Has anybody had to deal with drones while SUP'ing? Had some twit buzzing us today which was very annoying. Of course, the more this twit irritated us and getting our attention the worse it got.
Saw the same drone when I got back buzzing the skiers and jetskis. Everybody was annoyed but nobody could see where he landed - was not near the beach. Of course the guy was breaking several civil aviation laws but the police do not have sophisticated equipment to track the operator and are usually gone by the time the cops get to the beach.

Yep I have had them so close I could have knocked them out of the air with my paddle. They are an intrusion, terrible for the local bird life And I would be happy to see them banned from all public places.

I really don't care as long as they don't hit me, I see them as another set of eyes that could possibly help someone in case of need.

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lam said..
Yep I have had them so close I could have knocked them out of the air with my paddle. They are an intrusion, terrible for the local bird life And I would be happy to see them banned from all public places.

Why are they bad for birds? Apart from the obvious danger of collisions but birds seem to be able to avoid them pretty well.

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micksmith said..
I really don't care as long as they don't hit me, I see them as another set of eyes that could possibly help someone in case of need.

Good point re another set of eyes. Of course, it begs the question would they care, since they are already flying illegally and have no problem encroaching on once's personal space.

These things are so easy to fly that anybody can do it and buy one, but they may not know how to control it safely when there's a problem or have the maturity to keep a safe flying distance from individuals and thereby avoiding accidents. You never know if the operator is skilled or not and I hate it when they play the odds at my expense.

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hilly said..

lam said..
Yep I have had them so close I could have knocked them out of the air with my paddle. They are an intrusion, terrible for the local bird life And I would be happy to see them banned from all public places.

Why are they bad for birds? Apart from the obvious danger of collisions but birds seem to be able to avoid them pretty well.

www.popsci.com/how-not-fly-drones-around-birds/

Not sure how scientific it is and it was done nearly four years ago.

Drones are no threat to birds, In Germany eagles are being trained to take them down around military areas. New laws in NSW state that you cannot come within 30metres of anybody so if they do its time to do some swatting with your paddle.

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WCC said..

hilly said..

lam said..
Yep I have had them so close I could have knocked them out of the air with my paddle. They are an intrusion, terrible for the local bird life And I would be happy to see them banned from all public places.

Why are they bad for birds? Apart from the obvious danger of collisions but birds seem to be able to avoid them pretty well.

www.popsci.com/how-not-fly-drones-around-birds/

Not sure how scientific it is and it was done nearly four years ago.

And it shows no stress unless within 15 feet