City Official tries to get me to stop flying my plane... it didn't work. (VIDEO)

CustomRCMods

Elite member
Hey Guys, was just doing some testing on my FT Bloody wonder when I was approached by a City Representative saying that I was flying illegally and needed to stop. Keep in mind I have been in the hobby for years and years and flying at this very field almost every day without issue. Check it out and let me know what you think!


From the Video Description:
The email shown in the video is from a past question I had about new signage in the park. That is the email I am referencing in our conversation. According to the FAA you do not need a Part 107 Professional License to operate recreationally over public property. They also have laws put in place to protect the legality of unmanned aircraft flight when done safely.

All of my actions in this video comply with federal, state and local regulations. I was flying within line of sight, over an area free of people (or anything, for that matter) and at an altitude below 400ft AGL. I also have properly registered this aircraft and am a Part 107 Certificate holder for commercial drone flight and monetization purposes. I have spent time looking through my city's ordinances and found nothing relevant to this situation, so if a law has been added, they certainly have made it hard to find and failed to successfully make the public aware of the new rule.

I also would like to note that the encounter was friendly and positive, and the purpose of this video is not to shame this representative or my city for potentially making a mistake or enforcing rules that don't exist. I understand his concern (regardless of the legal factors) for the safety of all the occupants of the park, and acknowledge once again that the city may have put an ordinance in place more recently that I am unaware of.
 

CappyAmeric

Elite member
The FAA has sole regulatory authority over the national airspace. Local officials only have authority to restrict UAS within the FAA’s regulatory guidelines.

Local government has used noise ordinances to limit aircraft activity (John Wayne airport in Orange County is an extreme example), but their enforcement comes not from regulating the airspace but simply the noise measured in decibels.
 
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CustomRCMods

Elite member
The FAA has sole regulatory authority over the national airspace. Local officials only have authority to restrict UAS within the FAA’s regulatory guidelines.

Local government has used noise ordinances to limit aircraft activity (John Wayne airport in Orange County is an extreme example), but their enforcement comes not from regulating the airspace but simply the noise measured in decibels.

Exactly, thats what I have heard.