Some Spark footage in NE PA
- Thread starter Rmwac
- Start date
yes... that's the Pine Creek Rail Trail in the gorge. 63 miles, and they are presently completing the final 3 mile leg into Wellsboro. Beautiful welcome center, and home base for our tourist train will be at the trail's terminus.
Just found out it's illegal to fly in almost any PA state park, or Army Corps of Engineer properties, so I removed the footage. Same thing in the nearby NY parks. No signs, but I guess we're expected to know these ordinances. Given that it's illegal to operate near anything that is scenic and worth filming, I think there is no longer much point to owning the Spark, or any of my other drones. I'm thru. If anybody is interested, I have very complete Spark and Mavic Pro setups with 3 batteries each, nice cases, not so much as a scratch on anything. Spark is a month old. I hate this, but pissy people everywhere seem to sense that they can harass a drone operator with no pushback. And there are pissy people everywhere...
PhantomFandom
Well-Known Member
Hi,
Sorry to hear that. Before letting go of those drones, you should look further into the actual legal aspect of where you can and cannot fly. There are designated areas in some state parks where you are allowed to fly. Have a look at this site ---> Unmanned Aerial Systems and Drones
Also I think there will be more court cases coming up in the future that challenge such restrictions. If the laws contradict federal (FAA) laws then there is an issue and it has been held up in court that generally the FAA regulations supercede all state and local laws. However, I certainly don't want to be "that guy" that challenges the system.
You can still fly out of local (non-state) parks in your area.
If you do decide to sell your drones, please let us know how much you're asking for them.
I'm aware of these few areas generously set aside for us... I live in the least populated area of PA, yet everything's off limits. The day I shot the Leonard Harrison footage, the place was deserted, except for the two folks I went there with. Yet I'd bet my Spark that IF there had been a ranger within earshot, he would have been up my @ss in a heartbeat. Never mind the place is deserted.... no harm can come to anything... Why? Because he CAN. We are now and forever, on the wrong side of this issue. I suppose this could be turned into a game of cat and mouse... setting up outside boundaries, doing a Litchi automated waypoint flight to get the desired footage, and then darting on out, back to the stealth takeoff point. I see that stuff going on up at Watkins Glen, on Seneca Lake, in NY. The community has had increasing anti-drone ordinances, so guys will set up their Phantoms/Mavics from God knows where for sunset shots, black out their lights, dart in from high altitude pop down, do their lakefront shoot, then dart up nearly out of sight, and gone.... too bad we have to play such games, but that's what it's come to. I keep a 30' sailboat up there, and we have a few guys that lose their minds every time they even see a drone. As I wrote in a prior post, one of these guys even picked a fight with a local TV station drone pilot ( who had permission) trying to shoot the annual Cardboard Regatta for that night's news. I need a new hobby, I guess 
PhantomFandom
Well-Known Member
I'm aware of these few areas generously set aside for us... I live in the least populated area of PA, yet everything's off limits. The day I shot the Leonard Harrison footage, the place was deserted, except for the two folks I went there with. Yet I'd bet my Spark that IF there had been a ranger within earshot, he would have been up my @ss in a heartbeat. Never mind the place is deserted.... no harm can come to anything... Why? Because he CAN. We are now and forever, on the wrong side of this issue. I suppose this could be turned into a game of cat and mouse... setting up outside boundaries, doing a Litchi automated waypoint flight to get the desired footage, and then darting on out, back to the stealth takeoff point. I see that stuff going on up at Watkins Glen, on Seneca Lake, in NY. The community has had increasing anti-drone ordinances, so guys will set up their Phantoms/Mavics from God knows where for sunset shots, black out their lights, dart in from high altitude pop down, do their lakefront shoot, then dart up nearly out of sight, and gone.... too bad we have to play such games, but that's what it's come to. I keep a 30' sailboat up there, and we have a few guys that lose their minds every time they even see a drone. As I wrote in a prior post, one of these guys even picked a fight with a local TV station drone pilot ( who had permission) trying to shoot the annual Cardboard Regatta for that night's news. I need a new hobby, I guess
You are right and it is very sad. The problem is that most of us do not have the will, the time, or the financial means to do the right thing and then fight against these illegal restrictions. The method you described (flying from outside the park) is legal even if the park restriction was held up as legal, since they could possibly preclude you from taking off and landing on park grounds. Only if you can maintain VLOS though. However they cannot ever control the airspace above the park. That is clearly National Airspace and can only be controlled by the FAA...full stop...period. If the FAA says you cannot fly over them, then it stands up in court. That's why we cannot fly over national parks, as the FAA has agreed to support those restrictions.
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