getting wide shots of the city lights as the cameras are even more pixilated at night making detailed photos or video of a distant subject difficult at best.
My only advise for anyone concerned about drones flying over their house is to calmly look for the pilot as they are by law supposed to be in line of sight of the UAV (in close proximity), once you find them ask them what they are doing and have them show you their monitor. Most all pilots will happily spend the time to talk to you and show you exactly what they are doing. I get asked all the time and I will show anyone exactly what am shooting and gladly answer any questions. Also if you feel it is a nuisance you can just simply ask the pilot to avoid your property and 99.9% the pilot will be more than happy to accommodate your request.
End note, helicopters have far better cameras and can truly zoom in with extreme accuracy day or night including FLIR and night vision capabilities. We have satellites that can read the print on a newspaper, 20 year old technology. Please educate yourselves rather than making assumptions as I ensure you most all UAV pilots do not use them for malicious purposes, I am certain there has been a few and there will be more as technology gets better but on the most part UAV pilot are operating with good intentions and are filming or just flying for the fun of it.
Your level-headed and informative comment is refreshing; thank you for sharing all that info with readers. I've landed on this page after googling "how to tell if a drone has a camera" because a neighbour, two doors down, is flying his drone over my property (twice now, most recently yesterday afternoon). It was approx 30 feet above the yard. I saw him operating it the first time, and yesterday he wasn't visible, except to dash out from behind his garage to pick it up when he was finished.
I do believe wholeheartedly that pilots, photographers, and big gadget-loving kids are just having fun/creating art without any malicious intent, or any interest in spying on others. The intent of this neighbour feels very different; he is hovering low over my boat, garage, and undies hanging on the line, which brings me to my next point: reading the comments below, it seems to me 99% of people so scared and feeling invaded by drone activity close by are women (like myself), and any sighted operators are referred to as men. I certainly don't, as a woman living on my own, feel safe just toodling up to my creepy male neighbour and saying, hey, how about showing me what you're doing?
I've rang the non-emergency police number, who referred me to the civil aviation authority as flying over my yard is illegal here. I'm waiting to hear back from them today. Ultimately I'd like someone who is in a position of authority to tell him to keep his drone over his property, in accordance with the law, and if I film him over my yard again that his drone will be seized.
I just wanted to raise these issues because I agree that we need to move beyond the binary "I'm shooting it down next time" "you're ignorant" conversation, which I feel your comment did nicely; I look forward to hearing your thoughts. Also - can you tell me if the camera image from approximately 30 feet above would be quite clear? Thanks!
Reading the thread of comments, I feel there is much fear and anxiety about drones, which is the largest growing technology medium for photographers and videographers. I am a licensed FAA UAV Pilot and feel that perhaps I can calm or hopefully lay to rest some of the concerns that other posters have written. I too was recently approached by the police as my neighbor claimed I was flying against her window and peeping on her. My wife (who is also a pilot) and I laughed and showed the police my flight map log, footage and proved I was never closer than 300 ft. from her house; despite her overly reactive thought of what she believed to be the case, I was actually shooting the sunset. I never at one point faced the camera at her house and I was completely operating within the law. She ended up getting in a little trouble for making false allegations and the police where not happy with her misuse of the 911 system leaving her with a warning.
As far as some of these post I have read, in the USA police do not use drones for surveillance on ordinary citizens (ask your local law enforcement about their policy). Law enforcement including Feds are under very tight privacy laws and they have even more restrictions than the "recreational UAV pilots". If you feel you are being targeted by some clandestine plot to film/record you it would be in your best interest to contact your local FAA district office and your local Police. I would also look into your personal life and see if there are any kids or an ex that plausibly would carry out such extravagant taunting and invasion on privacy? No UAV's shall fly higher than 400 ft. AGL and by descriptions in some post they claim they are being followed from very high altitude. One poster claimed bright lights beamed down on her and that is very unlikely as the UAV's have very restricted weight limitations and the flight time would be greatly reduced. The cameras on the best consumer available models cannot zoom in from 100's of feet away and shoot images or video that would be clear, as there is massive pixilation the further away you shoot from your subject, even with a 5.6k camera there really is no chance of someone "peeping on you unless they are very close to you. Again UAV's that are close to your windows on a regular basis; yes even I would take concern as that is unusual behavior, and would contact authorities if I could not locate pilot to confront them of their intentions.
The laws are very specific, if you shot a UAV down you will be facing serious charges as all UAV's .05 lbs. or bigger must register with the FAA and are issued an official aircraft number to be posted on the UAV. By shooting down an unmanned aircraft you are most likely facing the same charges for shooting a weapon at a regular aircraft, you also most likely be facing discharging a weapon in a urban area, which is another set of charges one would be facing. The FAA has defined airspace as the ground up, so there is no violation of flying above your property or house as long its done in a safe manner and not causing a risk to persons, being flown in a manner that is considered hazardous or a nuisance. Pilots must be 16 years old to fly and all pilots of UAV's must fly in non-restricted airspace unless a licensed pilot receives a FFA waiver to perform their flight with the FAA ahead of time for commercial reasons e.g. real-estate, survey for electrical lines, roof inspection etc. Night flights are prohibited with exception to one hour of twilight window at sunrise and sunset and / or if a waiver to perform activity is obtained by FAA. Recreational pilots still fly at night (violating the law) however the they are typically getting wide shots of the city lights as the cameras are even more pixilated at night making detailed photos or video of a distant subject difficult at best.
My only advise for anyone concerned about drones flying over their house is to calmly look for the pilot as they are by law supposed to be in line of sight of the UAV (in close proximity), once you find them ask them what they are doing and have them show you their monitor. Most all pilots will happily spend the time to talk to you and show you exactly what they are doing. I get asked all the time and I will show anyone exactly what am shooting and gladly answer any questions. Also if you feel it is a nuisance you can just simply ask the pilot to avoid your property and 99.9% the pilot will be more than happy to accommodate your request.
End note, helicopters have far better cameras and can truly zoom in with extreme accuracy day or night including FLIR and night vision capabilities. We have satellites that can read the print on a newspaper, 20 year old technology. Please educate yourselves rather than making assumptions as I ensure you most all UAV pilots do not use them for malicious purposes, I am certain there has been a few and there will be more as technology gets better but on the most part UAV pilot are operating with good intentions and are filming or just flying for the fun of it.
I have this issue now I'm going to talk to him but if that doesn't work I have a 20-12-pelet and most colorful a paintball years that's what iwill do
I am being harassed by more than one drone. They hover over my house, follow me. I feel like my life has been invaded. It's almost like they ha e took control of my mind. The local authorities will do nothing. How can I stop this?
Paint ball guns are non lethal so you can safely have them and can shoot these little paint balls fast and accurately. Set up a target in your backyard and practice. A good one ain't cheap but how much are you willing to put on your privacy. Believe me if you start shooting they'll stop coming.
If I could take it down, knock it out of the sky I would! Then I would dismantle it piece by piece and mail it back to the owner of course minus a few pieces! I hope someone creates a jammer to cut out it power to the engine and it fall out of sky!!
It's been going on with me for a good 3 years now.
I've actually been followed and still do.
When I'm alone on the highway at night the drone will get within 150' at a 45% angle in front my vehicle just to try and intimadate.
I can't say that it may not have a reason but I certainly don't know what for.
I have not lead a perfect life but this is ridiculous.
And I'm living a clean god loving life with kids to take care of.
Maybe I need to take some of the footage I have over the few years of there nonsense to the right person and proceed with legal actions.
Every night for abt the last 3 months when My teenage daughter goes up to get ready for bed a drone appears and hovers almost directly opposite my house. Prior to that I spotted the male who owns the house opposite hiding in his bushy hedgerow facing I. The direction of my property.. What can I do? I don't think this is normal behaviour do you,? am I being paranoid ?
