Is there a “safe” vendor of drones, or has this turned into another “all smart TVs are wiretaps by default” situation that we’re expected to just accept?
- you can't fly over private property,
- pretty much _ALL_ parks&rec departments and counties in the Bay Area prohibit flying in their public parks,
- flying over e.g. public parking lots and the likes is probably a gray area as there's potentially people around,
- airspace at least around here is often regulated anyway, many airports, hospitals with heli pads (not 100% sure about legality of flying within their "zone") and national/state parks that are also no-fly.
I tend to fly in smaller parks and just risk the $500 (?) fine and getting the drone confiscated :( It will just get better once this can happen retroactively :/
But this is mostly why I got a DJI Mini, it's pretty quiet and doesn't draw a lot of attention.
Yes, you can. The FAA regulates airspace; the state has no jurisdiction.
> pretty much _ALL_ parks&rec departments and counties in the Bay Area prohibit flying in their public parks,
They can restrict taking off, landing, and "operating from".
> airspace at least around here is often regulated anyway, many airports, hospitals with heli pads (not 100% sure about legality of flying within their "zone") and national/state parks that are also no-fly.
In most cases it's as easy as a LAANC request, made through a mobile app and approved instantly.
It's worse in some places than others but I had no problem flying in Santa Cruz a few months ago. San Diego is a nightmare, between military bases and the civilian airport there.