This happened today.
I''m an AMA member, paid my annual fee 6 months ago.
We went today to Floyd Bennet field in NYC, where there is an authorized RC field.
with a DIY quad 450, and one hexa 550.
We unpack our drones.
After 5 minutes 2 jeeps coming over us, two officers step down the car and a third one in the other jeep tell us we can't fly our drones, threatening us to confiscate and cite us.
When he said that, right on our head a freaking JET, a model aircraft with jet propulsion hovers our heads. And a second one, doing Cuban Height and a vertical 540 flip.
Because those jets are legal. we are not of course.
The cop talks about "terrorism, Obama, yadda yadda" like a Family Guy parody quoting american values.
This is getting ridiculous, very ridiculous. There is no logic in allowing wings vs. multirotors.
And you want to tell me, a winged plane 10x the size of my drone is not dangerous???
I think there is a lobby for wings and there is a lobby for Heli.
It's appalling. and by the way we weren't even flying. Just they saw the drones on the ground, preparing to fly.
This happened today in NYC.
Replies
You are absolutely right!
In fact, you are so extremely right about this, that I (unusually) have almost nothing further to add, as you have expressed it so well.
We (the private/hobby drone community) need to get together, united, as much as is possible, and from your example, maybe the emphasis should be on multirotors, as they are both the up-and-comming subject of popularity and also opposition.
Hi Franc,
From what you have said, there was no legal or regulatory justification for what they did.
It was based on complete ignorance of the law.
There is no hobby difference between a multicopter and any other RC model unless you operate it that way.
In the future, you need to get the names and badge numbers of the "authorities" making those claims as well as the phone number, address and email of the facility they operate out of.
Then, at least you can directly confront the people in charge and demand written clarification of their rules and their justification for them.
I would also suggest having at least a cell phone camera on your person and one of you immediately filming the entire proceeding.
You will need to have as much clear evidence as possible in order to confront them and to state your case.
That poor kid on the beach in Florida would probably be in jail now if it hadn't been that he filmed the whole thing.
These misguided and illegal acts by those who think of themselves as in the moral right really need to be exposed.
They are really bullies who are abusing authority for their own ends.
Best Regards,
Gary
That's shocking. What possible explanation did they give for the difference between the jet and the copter?
First off they said "You have to be a member"
Therefore I extracted form my pocket the AMA card.
Then the guy started talking about safety, that Obama was in town 2 weeks ago and they were enforcing stricter rules."... Plus a sequence of excuses like "you have to fly in line of sight"...and morover "unfortunately some european (he said that) crashed a drone in manhattan" – very racist since I'm italian.
Then he pointed at my screen which i mounted on a tripod and he thought I was doing some kind of espionage.
And AMA is doing nothing for us, "multi-propellers vtol" users.