Tennis ball launcher. And if its over my house long enough for me to get it. Yes i will shoot it down.
Love this idea. :)
I been seeing a drone in my neighbors back yard about 40 feet high hovering around and sometimes into my backyard a little and neighbors yards. I been seeing this at night around 8-9 pm and sometimes as late as 11:30 pm. Its been going on for about a month and I just thought its a neighbors kid and there just playing with there toy. But then last night I was headed to the store and saw it hovering over my roof as I was getting into my car and as I drove down the street I saw a truck parked with a person standing outside operating it so there not a child, but a grown man who is not a neighbor. Should I be concerned. Or is there nothing I can do??
I have anywhere from 15-25 drones over my home day and night. The thing is I am more than confident these drones are using technology unknown to the general public. I will give an example: For an entire month, I began to experience sleep pararlysis at 3:15 am, there were vivid and completely unatural dreams along with them. Also, i would be struggling to breathe and was lucid to the point i would faintly call out for help from my family. My child was in the bed with me and had to awaken me,,needless to say it was horrible for a child. Every time I became conscious my instincts immediately carried me to go outside and look in the sky. They were there crowded around my home and blinking lights and making maneuvers. I have videos of them trying to hide behind the trees when i brought out the camera. The video even clearly shows red light flashes directed at me which caused so much pain l had a small seizure. You can see this on the video as well. There is so much more than most are aware of. During the day i have recorded bizarre red light only seen on my camera that flashes and seems to be some form of radiation. I got am emf meter and the numbers jump to very dangerous levels all the time. Now for the part no one will believe, they use voice 2 skull technology on me as well. I am not joking around and I have tons of recordings to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that I am being gang stalked as they call it. I am of sound mind just to let you know because its too hard for the average American to believe people would do these things. Its diffivult for me to conceive, but the video and audio recordings do not lie. Take it or leave it, there are sick evil people using technology to destroy innocent American civilians. I am willing to take this to the highest court and even die to make these things known to everyone. I know its unbelievable, but as ugly as it is, it is the honest truth. I have a wife and children to protect, but what can i do when no one is willing to take it seriously. I even have video of one of these people fleeing my home with his direct energy weapon glowing bright. I first spotted him right outside the window near the smart meter. He was holding this device to his throat and i could hear him loud and clear. Its some sort of gps tracker he uses to watch and communicate desth threats to me every day. The ones doing this are counting on you to believe I am just some insane person, but That is their bread and butter. We, the American people must unite and stop this for our children's sake. If anyone wants to stand up against these criminals, then lets do it. Its up to us to stop this now! I am not afraid to die to end this. If anyone believes me and wants to help contact me. One more thing, they atch every single keystroke and will even disrupt your internet or device if needed. I have had all i am willing to take.
Far out I feel for you, I've been watched and followed by min 3 drones every night for the past 5 months and I know the effect that has had on my daughter and I and even the dogs. Your story is taking it to a whole new level and I do believe you. I'm in Australia and our laws are way behind the US in respect of drones!
Sir, you are a complete MORON if you actually believe what you are saying!! You obviously don't know the difference between science fiction and reality!!
Please, if you have any gas appliances in your home get them checked out NOW, as it sounds like you are suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning!
People like you should not be allowed to breed and I really feel for you children! Having a father and role model that will believe anything you see or read does not bode well for their futures! Honestly, just listen to yourself, you just come across as a lunatic! Do us all a favour and have the snip, we don't need more people like you in this world!
Please tell me your not a firearms owner!!
I do have sympathy for the genuine people that are being harassed, but to all you other WAKOS, I think you should all be sectioned under the mental health act as you are clearly all insane!
Hi! We have had the same problem. Except burglaries are occurring, one of which occurred at our place. We caught the drone flying around about 1AM in the morning. Fly way high up in "hover mode" as soon as the police put their spotlight on it. We live in northern Md. mind if I ask your general location? We feel very violated. And yes, will shoot it down next time!!!!!!!
I had a problem with a neighbor and his toy.. I called an officer friend and he came out.. The toy showed back up obviously watching the situation.. Now, I've got a pellet gun with a scope. The officer told me THAT is perfectly fine to use if it's being a nuisance.. "Abs if you can hit that thing at that altitude with that gun you won't need to call me." I lifted the pellet gun-the toy didn't move-I adjusted for wind and movement and fired. I hit the toy but didn't take it down but it fell about 15 ft and flew awkwardly back over the hill it came from.. I've never seen it since nor has anybody come to my home complaining.. You are allowed to use these type vermin gun devices (BB/pellet guns) legally..at least in my state so check your laws and get a good pellet gun. That will stop it!
I'm shooting it down tonight! I have salt shot and a 12 gauge, and I sick of this creep hovering over my home and barn every night now, 3 in a row! I found where he was operating from (a dry washout next to my 6 acres) and I've set up game cameras. The drone falls tonight! Maybe if more of us shoot these creepers there will be more privacy laws governing "hobbyists" and protecting those of us at our home. We shall see. #downthedrone
I have video of a drone and a man in a tree I have noticed the Drone flying over my house only at night and it seems to have her by the windows I have contemplated getting the rifle and shooting out the sky but thought that would be a little overboard so I'm thinking going with a BB gun to at least let them know im rather sick of it. I cannot report it to the police because the police are in on it I need help what do I do
if yo are being followed it is probably becAUSE YOU ARE A THREAT AND THEY ARE USING SCALAR WAVES T DEACTIVATE YOUR DNA
Well, if you think shooting it out of the sky is madness, how about shooting the IDIOT who is running it? Actually, I have no guns, (never have, never will) so I'd have to choke the life out of him with my bare hands. Bastard. Fireworks are bad enough. Those STUPID drones are a bridge too far.
Woa you need to chill.
Can anyone give me any information on who to contact on harassment in the state of Missouri, I live in the Northern part of Missouri, and an ATF agent and task force agent lives just a few miles away from me and I think he and this agency is stalking me because for over a year all of the things I stated above has been happening to me, and I do nothing illegal and do not know why I am being followed by these drones and why they are doing this to me and it really bothers me that my privacy is being compromised and I am ready to do something about this, it is not fair that law enforcement can spy on a person when they do absolutely nothing wrong and do not engage in any illegal activity what so ever. Please would someone please let me know of how I can start this process and what are the steps in getting my privacy back. It would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
I live in Northern Missouri and for over a year I have noticed two really big satellites and several drones that are constantly right above my house, the drones will fly right above me and will also follow me everywhere I go. On any given night there are around 6 different kinds of drones because they have different colored flashing lights on them, I can walk around my property and they will follow me everywhere I may walk. Some of them have green and red lights with a bright white blinking lights, I have even seen some that are just a bright green halo lights, and some with blue and red lights. I do not know why this is happening or what is going on, sometimes there will be a big bright white light that will shine down and hit my windshield of my car, even when my car is shut off and no lights on at all. I have even seen it just hovering in a field waiting for me to turn down the highway I live down and it just sitting here waiting for me to turn down my road. What is this? Can someone please tell me what is going on? I do nothing wrong and do not know why this is happening to me...Please help me
I Had that Same experience last night. I Go outside 2 smoke cause i noticed i was followed all day 1 was hovering thought it was a star but it was blinking. i go back onto porch 1 fly low directly in front of me wtf???
this has been happening to me for over a year and usually around 6 of them and two really big ones
I've got 5 drones that follow me every day. People think I'm crazy till I take a picture and zoom in showing them. In one picture you can see an operator. I've traveled to different cities and now different states. Right along side the vehicle the drones keep pace. A friend decided to shine a super bright flashlight at the brightest and closest one to my house. It zig zagged and dropped elevation. I was quite surprised and wished all those who didn't believe my "stars" were actually drones. I even had another friend post up while I ran back and forth up the street. They were able to see it follow me at a close range. I'm about ready to call the local military base, Fort Ord, which is "closed" even though there's rumors of an underground military operation, and complain to them. Hee Hee. Every time I see these drones I wave. I feel safer knowing someone or something is watching me and hoping it will all be captured on film. The reason being is due to recent traumatic experiences that could have been stopped if maybe there was an eye in the sky.
