Quadcopter outside today near back garden

euser1984

It was up fairly high, the dog alerted me to it....there is a lake there so they were most likely just taking a look at it.

I didn't like the feeling of my privacy being invaded though? At the same time I would like to map some of my town out when I get one in the future.....so I would be unhappy if they became too restricted....

5rtytry56

I used to fly quadcopters.
Disappointing but not surprising that the quadcopter 'champions ' here on boards have'nt replied to thus thread. In mid 2014 a kind boardsie from near Kingscourt gave me permission to fly my quadcopter on his farm. I have since given up Flying them. Too much of a grey area for my liking

5rtytry56

Maybe ask mods to put this thread in Legal Duscusiion OP? For more favorable reaction

5rtytry56

They were on sale the other week in LIDL for 29.99 euro

civdef

Only just noticed this -
privacy seems to be the main concern a lot of people express about quadcopters - and it's a reasonable concern, the only reassurance I can give on this is that the types of cameras carried are quite wide angle- and at any height at all pose no risk to privacy because of the simple fact they don't zoom in like something you'd see in movies. You can look at millions of quadcopter videos on youtube to see what I mean. The technical challenges in stabilising large zoom lenses means you just don't see them outside high end commercial or state users. Quadcopters also make a lot of noise - so hardly stealthy!. In terms of privacy, much larger threats would be posed by someone with binoculars or SLR cameras!

All that said, and as someone who is an enthusiast, I would be very annoyed if someone was flying a quadcopter low over my garden- not so much for privacy as for safety. There are rules and safety guidelines published:

https://www.iaa.ie/news.jsp?i=507

So flying it over a lake would probably be OK (provided not over people swimming etc), flying over a garden isn't.

Magnate

A lot of consumer drones (eg. ar drone/bebop/ dji phantom) cannot be classified as RPAS and therefore there's currently no legalisation surrounding them. Basically any drones under 1.5kg are fully exempt unfortunately.

See this post for a good explanation.

civdef

Magnate wrote: »

Basically any drones under 1.5kg are fully exempt unfortunately.

The exemption is worded like this:

(c) to a model aircraft of less than 1.5 kilograms maximum weight less fuel and constructed of wood, paper or frangible plastic containing no substantial parts and operated in a manner that does not create a hazard to persons, property or other aircraft.

So the premise that consumer drones are exempted fails on at least 2 arguments.

Quads contain plenty of substantial parts- motors, LiPos, carbon fibre etc.

It only covers operation in a manner that doesnt cause a hazard- so doing silly thinngs like flying too near people or airports isnt exempted even for Bebops or Phantoms.

Magnate

civdef wrote: »

The exemption is worded like this:


So the premise that consumer drones are exempted fails on at least 2 arguments.

Quads contain plenty of substantial parts- motors, LiPos, carbon fibre etc.

It only covers operation in a manner that doesnt cause a hazard- so doing silly thinngs like flying too near people or airports isnt exempted even for Bebops or Phantoms.

Fair enough, you could argue it that way but they're still exempt from all RPAS legislation because they can be classed as model aircraft.

So technically the Irish Aviation Authority (Rockets and Small Aircraft) Order, 2000. is the only legislation that can be applied to drones. However if you look at it, all the provisions specifically refer to aircraft over certain weights. There's nothing that actually covers anything under 1.5 kg. It really needs to be updated.

Kenny Logins

euser1984 wrote: »

It was up fairly high, the dog alerted me to it....there is a lake there so they were most likely just taking a look at it.

I didn't like the feeling of my privacy being invaded though? At the same time I would like to map some of my town out when I get one in the future.....so I would be unhappy if they became too restricted....

The cameras generally have wide angle lenses, and would need to be pretty close to you to pick out any detail worth getting upset about. Try taking a photo of it with your mobile phone (no zoom), it can probably see less detail at that same distance, and may not have even been taking photos or video at all.

Volvoair

catapult....only job
https://www.google.ie/search?q=catapult&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAWoVChMIseO916-KxwIVSJ3bCh3yqQYd&biw=1680&bih=897#tbm=isch&q=elastic+catapult

Gatling

Volvoair wrote: »

catapult....only job
https://www.google.ie/search?q=catapult&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAWoVChMIseO916-KxwIVSJ3bCh3yqQYd&biw=1680&bih=897#tbm=isch&q=elastic+catapult

Criminal damage and possible assault charges if you miss and hit a person or windows