Have Drones affected your treasure hunting?

[coinshooter]

In the last year I have been harassed by three different drone pilots and their drones.
I am just curious if others have had similar experiences.
The first experience I had, I was detecting on a large park grass area and had someone buzz me at about 40 mph about 5 feet above my head. They kept going back and forth over me until I stopped and figured out what it was. It didn't bother me and eventually the pilot must have gotten bored and left me alone. He then was flying that thing at about 100 ft up in a 1/2 mile rectangle far above the buildings and roads in the area. Guess a lot of these have video screens on their consoles so these guys can fly them far away where they cant see them, but still know where they might be.
Then the second one was similar to that, but was on the beach. I had my long handled scoop with me and raised it up to show that I was going to whack it. The thing disappeared after that back towards the boardwalk and I never saw whose it was.
The last one was in a canyon where people walk, run, and walk their dogs. I was on the side of a hill way deep in the eucalyptus trees when all of a sudden, I heard a noise that scared the s**t out of me. At first I didn't know what it was, but then I saw a flashing drone on the ground near my feet. I stopped and looked around and a guy came running from about 1/4 mile away on the other side of the canyon. He was apologizing profusely when I handed his drone back to him. I guess he was spying on me, trying to see what I was doing. I didn't really care too much because a few minutes earlier I found a nice 61 silver quarter.
I just thought how strange it was that I have already had 3 encounters with drones out there.
What's you story?

 

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[Jarl]

Annoying. Apparently there is a company where I used to live that makes them. Last summer, I noticed while detecting in a wooded park, a helicopter kept going over head. Eventually, I got irritated and kept saying, that thing sounds like a lawn mower. Maybe it was someone's RC helicopter, but it looked pretty hi-tech, although noisy. At first I was staring at it going from point A to B, and then, realizing that the for the size and sound of it, it could not be a full sized craft. Also, considering that the city abandoned their 'news and police' helicopter programs quite some time ago(I wonder why?), leaving only the EMS chopper for the hospital...I know it wasn't the hospital chopper. Perhaps we couldn't call this a drone, but I can imagine how annoying they might be...and those controlling them.

 

[Jarl]

Oh and by the way...I bet you didn't know that you needed to be watched all the time. People can stare, but to be 'watched' is a different story.

 

[RustyGold]

That sounds like an unsafe practice! People have been injured by out of control model aircraft.

 

[NHBandit]

I live in the mountains of Tennessee. Any drones around here would get shot down.. It was an interesting read though and reminds me of how very different things are in different parts of the country.

 

[UnderMiner]

I'm sure there is a Drone forum online right now... maybe called Dronenet.com, where there is at least one member who started a thread entitled "Have random Metal Detectorists affected your Drone footage?" And the website is exactly like Treasurenet except with drone pilots who just post their best drone images.

 

[Clay Slayer]

I live in the mountains of Tennessee. Any drones around here would get shot down.. It was an interesting read though and reminds me of how very different things are in different parts of the country.

Yep. If I hear a drone over my property, first response is to get my duck gun. That does bring up an interesting question though that I've never looked into. I know mineral rights are a pretty common option when it comes to property ownership, but what about the other direction? Does a property owner "own" a particular vertical distance from the surface of their property? I've never looked into air-space laws, but I'm sure they are there...

 

[Higgy]

I live in the mountains of Tennessee. Any drones around here would get shot down.. It was an interesting read though and reminds me of how very different things are in different parts of the country.

Spoken like a true Yankee! You can take the man out of NH but you cant take the NH out of the man. Last storm we had a branch fall off a tree, but it was still attached by a few stringy bits, so it was just flopped over and hanging straight down. The wife was complaining (read: *****in') about it, saying I should get the big ladder out and saw it off and drag it off so it won't spoil her view of the bird feeders. I didn't say anything and went to the safe and pulled out my Remington SP-10 (10-gauge), and gave that limb a couple good blasts. Done.

 

[1shotwade]

They had a drone on the news the other night. I forget what it was about but they said a drone "kit" could be had for $500 .About air space,maybe 10 years ago that topic was in the news and someone somewhere made a ruling that private property extended to 100 feet above the ground surface.I don't know if this was a city or county or state or nationally.Sorry my mind is so weak but I still remember my name.Well,most of the time.

Wade

 

[wecoyote]

I fly RC airplanes, helicopters and multi-rotors. Have been doing it for a LONG time.
I and MOST RC pilots fly according to the AMA (Academy of Model Aeronautics) rules and specifications. I am a club member and current president of my club (MID-VA Radio Control Club)
Yes, there are rogue pilots that don't know the proper rules of flight or just don't care just as there are detectorists that hunt on illeagle land and don't fill there holes.
These rogue pilots are giving my RC hobby a bad reputation and the FAA is making it hard for us to enjoy our hobby with their current proposed regulations (because of these occurrences).

Please don't think ALL of us are "out to get ya". Those cheap multi-rotors with cameras can be purchased by anyone and novices don't know how to handle them. AMA is currently working on a "Educate, don't regulate" campaign to make people aware that there are places to go to get proper training and guidance to fly their new toy.

 

[wecoyote]

I'm sure there is a Drone forum online right now... maybe called Dronenet.com, where there is at least one member who started a thread entitled "Have random Metal Detectorists affected your Drone footage?" And the website is exactly like Treasurenet except with drone pilots who just post their best drone images.