I have a question. Is it considered a serious invasion of privacy if a "drone" follows me from my house to my work just about every day and then I don't see it after that?. I don't think it's someone harmlessly flying one around because not many people know where I work. Also, I'm not doing anything illegal so I am really not sure why it keeps following me from 7-7:30 every day that I go to work. Help please! Also, it's too far up in the sky to be a normal drone and I can't hear any noise from it
I think some people are full of crap all together with very little intelligence and a bad temper. I am a drone operator. I had a neighbor come to where I was (open grass area) to tell me to get my drone down from the sky and never fly it again. He argued I was flying my drone with the only purpose of spying on his wrinkled as$. Of course, I refused and he called the police which came shortly to laugh about it. Truth be told, I was flying the drone for at some 300 feet hoovering near his property for maybe 10-15 seconds after take off while I was spinning looking for a main road where I wanted to head out to. I was going to wait for a visitor that was coming hoovering over that main road while telling him where to go from the air. Some of you wacko's are trigger happy and would use any excuse to shot at anything. I do understand there are bad apples in every tree and there has to be a few pervs using drones for other purposes but like the original writer stated, the average joe just wants to fly his new toy and take amazing videos. noone wants to catch an old, fat grease-ball naked.
Exactly! Well said. Problem is the #whinylittlebitch aka trump has everyone stirred up and is giving license to some in our society to use violence to solve issues. Actually there are heavy regs which went into place last month to regulate us pilots.
Letting of a few rounds in an urban neighbourhood is a sure way to get arrested.
Shooting a UAV out of the sky is also illegal and will get you arrested. My UAV is designated an aircraft, has an FAA Tail Number and is afforded all the protections of any registered aircraft, as am I the pilot... you wouldn't shoot at a helicopter passing over your property [or actually some of you might, given the tone of some of these comments]
And to those saying "my airspace" sorry... it isn't YOUR airspace actually unless designated by a NOTAM or indicated on an aeronautical chart as a prohibited area or within 5 miles of an airport... it is OUR airspace - the publics, regulated by the FAA... if challenged they would probably use: United States v. Causby that a farmer in North Carolina could assert property rights up to 83 feet in the air [Supreme Court 1946 - relating to military aircraft flying low over his farm].
Just like in many instances owning a piece of land does not necessarily mean you also own the rights to the minerals beneath it.
Actually people do own the mineral rights on their property. There really is no reason for you people to be flying drones over peoples houses. If someone disables your drone when it's flying low over their property they have every right to do it. The only reason to fly over somebody's house is to spy or to case for a robbery. So screw you and your drone. If your drone is on my property I'm taking it down and then I'm going to destroy it. No, I will not allow you on the property to retrieve it. You can call the police to come get it.
Personally from reading this thread has given me a lot more info on an already well investigated issue for me. Those that seem to stand behind the so said it's against the law to shoot an aircraft from the sky" as their reasoning to make it ok in their head to fly over and around private properties regardless of your intentions!!!! To me a drone is not your typical "aircraft" and if it can be shot by someone then you are too close and deserve it as far as I'm concerned. Have some respect for others and their own space or how far do we push the line? Till it's at the point of people being able to walk in your home and video you with no punishment? May as well as with a lot of drones their cameras can see that well even from a distance. All drones should be registered and licence required to fly them regardless of size, the potential for hurting people is unlimited with these things!!
Maybe those hiding behind that law are the cowardly people who need a law to hide behind because the wrong things they are doing there is no specific hard and fast rule or law!!
Yea, he/she should should go fight in and for their own country and freedom the way five generations have in my family instead of criticizing and freeloading off of Americans through immigration and enjoying the spoils they did not earn and that is why they do not understand and appreciate the right to privacy.
There is problems out there I am experiencing same thing it's not the drone its the people behind it there apps out there that does all kinds of things I will put it on when I get a chance or punch in mfineman.cc.rr.com the list of names will be imformation punch in name and read each one app for tv I phone and tracking device
WOW... listen to much of #whinylittlebitch trump do ya?
Pathetic... are you native american???
No, didn't think so... so shut the f up and stop being a hypocrite... your 5 generations STOLE this country from the rightful citizens - your generations were terrorists brah!!!
Jan Baker - search online for the drone protection that scrambles the camera once it comes into the zone you set. Then throw something over it, capture it, disable it from flying - have to research how to do that, then change the frequency, scratch out the serial number, then sell it on e-bay as one of the other posters suggest. If you don't want to hassle with the resell, just get the camera scramble, capture it and destroy it.
wow dude. so if somebody just is flying their drone past above your house and it happens to get scrambled by your gadget, they lose their drone? chances are itll crash. youre not important, nobody wants to spy on you
If you don't want your drone trashed or stolen don't "just happen" to have it fly over people's property. Fly itin public places.
If it's on my property and I can get it down, like the other user, I got myself a new drone. I will make a hobby of collecting them as well as using any drone protection available. I have worked hard all of my life and am entitled to the peace, quiet, and privacy that I have worked so hard for. Those things are coming down one way or another.
Dave, has no idea what you're talking about. These things are a real problem. Tonight one was spying on us through our bedroom windows while we weren't clothed, and when we called the police they came over and said there's nothing they can do about it. My wife is freaked out that they are casing our house for when I'm not home. So what should I do, stay positive and cheery? They are getting cheaper and better by the year, and the cameras are now HD. Some creep in our neighborhood now has footage on his hard drive of us naked.
The worst part is that this will only get worse as drones get cheaper.
I pay a lot a $$ to belong to a golf club. So sue me. I worked very hard my entire working life (since the age of 14) and comfortably retired at age 63. All I want to do is love God, love my neighbor, mind my own business and enjoy 3-4 hours of golf with friends who are still alive and/or not fighting a life-threatening disease. Today, as I approached the 17th green, my husband asked me "what's that noise?". I immediately answered "it's a weed-wacker". Except there was no one around doing yard work and the noise was getting louder and closer. I looked up. There was a drone hovering over me. I didn't know if I was about to get shot, bombed, photographed or harmed in any way. These things make enough of a noise that you cannot ignore them especially when you're attempting to focus on a task such as hitting a golf ball. Of course I miffed the shot and as soon as I did the drone swept off. What WILL I do? I get not shooting them out of the sky with a gun and out of respect for the 2nd Amendment I will not do that regardless of the invasion. However, I have asked for a CO2 Beretta90two Air Pistol for Christmas in hopes of blasting that MFer out of air space the next time Mr. or Ms. Ihaverights decides to interrupt a golf game that I have paid dearly for. It is beyond my comprehension that our government is allowing ordinary people to own these without any knowledge or commitment to safety and respect. If one ever causes harm to any member of my family I will make every attempt to find the owner and I won't be carrying an f'in glorified bb gun.
EXACTLY!!!! Next time you're on the golf course either shoot it down with the BB gun or whack it with your golf club, then destroy the thing .That drone operator was intentionally spying on you. Let the whiny MF call the cops. You were defending yourself .
SO... the noise of a weedwacker OK... same noise from a "drone" - shoot it out of the sky.
First... my advice... DO NOT carry your pea shooter to the golf course or out in public... with the state of hysteria in this country you are liable to have a cop shoot you. (Are you black? then definitely don't carry) AND unless you are Annie Oakley it will be next to impossible to shoot it down with a BB.
