Drone Police

The last thing the drone community needs is more Karens or (cringe) a SELF-APPOINTED DRONE PATROL. 

As we say in the Mission Statement of Las Vegas and Henderson Drone Pilots, we are here "To promote safe and legal drone operation through education, mentoring, and practice."  To that end, and in the spirit of "See something, say something," I feel that it is important to let fellow drone pilots know when they might be violating an FAA or other law or rule.  Every airspace authorization and waiver that I have seen has the following statement:

"This Authorization does not constitute a waiver of any State law or local ordinance." 

Do you know every State law or local ordinance that may affect the legality of your flight?  Las Vegas and Henderson Drone Pilots has spent countless hours searching the internet for federal, state, county, city, and other local ordinances that you should be aware of.  If you know of a rule that we haven't mentioned, please let us know so we can add it.  We don't want any "I read something on Facebook that you can't do such and such".  We are looking for laws and rules with references to where you found them. 

How many times have you heard, "I have my Part 107 (or TRUST), I have my drone registered and marked, and I even have my airspace authorization, and a waiver or two.  I don't need to worry about any other federal, state, county, or city laws because the FAA is a federal organization that overrides the lower jurisdiction."  If that were true, then why does the FCC specifically state the opposite? 

If you have the choice between 1) talking to a fellow drone pilot that has your best interest at heart and absolutely no authority to demand to see your approval/complience documents or impose any fines, confiscation, or incarceration, or 2) an FAA agent or law enforcement officer who definitely does have that authority, which would you pick?  If you decide that option 1 is not for you, be prepared for option 2.

There are many things that we would like to do or places we would like to fly our drones that may require special approval or authorizations prior to flying.  We see people doing these things or flying in these places in videos that they have posted on the internet.  If you need to get special authorization, then mention that in the comments when you post your video.  Other drone pilots may also want to have a similar flight and not know what hoops you had to jump through in order to have a legal flight.  If you don't mention your extra effort, others may think that because you did it, and you "always fly legally," it must be legal without any special permissions.  Let's all help our fellow drone pilots avoid potential fines, confiscation, or incarceration by mentoring our fellow pilots.

Remember, we are not the drone police.  We are members of a community trying to help others avoid having an unpleasant encounter with an official who has the authority to take this privilege of flying away from us. 

Fly safe -- Fly legal