Ask for Permission or not. That is the Question:
Depending on where you want to fly, take photos and video you may want to ask permission first. I’m not referring to the FAA and airspace rules but to private property. This mainly refers to where your drone can takeoff and land but there are other situations as well.
There have been times I have been pleasantly surprised when I asked for permission and other times not so much. I’m not one to typically takeoff and land outside a property just to get a few photos then leave, I tend to rather attempt to get permission to be on the property and do what I want and not be hassled by the owner or other (park ranger for example) so I can enjoy flying and get the finished media I was looking for.
Three examples of asking for permission that worked out well are: The Pontifical College Josephinum, Ariel Foundation Park and Peters Cartridge Company Building. I was able to take my time, get the media I wanted (for the most part) and left feeling satisfied. I even gave the finished media to the owners for their use and they were happy to get it.
A couple of places that did not work out well (irked me a little to) are: Ohio State University buildings on the main campus and the Serpent Mound Historical Site.
I had a client who worked on specific buildings in OSU territory and wanted photographs of those buildings. I did my research and found their policy. Filled out a request to take the photos along with where it can be done safely but after 3 weeks I was denied for no good reason. There are many drone photos of famous OSU buildings out there but they where not done legally according to OSU. I could have played ignorant and taken the photos but decided to follow their rules.
I contacted the Ohio History Connection about taking off and landing within the Serpent Mounds site’s parking lot. They said ‘no’. Again there are drone photos and videos out there of this property but the pilots either took off and landed outside the property or on the property without consent. I understand their concern to preserve the Indian mounds but I explained how safe and respectful I would be and I have a UAS commercial pilot license; didn’t make a difference.
Conclusion:
Most situations are different and drone pilots feel differently on this topic depending on the situation and what they want to get out of their drone flights. In a lot of cases it’s fine to takeoff and land outside a location but there are situations where you can get in trouble or at least hassled by doing this. I would recommend to never takeoff and land within a property unless given permission but it happens.