Secondly... Your paranoia is totally unreasonable "I didn't know if I was about to get shot, bombed, photographed or harmed in any way." - unless of course you believe all the hype from the #whinylittlebitch [trump and republicans et al]
These "drones" have wide angle cameras on them, once 100+ feet up in the air it is almost impossible to distinguish WHO you are... let alone make out features like genitalia etc (for an earlier poster complaining about a "drone" spying through his bedroom window... which I find highly suspect - extremely hard to fly at night - light gathering qualities of these cameras is not able to see at night - yes hypothetically you could retrofit with night vision optics - rather a stupid argument so don't go there)
Just as in the gun argument that you republicans seem to hold up as the gold standard... "it ain't guns thats kill people it's people that kill people" - using your logic - (which I subscribe to however) don't condemn "drones" - prosecute those FEW pilots that fly irresponsibly - and yes... if I were playing a round a UAV hovered near me I would be damn upset also... so I get your anger and frustration.
RC (Remote Control) aircraft including RC Helicopters have been around for decades...
A "drone" is just that, a remote controlled aircraft.
The govt does in fact require that you pass a simple test (on safety and regs) before issuing an amateur pilot license for "drones" over .5lb (which accounts for the more sophisticated aircraft like the DJI Phantoms that can fly miles away from the operator)
Three of the restrictions in the regs are:
Do not fly over people
Do not fly at night
Fly within Line Of Sight (which means you would be able to see the operator and confront him/her)
The problem is not everyone is responsible. A lot of people are using these things to harass and spy on people. If I have one flying close to me I will take it out of the air immediately and smash it. The propellers could cause significant damage and I would have no intention of paying for the ruined drone.There has been a case where some stupid 18 year old attached a gun to one and was firing it out in the woods. Another problem is that they are not free from crashes and broken propellers. I would not care to have one crash into my car when I am driving. I just read a review on one on Best Buy's site and the first review was from a young man who said it does all the regular things very well, taking pictures and spying on the hotty next door. This is considered normal? So, yes if one is flying lower than the tallest tree in my yard I will take it out with a frozen paint ball.
Today I was having a nap, in my underwear because sue me, its more comfortable when an annoying buzzing sound woke me up. I looked out the window and didn't see anything so I lay back down. Only when the buzzing got too loud to ignore did I sit up again only to see a drone with a camera hovering outside my window, and then move along slowly to look in all the other top floor windows. In a University halls of residence. I felt sick
If a drone was hovering over my property I would get my transmitter out and try to hijack that rascal. If it worked I would enjoy my new drone!
Sorry... RC and bird paired.
Well if it's a neighborhood the folks with the drone should take it to the neighborhood park to play with and not over private property, I say yea anyone who fly's drones over private property should have to suffer the consequences of not to smart a decision if it get shot out of the sky, too bad........
Like so many other things, it is the person using the drone, not the drone that is the problem. "The masses are asses" rings so true so many times. If the FAA says drones are not allowed to fly over 400 feet, then the software built into the drones should limit them to that altitude. There was a report of one flying close to a passenger jet at 700 feet! I think the public will get their fill of these idiots flying their drones too close to people or houses and there will be many more reports of damaged drones. I think drones have some commercial use, such as in aerial photography, inspections of structures that can not be inspected in other ways, etc. But selling them to the public in general and really having no control over their use is asking for problems.
Have you heard about the jerk in Connecticut who posted a You Tube video of a drone with a 9 mm handgun mounted on it and it was able to fire, remotely! Fortunately, they found the idiot and now he's in trouble with the FAA, Alcohol-Tobacco-Firearms, and local law enforcement. I hope they can find something to charge him with, (besides being a number one ahole) and put him in prison for a time. Yes I hate drones.
Thank you for a rational rebuttal.
You are so right.
The only point I would make is that these are just more sophisticated RC aircraft... and the RC enthusiasts have been around for decades... It does take a high degree of skill to operate a traditional RC model than a present day "drone" and so many more are in the hands of unskilled pilots and as you point out "A-holes"
Your point about the "darwin award recipient" is well taken and I fully endorse prosecution to set an example for other idiots who are ruining it for the rest of us.
I use my UAS as an airborne camera platform for my photography and more importantly as a tool for my mapping business, where I map a farmer/rancher's property to evaluate crop health, drought tolerance etc. But I FULLY support the responsible recreational use of these amazing machines.
When I hear someone say "if is see a drone flying over my property I'm gonna shoot it out of the sky"... really just __flying over___ I can understand if it were hovering low over your property... but __flying over__ on the way to another destination ???
And lastly... the more sophisticated "drones" like the phantoms that can fly miles away from the operator - are regulated by the FAA... for recreational use you have to pass a simple test on safety and regs - any violation of which can be heavily fined... and if Commercial such as myself - the test is pretty rigorous involving 60 questions from the Pilots Exam - Enforcement is however another matter.
Does the writer honestly think that "the average Joe or Josephine who spent a week's wages on a drone in order to fly it as a hobby is unlikely to be spying on his or her neighbors" obviates concerns about the use of these idiotic toys for nefarious purposes, such as perving and casing houses for later robbery? it's been happening quite regularly, and shoot-down incidents are growing, despite the shooters ending up arrested for violating local ordinances concerning discharge of firearms within city limits. The FAA needs to step up and do something about this, or local authorities need to step in, an soon.
We found a drone in our horse pasture today and we are in the middle of nowhere in western ny it is invasion of privacy this is crazy
Hovering over someone when they are out in the open trying to accomplish something (hitting a golf ball, riding a horse, practicing for a track & field event) is just plain annoying and can be dangerous (horses don't like drones). Just because someone's intention are not covert doesn't mean their actions don't produce consequences. I believe the government KNOWS the average gun owner with a low tolerance for such shenanigans will get fed up and grab their shotgun. Bad move. Bad, bad, move. And there they have their argument against the 2nd Amendment.
I agree, it is so annoying when you are using your drone and get interrupted by people riding a horse or practicing track and field.
There is a hobby shop a less than a block away from me that sells drones...one day last week I caught one looking in all my windows. It was definitely going from window to window, not just flying over the property. I feel very violated by this...unfortunately I work a longer shift than the shop is open. My next day off I plan to go in and complain. I doubt they will be able to do anything, or even admit to owning or selling the drone in question. Definitely feeling the need for some concrete legislation for drones, and fast. For now I am hunting for a solution about what to do the next time it sows up...
I know there are people that would do it as a hobby and it pretty cool, I get that. But if it hovers over my property they are invading my privacy. Why is there a question about legal rights here? If a creeper looks over the fence they are a "peeping tom" and I have rights to protect myself and if they do it more then once then they are "stalking". We should have the right to take it out of the sky. As far as cameras I don't care if it has one or not. If it is around my yard and my neighbor is NOT laughing and screaming "Watch out it a UFO" (so I know its him and he is messing around) then watch out I will do what I have to neutralize the problem.
Saw one last night hovering over my deck, pointed at my bedroom window while I was in bed watching tv. I thought it was a plane in the distance, but it was in front of the trees! I heard the buzzing, whirring of the engine, I got up to go investigate and it took off. It was 10 pm after sunset and only 10 feet over my deck! Very close! Could not see if it had a camera. What a creepy feeling! I want to know how to report this!
Feeling leery on Lopez Island Washington
ii feel these should be destroyed! i have nothing to hide it just infuriates me
I don't know what they are really looking at hovering over my house. The noise isn't too annoying. I have two dogs and a fire pit outside. I don't really mind it because you can see the same thing on Google maps. But if its at my window looking in, that's when there will be a problem.
Just had one fly over my yard and very close to my house, 2-3 min and a camera on board. When I was a kid you could not fly RC planes in the local park. How come we allow this?
Aircraft have registration or N numbers visible to the eye and have a mandated minimum safe altitude. Drones should also have easily visible numbers and minimum legal altitude AND a minimum proximity to private dwellings so private citizens may report violations and file charges.
