sailorsam
occasional user
so where do we fly our gadgets anyway? have you flown over your local park so much you have every dead branch memorized? here's some stuff I've picked up on.
1) public parks.
+ open to the public, as name implies; usually open area.
- might be closed off hours. might be crowded
2) shopping centers
+open to the public. near me is an old K-Mart plaza (still has some little Joe's Tiddlywinks stores but) nice big usually empty parking lot. usually don't close.
-hard landing on that asphalt.
3) Churches
+churches can often be found in out-of-the-way places, even in rural areas. modern churches often have nice big parking lots. unused much of the time.
-Sunday mornings will probably not work for you; some curious pastor or parishioner might stop by but probably won't do more than ask you to leave and maybe invite you to attend (do so, church is good for you).
note; leave the beer and tobacco at home mkay...
4) airports
+nice empty spaces. and kind of appropriate for flying, no?
-NO NO NO do NOT fly your device ANYWHERE NEAR ANY active air facility. be warned, even old ones that look unused can have occasional traffic. It is ILLEGAL and UNSAFE. linque https://www.faa.gov/airports/airport_safety/airportdata_5010/
note; even if it looks empty airports are usually well secured and some po-po or Homeland Security type would love to pad his/her resume with 'busted a drone flyer'.
if you are lucky enough to find a genuinely abandoned lost forever airstrip it'll probably be well locked up. Uncle Sam does NOT like people flying around unmonitored.
5) farms
+nice empty space out in the middle of nowhere.
- NO. remember, farmers make money in their fields. what looks to you like an empty old corn field is in fact his/her work place; and no matter how remote they are very vigilant about keeping their eyes on things (as are their neighbors). he/she will not appreciate you stomping on his crop$. forget farms...unless you know the farmer in question. get his/her permission and fly away. you're blessed.
note: winter is the best time, as the harvest is in and there will be nothing there but stubble or maybe a useless cover crop. also; farmed land is tilled to be soft and open and your big old foot can sink in quite a ways, especially if wet. frozen fields in winter are a much better bet.
6)Public Hunting Areas
+open to the public. maybe nice open accessible space with soft landings. often unused.
-some beer-swilling Elmer Fudd wannabe might target your gadget. certain times of the year (Spring Turkey season, Fall Deer season) there will be hunters about.
note; certain animal-rights people are known to disrupt legitimate hunting excursions with drones. if you see any hunters assure them you aren't one of them.
7) Boat Ramps
+public access. water, which means open flying and great photo ops. might have a nice big parking lot.
-water, which means if your unit goes down in the wrong place it's probably fried, even if you can retrieve it. might have lots of cars to crash into in that nice big parking lot.
note; some of these are limited hours. I live in the Chesapeake region and I do a lot of flying over these.
can youse think of any more?
1) public parks.
+ open to the public, as name implies; usually open area.
- might be closed off hours. might be crowded
2) shopping centers
+open to the public. near me is an old K-Mart plaza (still has some little Joe's Tiddlywinks stores but) nice big usually empty parking lot. usually don't close.
-hard landing on that asphalt.
3) Churches
+churches can often be found in out-of-the-way places, even in rural areas. modern churches often have nice big parking lots. unused much of the time.
-Sunday mornings will probably not work for you; some curious pastor or parishioner might stop by but probably won't do more than ask you to leave and maybe invite you to attend (do so, church is good for you).
note; leave the beer and tobacco at home mkay...
4) airports
+nice empty spaces. and kind of appropriate for flying, no?
-NO NO NO do NOT fly your device ANYWHERE NEAR ANY active air facility. be warned, even old ones that look unused can have occasional traffic. It is ILLEGAL and UNSAFE. linque https://www.faa.gov/airports/airport_safety/airportdata_5010/
note; even if it looks empty airports are usually well secured and some po-po or Homeland Security type would love to pad his/her resume with 'busted a drone flyer'.
if you are lucky enough to find a genuinely abandoned lost forever airstrip it'll probably be well locked up. Uncle Sam does NOT like people flying around unmonitored.
5) farms
+nice empty space out in the middle of nowhere.
- NO. remember, farmers make money in their fields. what looks to you like an empty old corn field is in fact his/her work place; and no matter how remote they are very vigilant about keeping their eyes on things (as are their neighbors). he/she will not appreciate you stomping on his crop$. forget farms...unless you know the farmer in question. get his/her permission and fly away. you're blessed.
note: winter is the best time, as the harvest is in and there will be nothing there but stubble or maybe a useless cover crop. also; farmed land is tilled to be soft and open and your big old foot can sink in quite a ways, especially if wet. frozen fields in winter are a much better bet.
6)Public Hunting Areas
+open to the public. maybe nice open accessible space with soft landings. often unused.
-some beer-swilling Elmer Fudd wannabe might target your gadget. certain times of the year (Spring Turkey season, Fall Deer season) there will be hunters about.
note; certain animal-rights people are known to disrupt legitimate hunting excursions with drones. if you see any hunters assure them you aren't one of them.
7) Boat Ramps
+public access. water, which means open flying and great photo ops. might have a nice big parking lot.
-water, which means if your unit goes down in the wrong place it's probably fried, even if you can retrieve it. might have lots of cars to crash into in that nice big parking lot.
note; some of these are limited hours. I live in the Chesapeake region and I do a lot of flying over these.
can youse think of any more?