MultiRotorForums.com

 

[UncleMatt]

People who think drones are evil and their only purpose is to spy on people are fooling themselves. They fear what they do not understand. Same thing happened when Elvis started putting music out. And if you make claims about drones spying on you, where are the photos of this going down? Cameras are on every phone, so....

If someone were to shoot down my drone being operated in a legal manner, they would be facing a lawsuit. You do not own the airspace, nor do you have the legal right to destroy other people's property simply because you fear a new technology.

 

[Keppy]

I know i saw them on… ShopHQ … the TV shopping show over Xmas for only $99.00 and they would go high and far and had a video camera on them ...

 

[wecoyote]

And for those people that think they are being spied on with a multi-rotor and camera here is a video on you tube using a go-pro camera.
Once it is airborn, how many people can you even tell if it is male or female? How much detail can you see?
It is fun to fly with a camera and get a birds eye view but to think we are spying on you is ridiculous.

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Skeet.

I fly radio control (fixed wing, mostly). The quad "toy" drones are going to bring wrath on our hobby, I'm afraid. I belong to the AMA (Academy of Model Aeronautics) and we promise not to overfly people. But it's a voluntary organization.

1. All pilots shall avoid flying directly over unprotected people, vessels, vehicles or structures and shall avoid endangerment of life and property of others.
6. With the exception of events flown under official AMA Competition Regulations, excluding takeoff and landing, no powered model may be flown outdoors closer than 25 feet to any individual, except for the pilot and the pilot's helper(s) located at the flightline.

https://www.modelaircraft.org/files/105.pdf

If you are in a spot where there is a nuisance pilot you can start carrying a golf ball with about 20 ft of light cord or kite string - 1/8" is plenty strong. Toss the ball into the flight path over the drone so that it passes through the string (do not hold the string!).

A quad needs all four props turning. With one or two bound up tight in string it has sucked around the shaft(s) it is coming down.

I do have a little one I fly in the house - it has a "footprint" the size of a Trisket.



But I like the gasoline powered airplane models - this one has a 34cc weed-whacker 2-stroke engine and an 18" prop (83" wingspan).

 

[Limitool]

I live in the mountains of Tennessee. Any drones around here would get shot down.. It was an interesting read though and reminds me of how very different things are in different parts of the country.

Totally agree Bandit... I live where I live for the privacy. It would be target practice here also. I'm not afraid of a new technology either. I just wouldn't put up with it flying overhead on my property. This includes 10' on up. Lawsuits be damned... also.

 

[Turbo21]

People who think drones are evil and their only purpose is to spy on people are fooling themselves. They fear what they do not understand. Same thing happened when Elvis started putting music out. And if you make claims about drones spying on you, where are the photos of this going down? Cameras are on every phone, so....

If someone were to shoot down my drone being operated in a legal manner, they would be facing a lawsuit. You do not own the airspace, nor do you have the legal right to destroy other people's property simply because you fear a new technology.

Actually you do own the airspace. There is something called air rights. Same as mineral rights. You own below as well as above.
If. And I say if. I had a drone hovering over my house it would be taken out. It is the same thing as trespassing

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_rights

 

[wecoyote]

Actually you do own the airspace. There is something called air rights. Same as mineral rights. You own below as well as above.
If. And I say if. I had a drone hovering over my house it would be taken out. It is the same thing as trespassing

Air rights - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

From your own link:
"Eventually, owners only had rights to airspace that they could reasonably use. It would be impractical for the development of air travel for individual landowners to own all the air above them, because airplanes would be constantly trespassing."

"In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has the sole authority to control all airspace, exclusively determining the rules and requirements for its use."

"the U.S. Supreme Court declared the navigable airspace to be "a public highway" and within the public domain. At the same time, the law, and the Supreme Court, recognized that a landowner had property rights in the lower reaches of the airspace above their property"

You are not the FAA. You are not the law. and You DO NOT own all the air space over your property.

 

[NHBandit]

If someone were to shoot down my drone being operated in a legal manner, they would be facing a lawsuit. You do not own the airspace, nor do you have the legal right to destroy other people's property simply because you fear a new technology.

Fly it low over my house and find out... I'm not a tinfiol hat type and I understand completely that most of the ones we're discussing are toys. But... YOU do not have the right to invade MY privacy just because you think you're within the law. The law of common courtesy trumps whatever your lawyer tells you around here. I'll shoot it down then run over it with my truck and "if" I have to pay a fine for the pleasure of doing that so be it.. The local Sheriff would likely pat me on the back & say "nice shot"... In fact if I had money to waste & was bored I wonder what the results would be if someone was to try to have a drone operator arrested for trespassing by proxy if they use any kind of a remote control device to invade my privacy. Might be interesting.. Lots of grey area here. Suppose your drone is equipped with cameras.. and suppose my yard is fenced all the way around and my girlfriend like to sunbathe nude ? Are you suggesting that the law allows you to remotely take a peek and maybe some pictures or do I have a reasonable expectation that on MY private property I have the right to not be bothered by arrogant jerks who think they can do as they please ? Bring your drone AND your lawyer... Need my address ? Come on DO IT... LOL

 

[Msbeepbeep]

I think a drone would be a good tool to have you could have a look at landscape you can't get to. I wouldn't 't be spying on people.

A few years back I had a drone buzz my head while detecting on the beach at night. It had colored lights on it, the 3 twenty-something's flying it thought it was funny till I shouted over that it was going in the water if they didn't stop, they took their toy and left.