Yes because people who are willing to peep in your windows using a drone would of course follow understand and follow by rules and regulations otherwise!!
When the drone is hovering over your swimming pool with your 20 year old daughters in it and you go look to see who is controlling it and see it's the Sheriff, I'm sorry to say, I wanted to get the shotgun and blast it out of the sky!
If it was making bothersome noise as it hovered...with a tiny camera. I would smile, wave, and give it landing directions (as I did in the military) using hand signals to land on my property. Once it landed. I would attempt to capture it, and hope the owner used GPS to find ME..holding the DRONE with a warning.
Let everyone GUESS what that warning would be as I awaited the police?
I see it as an invasion of my privacy. So, our Constitution would be in effect.
Giving hand signals isn't going to make them land their drone!
Be mindful that a drone is considered by the FAA to be an aircraft. Shooting at an aircraft is a federal offense.
Horse manure, Dave!
Actually Dave is correct.
I would also like to comment here.
I am an experienced UAS pilot... flying one of these is not hard, -in the open with no obstacles and no breeze- ADD trees, a fence, a building, night time and the expertise needed to fly one is exponential... I do not want to call anyone out... (and consequently deal with all the flames... no doubt will get anyway) but to pilot my "drone" from my yard avoiding trees, fences, electrical wires etc to get up next to your bedroom window - at night with no vision (except the highlight of windows etc) - well I doubt even I could do this with all my experience... hysteria and making up stories to make a point is ruining this country... thank god it will settle down after Nov (hopefully).
My highly creepy neighbor across the street has a drone and has been hovering it over my back yard and over other the neighbor's yards even further behind me. I am certain that he loses sight of it being so far away.
As a woman, I find this very offensive and personally violating. I have read the prior comments about shooting it down and it sounds tempting (I am a dead eye shot anyway). I have not confronted him, but that will be my next step. I don't suppose contacting the police would do me any good.
If I could I would shoot it down and the operator. Organized stalkers are using these drones. Especially when losing sight of the targeted individual. Also, as a harassment tactic with the lights and noise. Report every time there is a sighting on the various sites. Don't bother with the police, probably friends. They are cowards with flunkees.
I live on 10 acres, with my house in the dead center. If a drone is hovering over my house, I would appreciate its presence as much as I would appreciate the presence of a peeping tom looking in one of my windows. It doesn't belong there, and I am justified in whatever action I wish to take. If it is close enough to get taken down by birdshot, it's far too close. It has no reason to be there and it's a pretty clear invasion of privacy in my opinion.
Sorry if anyone thinks I'm a tough talking cowboy, but it's my property and they don't belong there. I have no trespassing signs for a reason, and the fact that the unwanted presence is airborne doesn't mean that that warning is not applicable to them.
I'm not looking for any reason to start shooting at stuff, but just like anyone else caught trespassing on my property, they might not get shot at, but they sure as hell aren't going to get a warm reception.
I'd send up my super-drone-catcher (it has a large, garage-door opening on one side,) and I'd suck it up into the drone sucker, take it back to my base, retrieve it, change the radio frequency and sell it on ebay. Why blow it out of the sky when I could resell it for hard currency? Do you have a drone problem? Call "Checkmate Drone Recovery," and we'll take care of that little problem for free! :)
No onenis spying on you, you're a fat worthless ugly white trash moron. Get over yourself and your unwarranted depressed self importance. No one cares about you At all. Stop trying to front just to run from your miserable life and feel special.
Love all the raging keyboard warrior losers, you don't even have a gun, the courts took that priviledge away from you when you were deemed a retard and for good reason. Shooting up into the air in a residential area is stupid, gets people hurt, and makes those people pressure the government to make yet even more strict gun control. Based on these comments maybe it's time for most of you raging miserable pansies to become an heros and just suck start shotgun since people like that are of no use to anybody.
Not to mention acting like a tough guy like that makes you a threat and when someone shoots you dead don't go crying because you gave them legal right too.
It seems pretty obvious you are the retard . Send your drone over my property and I guarantee you I will destroy it .
My husband goes out of town a lot and the neighbor down the road flies one in our backyard while we're eating dinner. Sometimes it lands in our driveway. It's the size of a chair. I worry he's checking to see if my husband's truck is home. What do you suggest I do?
To everyone who said they would shoot it down, I'll happily bring my drone over and fly over your property. I doubt any of you would back up those words with actions. Plus I only use the camera, if not filming for scenic shots, as a First Person View for accurate flying.
Don't you count on that Tommy. I will take your drone down and destroy it. Once I get it out of the sky and it's on my property As far as I'm concerned it becomes my property and I will do whatever I want with it .
I would thoroughly enjoy that Kristin! Not only would you be financially responsible for the damages, you would also be charged with a felony for "malicious destruction of property over $250." I think you might enjoy your time in jail.
I came hope in Dec two years ago. My daughter and I were looking at the stars and she said " Mom what the heck is that? I looked up and there was a picnic sized flying object the size of a large picnic table hovering about 20 ft above our house. I said I don't know but we d better get inside. It really freaked us out, because of the size. It had four greenish lights on each corner. It flew away SOOO fast. Afterwards we realized it was silent the entire time. Last night my husband and I were in the hot tub looking up at the stars and I thought I saw an owl flyi g over head and we both realized it was a small drone. I don't care for the fact that the privacy of our home is being invaded. The first time was bad enough it twice? Makes me really creeped out.
I want to know how they can "legally" (of course, nowadays, laws don't mean squat!) SPY on neighbors? It's not that I feel "the airway over my property belongs to me" but the privacy invasion does! I have a sheriff neighbor who is a royal asshat...I caught him in my backyard (without my permission) climbing all over my fence and running through my yard...claimed he was looking for his daughter's RC chopper. "Get outta my yard!" I don't even go into my neighbor's yard without permission to retrieve my dog's ball! Now because we are having construction done on the back of our house, he wants to "spy on us to see what we are doing"! It's wrong...it's offensive...and if it continues, YES I will purchase a BB gun and have some target practice with it. You are so right, too, they are NOT silent! It's an invasion of MY privacy, I don't give a care that "it's fun"...fly them WITHOUT cameras then if it's just "for fun"!
I say, EMF pulse and charge criminal trespass and peeping tom if appropriate.
If I felt that the drone was being intrusive, I would put my Electrical Engineering degree to good work and build an RF Jammer. Just needs to be on long enough for the drone to crash, at which point I'll just scavenge it for parts. If the owner of the drone comes looking for it and wonders why it's in pieces, I'll just say a fox got to it (drones look like chickens, right?).
But if the RC has a camera....they are going to know you "dissected" it. LoL
No....not if you get the camera scrambler. I can't recall the name but there is now drone protection technology that will scramble the ability for the video to record so you can do what ever you need to do (within safe means) to protect your privacy, e.g. down that thing and destroy or resell it.
Sorry... no good.
If my UAS looses signal with the RC she simply ascends to RTH (Return To Home) altitude and comes home. But good try.
My response has been, and continues to be, pulling out my compound bow & modified "flu-flu" arrows. I don't care who controls or "owns" it. If you intrude into my airspace, it belongs to me. You have just given me an unsolicited gift, so I am under NO obligation to return it. The nice thing about my method is that it's MUCH safer than using a firearm. The fact that it's also completely silent goes a long way in avoiding questions from nosy neighbors and/or law enforcement. At one time, I would post these "gifts" for sale on CraigsList, but people starting coming forward with all these "demands to return misappropriated or stolen property". Now, I immediately and completely destroy them unless I believe they are "government owned". In those cases I carefully disassemble them and bury the pieces all over my land along with the thousands of pieces of scrap metal I previously buried all over my land. I wouldn't want to be convicted of the heinous crime of "destroying government property", so they're all still out there if "they" decide they want them back. Even though they are being used to illegally spy on American citizens we're expected not to do anything about them?! Really? If so, this is NOT the country I risked my life and became fully disabled for. I am a disabled veteran and when I volunteered it was to help defend & protect the Constitution of the United States of America. That oath doesn't end, ever. Even though we're no longer "America, the land of the Free", to the rest of the world. We are the Korporate States of Amerika, now. All Hail The Prophet - PROFIT! ZIEG DOLLARS!
