Here’s a beautiful cast by a San Diego fisherman who was obviously annoyed by a drone flying overhead. He hooked it. What a shame he didn’t manage to land it and take it home as a trophy. Drone pilot Tice Ledbetter, who posted the video, called the fisherman a jerk. Personally, I think he got it backwards. People who fly drones around other people are jerks.
Timely and relevant: “Rogue drones a growing nuisance across the U.S.“
This is AWESOME. This drone thing, and there’s someone in my neighborhood with one, is making rethink my position on the right of American’s to keep and bear anti-aircraft weapons.
Nah, I’m a lousy shot. I’d rather just outlaw private ownership of drones.
You know that salt shooter from the last post……
Drones are getting darn annoying. Fly them, but if they irritate the wrong person, don’t be surprised if it is suddenly MIA.
Don’t think the salt shooter has the range. Perhaps with some modifications …
We may have a winner…..
Just for fun, here’s a pilot’s perspective on drones:
Interesting. I thought they posed a bigger hazard than that. Still, I won’t excuse drone operators who spy on or otherwise annoy other people, who get in the way of firefighters and their aircraft, who fly in national parks or anyplace else they can frighten wildlife, create noise pollution, and in general make themselves a pain in the ass for anyone. The law hasn’t caught up to the drone problem yet, but that doesn’t mean their operators can ignore the rules of common courtesy, responsible behavior, and respect for others.
There was jerkishness all around, I think, but the drone guy pretty much put himself in that position. Logical people would think twice before operating a drone in such an area.
Oh, wait … there I go assuming either guy was very logical. 😉
Yeah, gotta be careful with assumptions, especially where logic is concerned.
Hi PT– this was a fun one, showing to a few co-workers, all would have cheered the fisherman, but then discussion ensued: does anyone have sufficient casting experience to cast upward toward a moving target so accurately? Did the line break or was it cut and where is that footage? And if i remember correctly, could the fisherman be cited for uas/uav/drone fishing without a license… or is uas/uav/drone fishing under catch and release regs approved in CA? Last, one felt it was staged… too convenient – why did the remote operator not reposition the vehicle? Other than that, it helped pass time!
I’ve never used the kind of equipment the fisherman used but assume accuracy comes with practice. All he really had to do was loop his line over the drone, which wasn’t moving all that much since the operator was so busy filming everyone. The side panel at the end shows the operator pulling the line off the drone, after you see the line trailing from the drone, so I’ve no doubt the cast and catch was real. But drone fishing without a license? I don’t know about that. Plus there are catch-and-release programs everywhere. If so, he violated those too. 😉 The operator probably didn’t reposition because (a) he doubted the fisherman could reach him and (b) he was too busy being a jerk.
I side with the fisherman. It seems to me that the fisherman responded to the drone the same way that you or I would respond to a pesky fly. What is needed is a drone fly-swatter.
Ah, great idea. You should patent that. I foresee a great and growing need.
And so it goes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNPJMk2fgJU
Earlier this year on “Hawaii Five-0” somebody was murdered with something very similar. Then there was the student who mounted a pistol on one and posted a YouTube video of his accomplishment. http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/FAA-Police-Investigate-Drone-Gun-Clinton-Connecticut-Video-316368531.html Technology is advancing so much faster than our legal system. It’s scary.
Drones – like lasers and assault weapons – really shouldn’t be in private hands but it seems we can’t stop them. Those of us who aren’t inclined to own any of these categories of troublemakers may nevertheless have to buy one in self-defense. The only real defense against a drone is another one.
Buying any of these items for defense against them just escalates the problem. That’s what helped (and continues to help) fuel our gun culture.
My point exactly. And that’s the reason – to which legislators have seemed blind — that such potentially dangerous technology ought to be blessed with some reasonable restrictions right from the start, certainly more quickly than has been the case in any of these examples. Who could not have foreseen, for example, that once lasers were made available to every Tom, Dick, and Harriet as toys, that a lot of idiots would start pointing them at airplanes?
Never let it be said that our lawmakers (“the internet is a series of tubes”) understand advancing technology, much less keep up with it and legislate accordingly. They’re more concerned with jamming up the other party than with doing, much less anticipating, what the country needs.