Drone Control

The Nebraska Department of Agriculture is has been using drones to manage water usage and crop lines for about a year. Hearing a 'buzzing' sound and the dogs going nuts, I looked out and saw a 'drone', a large r/c aircraft low flying my property line and well head areas. With Bino's saw Saunders County Sheriffs Department and reg # on the main wing and a large 'camera' package underneath. Options?

Figure 2 .22's mounted on a flexable homemade 'anti-aircraft' mount, a quick roll out, outside of camera, a good 'burst' and feign ignorance when the Sheriff Depart comes out to recover the wreckage. Or pumpin out 5 rounds of 'OO' buck, 45 pellets same effect.

Know I can't legally shoot em down, but this is not a really 'good' idea and 'Big Brother' is just getting bigger.

I see the golf caddie arguement, A solution to golf caddie pay increase demands is The Golf Cart, now is the solution to Police/Sherrif Officers pay increase demands in these more rural areas 'drones'.....serious, think about it.

Edited by oldsoldier - 12 February 2013 at 4:46pm

There goes my illicit fishing career. It's bad enough when the NG parks a Blackhawk over your rowboat. Anybody think a space blanket would confuse thermal? I'm thinking of making a lined ghillie-poncho.

oldsoldier wrote: So usafpilot what is the 'probable cause' and without warrent fly over my property, with an obvious camera equiped drone of law enforcement. Is any if any 'evidense' aquired admisable in court? Or in a property line or water usage hearing. I have to separate this into two parts. 1) They do NOT need probable cause to fly over your property and look from a plane. Anything in plain view from outside your curtilage, whether on the ground or in the air, is admissible.  While flying, they would not be allowed to use telescopic or thermal imaging devices without a search warrant. I don't believe this applies to video cameras/not zoomed photographs.   2) As far as it being a drone and not a manned aircraft, I don't know Nebraska's specific laws, but my understanding of the recent bill and past supreme court rulings is this: the drone is okay to be used for plain-view searches as long as it does not have telescopic/thermal/etc. aiding in its search. If it was a NE Dept of Ag drone not so worried, but a Sherrifs Dept drone, what were they looking for? Where was the warrent for this 'search' which it obviously was due to the flight patterns of tracing the lines, and figure 8's. Could be routine checks for marijuana, etc. No need for a warrant as explained above.

This has pretty much been summed up already, but I will touch on it.
An open field has no expectation of privacy (Hester v. US). The sheriff could basically walk around the same patch of land and it would not be considered a search (trespass is a separate issue). They can also use Thermal imaging as long as they don't use it to obtain evidence from an area protected by the fourth amendment (They can not use the thermal imaging to find heat sources inside your house or enclosed barn).

Goose gun with plated shot, those buckshot pellets or .22 rounds have to land somewhere. 

Actually thinking of getting a parkflyer large R/C aircraft and messin with the drones if they show up again. Imagine the Sherrif deputy on the monitor watching a "Spitfire" close on the camera. Put the 'dogfight' laser 'blinkers' on the wings for that shooting at him effect. If they can 'fly' over my property, I can mess with them.

http://www.hobbytown.com/Shop/-Spitfire-MK-IX-PNP/

Or havving 'The Red Baron' stalking them.

http://www.hobbytown.com/Shop/-ElectriFly-Fokker-Dr-1-WW1-Park-Flyer-EP-ARF/

Even though it's a terrible idea, skeet shooting the thing would be such a fun thing to do.

I do agree though, chase the thing.

Btw, shooting it down would be pretty cool.

Nearest neighbor over a mile away, and only on a small arc to the west. Rest of the compass I have miles, so bird or buck is good, .22's maybe not.

Doubt it's legal to shoot em down, but if I am flying my r/c airplane and there is an accidental air to air collision, jeeze officer didn't see it till it was too late. Or get one of those really big r/c transmitters with frequency scan for bind and fly, and see if that somehow 'interferes' with the drones electronics. Or get a big r/c warbird and do figure 8's over the Sherriff's Department building in Wahoo.
http://www.hobby-lobby.com/f_86_sabre_jolley_roger_epo_jet_arf_1034360_prd1.htm

fireworks sound more challenging/fun