Remember our new korporate motto: I've got mine, you're on your own
i would shoot down just because it would be fun to do, or get a high pressure nozzle and go after it. probably belongs to a rich kid and I never liked rich kids ,so if I could ruin their day all the better.
That's a GREAT idea!!!!
The problem "bug" I have doesn't belong to a "rich kid", just a deputy dog that thinks because he wears a badge, he's above the law and wants to spy on his neighbors!
Ok, given that today five drones were reported flying over strategic targets in Paris (including the US Embassy) http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/24/europe/france-drones/index.html, what would YOU do???
So Mr Parrack, what would you suggest when someone hovers a drone at 15-20 above your back yard for 1/2 hour, you can see a camera on it, and it is interfering with your quiet enjoyment of your property ?
In my case, i was in my pool and later laying on a lounge chair in my fenced back yard when this happened. I could see theyhad a camera and I tried to get their attention and wave them away, they backed up momentarily, then came right back. I finally picked up a pretty good sized rock and acted like i was going to throw it and they buzzed away. Later i saw them picking it up out of a neighbors yard, and i warned them next time i would use the rock or a slingshot, or and there would be NO warning. Haven't had any more problems...
Was it kids?
I have an issue with an ADULT (well, he's grown...not acting like an adult).
dude you idiot drones are a fun hobby the guy probably wasn't spying on you he was probably just playing with it the reason it saw you was because you waved at it and you attracted attention he was probably just trying to find a place to fly.
Shoot it down
I first noticed a drone this past September 2014 at 3 AM directly in front of my window. After glancing up thinking the North star was exceptionally bright tonight, went to the barn to check on stock since coyotes have been digging into the barn to get chickens. When I returned it occurred to me, that is EAST, not the north star. Thinking of the possibilities, it was either an alien spacecraft, a drone or Jesus was being reborn in my neighbor's barn. Decided it was a drone. Went in to get my binoculars then sat on the patio observing it till time to go check for coyotes again. Interesting that it could sit motionless in the air except for revolving lights on top. Another interesting thing happened. On the left side of the 'thing', it twice expelled a vapor looking like smoke downward, visible for only 5 seconds till it dissipated. It then moved to the right, It then expelled one vapor on the right side which stopped it. Not exactly a high tech method of controlling forward momentum or stopping.
I'm at 3,000 feet, the drone, at approximatly. 5,000 feet. Every night it travels there from the east and parks. It remains motionless until almost daylight then travels back to the east from where it came. Tonight, I saw several from my window, went outside and counted 10 directly over my home. They're too large and flying too high to be an independently owned toy. I live out in the country on a farm in Nebraska. Farms here are large, tracts of 60 to hundreds of acres. Why the influx of more of them tonight is interesting, Did the original see me 'flip the bird' at it the night before so it brought in reinforcements?
I'm not ET, there's no power in that finger.
What would YOU do?
The fact of the matter is, that it is an invasion of privacy when someone uses a drone to peer in someones home. I know someone this has been happening to and they are getting ready to move because of it. Nobody has any business what so ever peeking into someones private home and listening in on conversations taking place in that home. My friend is so paranoid right now about the whole situation. Most people he tells thinks he is crazy. What will it take before our government passes a law naming it what it really is, and that would be harassment. That is exactly what is. No more, no less unless it is law enforcement tracking a criminal. My friend is not a criminal, but the person spying on my friend is. Some people are not mentally able to handle something like this. Does someone have to get hurt before something is done about it????
Your friend needs to try the frozen paintball trick. It's legal.
Your friend needs to try the frozen paintball trick. It's legal.
I live out in the country and if i saw a drone flying over my house i would grab my 12ga shotgun or ar15 and i would seriously consider shooting it down if i didn't know who was flying it. If i see that it has a camera mounted to it i will shoot it down. Out here in the country drones are rare and most of the time someone is using it to spy on or simply bother someone. I don't like people spying on me. Im ok if someone politely asks me if they can fly their drone or other rc aircraft for fun over my property and i would probably let them, but if i didn't know who was flying it and if i can't see who is flying the drone over my house then i would take action against it.
I think the repsonse to this question is really going to depend on locale. For me, one of the gun loving Americans that you seem to look down your nose at, it's going to depend on a variety of factors. Mainly, how high is it flying. If it's just flying over my property and moving along, and it's well above my house, then no problem. If it's down at a level where it can view into my home and potentially take pictures/video of any women or children and it's hovering around and not just passing through, I'm probably going to take it out. I live out in a very rural area, there's no logical reason for it to be hovering in my yard and I would remove it, as would the police officer that lives down the road from me said he woud do. But, again, even though there's no rational reason for one to even be above my property, I'd ignore it if it was high and just flying over.
Thank you... another reasonable rational response.
I'd try and get a closer look at it and scope out my neighbors to see if one of them are operating it. If I were able to determine it was sporting a camera, well then, I'd probably play a little target practice. What I would use would depend on 2 things; my mood and how high it was. A bb gun may be the more appropriate tool if it were close enough, if it were to high, I'd have to take a chance on something a bit more powerful. :D
My neighbor has a camera equipped drone that he's been flying over our homes intrusively. In fact we could watch him spin the camera in our direction. It was extremely intrusive. So we flipped him the bird and he would take off only to return...and he continued.
Next it was a paint ball gun with frozen balls. It worked!
I have a question can anybody tell me what are t choices if I know I'm been spy by drones ?
Had it happen. Neighbor flew it over our farm. Let it go till he started hovering it over me and my animals.
Called him and confirmed it was his and he was operating it. Told him it was not welcome. Sent certified letter stating no trespassing with it. Also told he did not have permission to tape our property or post any on social media.
Reminded him harassing animals with it was violating animal control codes. Interfering with private hunting on property was a violation. Taping was violation of privacy. Further trespassing was a criminal
I had to call our county Attorney General to see what could be done as it was something the deputies were not familiar with.
Sounds like everyone that would shoot it down thinks a little too highly of themselves. Unless you're a career criminal or terrorist, you most likely are not being watched. I never understood how people will destroy anothers property without having second thoughts. If you feel threatened call the police, it is what they're there for. By the way i own guns and believe whole heartedly that most people should own one.
"Unless you're a career criminal or terrorist"? What about if you are just minding your own business, LAW ABIDING citizen...sitting out on your patio, and here comes one buzzzzzzzzz.....WITH a camera. It's obvious you've not encountered one. It's intrusive, an invasion of privacy.
If it's just for fun...why do they need a camera and hover it over neighbor's backyards?
It's not that people think highly of themselves Dan. You don't have the right to fly your drone around somebody's house. What if it crashes and hurts somebody? You can protect your drone By flying it in public areas. I would use the frozen paintballs to take your drone out myself instead of using a firearm . In my opinion if it's on my property it belongs to me and I will take it .
I can probably get a better view of someone's house from Google than I can from my drone. And besides, there are way more interesting places to fly than over some guys house BBQ'ing. If I want to see awesome stuff, I leave town.
An individual's property has the right to be viewed from common areas, the road, sidewalk, etc. people place fences around their yard to reduce that view from public. A drone with a camera is an intrusion to that privacy. It's true that not all drones have cameras, but many if not most do. My drone does have a camera. If one feels the need to fly a drone over another's property, that to me is an intrusion of privacy. If their own property is small, I would suggest purchasing a smaller drone to practice their flying skills. If the drone flys into my property and crashes I would consider it lost and wait on the owner to ask for it. Otherwise, I believe the drone is fair game.
