drones on calhoun

[Chummers]

i noticed a drone hovering above me on Calhoun a week or two ago. It seemed to be within the range of my lines. Probably only a matter of time before a collision damages a kite and/or causes injury.

[Drvermin]

If someone came near me with a drone and they did not have permission or I did not know them, I would be very upset. If they hit my lines or worse, my kite and put a hole in the fabric, I would be livid. The minute the drone hit the ground I would run the blasted thing over with my board or skis. People flying close to a kiter need to be working with the kiter to know which way they are planning to go with the kite so the drone does not cause problems. There must be agreement between the drone operator and the kiter.

[Matt V]

I am pretty sure a kite costs way more than a drone. Hope you keep that stuff up there.

It was opening day out on our local lake here on the lower lower west west siiiieeeed. Drysuit and twintips were the call of the day. Getting to the feel of tubies took most of the session, but I was left wanting a directional at the end. Just would not have wanted an encounter with anything to cut a line with the water in the 40s'. My foot got cold.

[BSMITH]

O boy!
Out on the water already Matt! Still driving on the lakes here.

[surfalex]

probably nsa spying

[scottchapman]

I do not know about other bigger drones, but the Phantom One Drone that I have has plastic propellers. I heard of a kite hitting one like I have. It just bounced off and neither kite or drone were damaged as far as I know.
Now with that said there are bigger more expensive drones with more than just 4 blades. I am not sure about these and possible damage.
If you see one while you are kiting and do not want it near you, then go and tell the pilot.
Or stay away from the area they are flying.

[Professor Robae']

Or protect your space and pack some heat!

[n-mod]

I too own a multirotor and these people are giving a bad name to the hobby. All the new quadcopters such as DJI Phantoms allow any novice to pick one up cheap and fly. The blades on any helicopter or multirotor easily have the ability to cut through a canopy or even cut lines when tension applied. I had a bad crash once in my backyard which my quad hit my carport tarp canopy and tore a hole right through it. My blades were the same thin flexible plastic the Scott mentioned the Phantom uses.

I can see a near future band on these machines due to these inexperienced pilots. The only option I see is to find the pilot and ask them to not fly so close.

[Matt V]

There is a guy down here that has offered to take some video with his drone of us kiting. I think he has been using drones for 4-5 years. He is also an ex-helicopter pilot and a cat/cruiser sailor. But I would definitely give him at least a trainer kite lesson so he would understand the "wind window" before flying anywhere near us. Someone with out kite knowledge is definitely a hazard to any kite in the air.

If you are involved in an incident, put it up here so we can be aware of the issue and come up with some ideas of what we can do about it.

[Tom L]

Great drone video shot with a Phantom using a Zenmuse gimbal mount from Cumbuco http://vimeo.com/82202894

[Drvermin]

My brother got sight of one flying over his property last week and they were checking out his business operation. He runs a firewood business in Upstate, NY and he saw a quad flying around by his processing equipment and it was flying back and forth over the piles of wood as if to be seeing how much was present. The next door neighbor reported seeing a car sitting in front of his house at the time my brother spotted the copter. The operator got wind that my brother had spotted the copter and it took off. Good thing too because my brother is a rabid hunter and he always has a gun at the ready. 1 More minute of fly time over my brother's property and it would have been blasted from the sky. This is the third time he has spotted it but the first time he got a good enough look at it to know what it was. He is not happy. He asked his town official (a good friend) what he recourse was to prevent such spying and they said they have no rules yet on the books to protect him. The official did say that as far as he was concerned my brother has the right to blast it if he gets a chance. The neighbor next door was also hacked off to hear of the copter checking things out by flying over part of his property and he gave my brother permission to watch for stuff on his land too. The operator can only be on the road and have range enough to see the property, so next time it is spotted, my brother knows the direction it will be flying to get off his property. My brother knows the sound it makes and so me thinks someone is going to lose their copter should they try flying it over his property again. The town official said they will be addressing the flying of drones in the very near future because they have heard of too many cases where it appears people are spying on landowners.

[Tighe]

Worthy topic as I'm sure we're going to see more and more of these in the coming years. Just like the discussion of sharing the lake with boaters, swimmers, snowmobilers etc etc., everyone is just out enjoying the day...no one has any more rights than anyone else. Most challenges come, as a few have pointed out, when one group is not aware of the movements, limitations, safety concerns etc of the other. Remember when snowboards first came out? I agree with most here, take the time to have a chat with the pilot and let them know what you can and can't do, what your concerns are, how you're focused on controlling the kite in an unpredictable wind and can't see the drone, etc. No need to get combative. Most likely they just want to get some footage of the cool thing you are doing. Help them understand how to do that safely for everyone.

I have had a personal collision with a drone and my kite. Neither was damaged. Remember our kites are leading with the Leading edge, pretty hard to hi the canopy. I do ride Slingshots though, which are known for their durability, so I wouldn't assume the same result with another brand (couldn't help the plug ; )

http://youtu.be/YGAmmBC6faU