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Shocking, we know, but you're not supposed to fly drones where planes are coming in for landings at Logan
By adamg on Sun, 11/15/2015 - 10:24am
Rather big police presence at Castle Island around 10 a.m. - including a State Police helicopter - looking for whoever thought it was a good idea to use the peninsula right across the harbor from Logan to fly some drones. It's what the FAA likes to think of as "restricted airspace."
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Comments
Morons do it all the time
Go on YouTube and look at the videos filmed down Castle Island.
Quick question for droners
Not excusing this person's actions at all, but where (out of curiosity) do you find out what areas are restricted airspace?
I'm betting that this guy was just taking it to a park where wires wouldn't be a problem and the view is awesome (and he thought the drone wouldn't bother anyone).
Isn't the answer...
"Not excusing this person's actions at all, but where (out of curiosity) do you find out what areas are restricted airspace?"
I would think you would just google it like everything else you want to know. MapBox is their first result.
Not exactly precise information
I hope you are aware that not everything you read on the internet is accurate or true!
All Mapbox is doing is drawing 5 mile buffers around certain areas. I see numerous places within that rough buffer where neighbors who run drones as part of their photography businesses have done professional work (such as Yale and other universities, plus Minuteman National Park near Hanscom).
Also, read the Mapbox site: it says that these are "proposed" restrictions for drones (they are actual restrictions for light planes and copters).
In other words, Mapbox is a rough cut, and not exactly definitive or helpful. That's why I wondered if there were other sources than what Google would turn up (knowing that Mapbox is not accurate).
Here...
https://www.mapbox.com/blog/dont-fly-here/
Most of Boston is off-limits because of Logan Airport. I suspect they worry mostly about the approach paths since the places landing or taking off are more likely to conflict Castle Island is one of those areas.
Chopper Dave
I would strongly suggest people fly drones in Ringer Park. You can then pass the footage to the BPD tip line or Citizens Connect when you accidentally film an active heroin deal in the children's playground.
Maybe next week after the
Maybe next week after the leaves are out of the trees.
The playground it self is clean (at least every time I have been there), the shadyness seems to occupy the "urban wild" behind them.
Ringer is really small for the real purpose, Rodgers or Artisoni would be much better.
Drones in Somerville
I've seen them at big public events in Union Square and near Brickbottom -- both areas that are off-limits according to that map.
Seems a bit extreme
The notion that it's illegal to fly a drone (or, by extension, a remote controlled model airplane) say, 50 feet off the ground, which is below the tops of nearby trees, anywhere within 5 miles of an airport, seems rather extreme.
It actually isn't for drones
It is for aircraft - ultralights, small planes, helicopters. This is "proposed" for drones but not enacted.
Perhaps that hawk was Defending Freedom? Magazine Beach is in that buffer.
Is it OK to fly a kite there?
Or put up a hot-air balloon? Both of those could go higher than some drones.
I wonder about Deer I
When the wind was right (SW and NE), I used to go to Deer I occasionally to fly an R/C slope glider. It was a decent place to fly, especially in NE winds, and you'd see planes landing close by right over Winthrop. I haven't flown there in a few years and wonder if the authorities would have a different view of it now.
FWIW, the FAA is pretty anal about this stuff. When a VIP is in the area, the local R/C clubs will get a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) notifying them of the additional restrictions with regard to flying. Frankly, flying an 11 oz. hand-launch glider doesn't seem very threatening to me, or even a larger 100 inch 32 oz. glider, especially when you're flying out in the burbs not even close to a flight path. But the FAA rules are very strict when it comes to airspace.
Am I the only person
Am I the only person who sees these as intrusive and would like to see bans on them extended? I'm told that if one of these voyeur-bots flies into my yard, I have to tolerate its presence and may not smash it into tiny pieces as it deserves. Is this in fact correct?
I think what I'd probably do would be to throw a tarp over it and take it prisoner. Let the owner come and render explanations if they want it back, and good luck coming up with a good enough explanation to convince me to give it back.
Everyone wants to see you naked
Which is why drones can't exist.
I can see shooting one down, like my cousin threatened to, when it hovered repeatedly outside her bedroom window.
Otherwise, get over yourself. There are many valid uses of these things and most people don't care that you are grilling today.