Can I launch my own drone to interdict? If a collision between two drones happens above my own property, one of the drones being mine, is the other persons drone considered a trespassing drone?
Whose property insurance is liable for the damage? Do I need to post a "No Drones" sign?
respect my space above and around and ill do the same if you dont you need to learn some
You can't half tell this is an American site. Your gun culture is sick.
It's really easy to say cute things like, "your gun culture is sick" by people who wouldn't survive 5 minutes here on their own. Don't like it? We DON'T BLOODY CARE WHAT YOU THINK! That's EXACTLY why we kicked the British out.
The common law distinguishes between two different types of airspace. The lower and Upper stratum.
The lower stratum is concerned with the portion immediately above the land and interference with this air space would effect the landowner's reasonable enjoyment of the land and the structures upon it.
Wrongful intrusions include; Overhanging branches of a neighbours trees and plants or projecting eaves or advertising signs and Booms of cranes being used for construction work on neighbouring land.
The Higher Stratum is something which exists above the height which is reasonably acceptable and necessary for the ordinary use and enjoyment of the land by it's owner. The landowner has no greater rights to this airspace than any other member of the public.
S. 76 Civil Aviation Act 1982 states that 'the lower stratum is unlikely to extend beyond an altitude of much more than 500 or 1,000 feet above roof level, this being roughly the minimum permissible distance for normal overflying by any aircraft' (Rules of the Air Regulations 2007, Sch 1, s. 3(5)).
S. 76 Civil Aviation Act 1982
In the UK - right?
In the US I believe they will probably settle on 500ft...
Though a previous case some decades ago mentioned 84ft...
In essence however ALL the airspace from grass to heavens above US territory is governed by the FAA.
If it's over my property, I grab a net and trampoline, and it's mine now. :D
Your approach is either leading, that is, looking for a reaction, or biased. People have a certain right and expectation of privacy. When someone is trespassing, the thing to do is find out what they want, and if there is no good reason to detain them, send them off. When a drone is intruding, it is not a person. It really doesn't matter whose drone it is, or why it is there. If it doesn't belong above your property, get rid of it. Shooting it down is a good response. At higher altitudes, it would be hard for most people to hit one anyway, but if it is low enough to hit with a bullet, or as has been suggested, a blast from a shotgun, it is - or should be fair game. If you later want to find out whose drone it is and press charges, that would be a good way to follow up.
Just take it for your own.
First of all, I would like first say that I am educated American. That being said, I am also a "Redneck".
The educated part of me says to first discover the nature of the UFO, then find the owner. And maybe or maybe not return it. E-bay might offer a few dollars for a slightly damaged UFO.
However, the other part of me would like to go on offence on this intrusion of my property.
This is a matter that shall be decided in the moments after I see the UFO, whether or not to take this as intrusion from Mars, or a dumb prankster with no idea how good my skills are with a RC battle copter.
Long Live the Book King
I especially love the RPG comment, thank you for making my day.
OK, what do we mean by a drone? A small slow low-flying hobbyist quadcopter or a big high flying police or military device. I suspect few of us would tangle with the latter (and probably unsuccessful & illegal anyway) so let's think about the hobbyist device. Someone has chosen to invade my privacy. What if the same person chose to hide a camera in my house or across the street looking into my bedroom? What if its a burglar checking out who's at home, what doors or windows are open, what rooms are occupied, what security is in place? What if its a rapist stalking my daughter to establish her routines and find a good time to attack?
I'm not happy to accept those risks and, had I the means, would consider hostile action to be an appropriate response.
Maybe it is just a kid playing about - but as the individual being spied on I have no idea who is in control or what their motives might be.
Take a selfie with the drone, then shoot it down.
I will take out my Gun and shoot it down.
I love all of the people saying they'd shoot it down. If you do, *YOU'RE* the one going to jail, not the pilot. /facepalm
If you're gonna shoot a drone,, you gonna have a rough time. Especially if you try to shoot down this one
\After all, the airspace above your property surely belongs to you\ Is it so. then can we shoot airplanes flying over our airspace. Drone is visible so all can shoot it. suppose some guy out from Mars is spying us without our knowledge what can we do.
Didn't belive in destroying that kinda technical stuff, rather would love to see a Drone flying over my plot, that would be great, but it has to be on my terms.
Bring it down someway, modify it and again relaunch it.
And if the damn thing refuses to get modified, use it for spares.
I'd like to check it for WiFi signals with my tablet, look at it with my binoculars, and take a picture of it.
I can entertain the idea of launching an RC helicopter of my own as air defense... or using a batarang.
The air fleet of my imagination would be well equipped and ready, but I'd want to try other methods than bullets.
I'm honored that you didn't question the batarang.
No need to run for the gun, it is closer then that...calmly shoot it down & remove all camera & gps locators for destruction. Then destroy & remove all evidence . What drone?
The Great North Road by Peter F Hamilton, they have stealth drones that follow you about.
I imagine most drones would be at an altitude that would make it difficult, if not impossible, to shoot down with a shotgun. Besides, it's against the law to discharge a firearm within the city limits (in my town). I think it would be great fun to use a tunable remote control, find the correct frequency, and then take control of it (which would probably result in a crash).
I live in a No Fly Drone Zone. https://www.mapbox.com/drone/no-fly/?embed=true#5/45.890/-64.292 If it didn't delever an Amazon package I'd call the FAA. Then the police and Sheriff to let them know the Feds have been notified. The Id' sit back and watch the fun. There are other actions that can be taken, but would probably result in an interference with law enforcement charge.
Dear Mr. Parrack, In answer to your first question, it doesn't make any difference, its an FAA "No Drone Zone". If it's the police or feds, they'll know they've been spotted and may leave. If it's not the police or feds, then the answer to your second question is, "Yeah, right!". I hope I got my spelling and punctuation correct this time.
Have a little bit of fun with it.
First, have some object in your backyard that either looks perfectly normal (like a patio table, or a doghouse, or a large hole) or nefarious (dead body, pile of bloody tools, or nuclear warhead). Next, step outside casually, look around, enjoying the blue sky and then suddenly notice the drone and then quickly run inside. Run back out in a panic with a tarp and quickly cover the aforementioned object. Then look up at the drone and smile and wave as innocently as possible, as though they didn't just see you cover up something very interesting.
Bonus points if the object is flat enough and you write in big letters on the tarp "I HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE :)"
As Dave says... Brilliant.
And as an after thought... this would probably happen:
The "drone" pilot would call it in thinking he was some big hero... the police would arrive, the pilot would probably be on the street to witness his heroism...
The police would then find it to be a hoax and could charge the pilot with filing a false police report....
I would hunt down the person and suggest that we mess with people by attaching one of those old ufo frisbee from like 2000 and see how many people freak out about it,
Do not live in a rural area.....so the bird shot is reserved for the proverbial Jihadist trying to break into my home in the wee hours (hey it's dark... how do I know they were not Jihadist?). I'd opt for BB Gun, Hose, or if it truly was problematic I would purchase my own and launch a counter strike with a light chain attached or go ala Kamakazi drone on it.
Air rifle or slingshot so as not to cause too much damage then straight to ebay.
Capture it somehow without damaging it (with a net, a tarp, I don't know).
Then let the owner come and ask nicely for it. If not, then I have a new drone.
No, I'm not american (I'm from Venezuela). What gave me away?
I really, really don't care. Maybe someone with a camera sees me doing something that a human being does in their own home. Probably using a computer in my underwear while petting a cat. I'm not interesting to look at and I'm not doing interesting things. I suspect that whomever serveils me would very quickly be bored out of their skull.
Further, I don't believe I have any territorial claim to the airspace above my home and I strongly dislike firearms, so I suppose that if I did have strenuous objections, I'd limit my protest to closing my blinds and/or trying to flash the thing with a laser pointer.
I would shoot it down, but then I might get in trouble with the government. Something about "wanton, willful and unprovoked destruction of governemnt property."
If the government owns it, and they have no search warrant. You have a very nice federal civil rights lawsuit you will win.
shoot it down
I'd tie a good inspiring banner to it and let it fly again! ;)
Seriously? What else are these for if not for spying? I found this article in a Google search after catching a drone hovering right outside my 3rd floor apartment window, with its camera pointed my direction. Get real. You can call it "gun toting" if you want, but people are fed up with lawyers saying they have no reasonable expectation of privacy and geeks who believe they have every right to violate it. Enough is enough. If I see it around my window again, I will blast it out of the sky. I hope you drone lovers are in for a serious reality check soon when heavy regulations are imposed on them.
Great target practice.
UK gun ownership is so heavily controlled I'd have to resort to an alternative. How about my longbow just for the joy of 21st century high-tech being defeated by something that's been around for thousands of years.
I'm in US but I definitely second the bow. A nice broadhead would take it down fairly easily I'd imagine.
You just made me regret selling my compound bow. Flinging some arrows at a drone sounds like a great time!
Not to mention the hundreds of wayward arrows sailing over neighborhoods... oooops... sorry, just killed your 6 yo playing in his sandbox... but it was that damn drones fault...
yeah good luck with this insane scenario... now go vote for trump.
Over my property? I think not. (unless I can see the person operating it, then I'll go over & talk) 12ga shotgun with game load if it's in range. If not in range, that i'll be practicing some shooting with my rifle.
David, your Euro-trash response insulting Americans is telling.. And yes, in the US we value privacy. Some will fight this type of invasion of privacy. Our laws are catching up to this and a solution will eventually be had for this insanity. We, as Americans, are currently using the judicial system to fix the problem and it will not be a solution you think is prudent. In the US the laws will eventually cover private property from "privately owned personal drones" having the right to 'remain or hover' over private property.. That's how the law will eventually fall.. Law enforcement, delivery and other "WELL MARKED" drones will be exempt but a neighbor will NOT be able to stay and be a nuisance to another neighbor in the US!
Personally I agree with Andrew Kelley
but on the other hand I'd probably take a few shots with a good pellet rifle or break out a paintball gun
Were I rural, possibly birdshot. I live in town and would not want my neighbors letting fly for so little reason, so I would not shoot it down. I would try to down and recover it, and have a talk with the owner (if I could find him) and the police. Could I not down it, pull out the blowgun and some paingballs and see if I could hit the lens.
Let the bird-shot fly. Sorry, but that's MY airspace. I don't mind if people want to fly these things for recreation, but they better have the land to do it on or have access to an area on which to do it. I know locally here there is a hobby group that fly model airplanes, one of the members owns a good size bit of land and that is where they fly them and that's the way it should be. If you have the money to buy one, have the brains to use it properly. I don't let 4-wheelers and people I don't know trespass on my land for no good reason, it's really a matter of safety, for them and myself and family. We hunt out there, and to have someone out there that does not know our hunting areas puts them in extreme risk of being shot. We certainly do not want to shoot anyone but accidents can and do happen, we don't "POST" our property line simply to "POST" them, the signs are there FOR A REASON! If you feel you must go on my property for a reason talk to me, I am not a totally unreasonable person but I DO have a need to know you are out there, and for what reason. The same goes for a drone in my eyes.
My sportsman's hunting license does include fowl in the air, so in a sense it really is my airspace. I suppose that if it is at an altitude high enough that bird-shot cannot reach it, it would be out of my airspace. As far as the roof is concerned, if needed the pellet pistol will get the job done without seriously damaging the tin. ;)
I would capture it with a net, or by blasting it out of the sky with high pressure water. I've wanted a drone for a while, they're expensive :-)
fire an rpg to it. hehe
Hey David.. You can keep defending the drone use..but eventually the courts will limit its usage in residential areas..just like trucks and heavy vehicles.. So keep defending and us lawyers will keep fighting!
I know I do not have neighbors who fly drones, so I would have to think spying of some sort or another. I live on 11 acres, in the country. There is plenty of air space on the 10 acre and 20 acre property of my neighbors that it would be necessary to fly over my property. I would should the sucker down as quick as I could.
If it's not branded and in my backyard, it's going down.
if its just passing over then whats the harm , you dont shhot birds that fly over your property.if it seems to be targetting you then its a serious matter and police shoul be informed
"you dont shhot birds that fly over your property"
Birds do not carry cameras unless they are NSA-trained and owned.
Because I am not as equanimous about being surveilled as you are. Besides, where I live, everybody has enough property for their toys not to get lost over someone else's. If it's over my property and I don't know anything about it, it's evil and must be dealt with. :-)
If it stays for more then ~3 minutes, will go after the drone and call the police.
I'd see if its being used for spying or something or if it is just a delivery drone. Then I'd either leave it, or get it out of trouble or put it in one
Shoot it down!
Shoot it down, and call the police to make sure the pilot was prosecuted to the fullest extent of my state and local peeping tom laws.
Sorry, just because you have disposable income does not me I do without my expectations of privacy. What is the difference between a web cam hidden in my house, and one hidden over it? Nothing.
Sorry but if you take that tack the police would charge you... and you would be responsible for the damage caused the drone. Precedent just set by case in FL (I think FL).
I fly these everyday... and I am also very protective of my privacy - so I understand the general fears but they are for the most part based on misconceptions:
When we fly over a neighbourhood (maybe for real estate job or our friend wants an aerial of their house in context to their neighbourhood) we are at a height that doesn't let us see clearly who you are... The lenses on these vehicles are wide angle... They are not like they show on TV of military and police UAV's being able to zoom right in to see the mole on your cheek. For that we would have to physically move the aircraft in to within a 50-100 ft range, at which point - YES I would have to agree that is being obtrusive and invading my privacy... and you could pick up a rock or deck chair and hurle it at the UAV.
Anyway - just my 2¢... just to say if I was flying responsibly and unobtrusively and someone decided to shoot mine out of the sky - _I_ would call the police.
Using a gun might be a little extreme (and possibly illegal), but I might take the hose after it.
I can accurately be described as a tech loving, heavy metal loving and gun loving guy. The practical side of me would make me look around for hobbyists having innocent fun . If I didn't see anyone, I'd probably be inclined to break out one of my 12 gauges and sling some bird shot at it (depending on my mood that day). I probably wouldn't resort to that the first time I see one, but if it came around a few times, I'd probably take it out.
Worst case, it's a gov. or corporate entity getting info on me without my permission (constitutionally illegal in the U.S.)
2nd worst case, someone is purposely annoying people with their new toy and need to be taught a lesson in the value of money and privacy.
The law in question is Heron v. Sutherland. If it was a government drone, then it would be best to just file a complaint; but if it's a private drone then you should either identify it, or if this is not possible, disable it and turn it into police on the grounds that it was trespassing on your property and you were confiscating it as a flight-risk.
The worst the owner could do is sue you for replacement-cost, but then you could counter for all kinds of things.
Over my property! Shoot it down.
Smile and wave.
I would yell, "Pull!" Then I'd blast that sucker out of the air with my sweet little tactical sawed-off.
If my neighbor was making a habit of peering into my yard, I would have a rather heated exchange. Why would a camera equipped drone be ok? It takes invasion of privacy to a whole new level. If I sunbathe in the privacy of my pool behind tall walls and someone decides they're going to take photos from their drone, do we not now have problem? I consider that as harmful. I'll blast it out of the sky and if they're stupid enough to retrieve it, then I'll at least know who they are so that I can file subsequent charges for taking photos of me nude in the privacy of my home without consent.
I am being very serious when I tell you I would show that drone a "FULL MOON"
P.S. I am a man.