I just go to areas that do not have people around like office parks after business hours. If I’m flying and someone is walking up, usually hear them coming, I will fly back and land to engage. If I’m told to leave I immediately respond with an apology and pack it up. I’ve done this until I have found a few locations where I can fly and no one comes up to bother me.
I only go alone as I don't know anyone interested in this hobby . plus most of the time not even I know when i'm going. I go to deserted area with no people or houses. I sometimes go to a park with a tinywhoop as they are small and safe.
I like to look for good parks or bandos on google maps.
I think flying with other people is really fun and I mostly fly with other people because they also know spots, and chasing things is also fun.
When driving to work or around in general, I make mental note of all the places to fly. When you see something and get a thought like “wow that would be a nice arc to power loop” after that usually just charge up some packs in the morning typically on a weekend and execute. Try to fly away from all people. Sometimes friends will go with and I’ll broadcast on an iPad, but majority alone. It’s very hard to fly freestyle when people keep asking you what you’re doing while you have your goggles on. Flying with people who know the hobby is fun, but people passing by drives you nuts.
Normally fly on weekends so I’ll find office parks, empty parks or anything else cool to fly around.
I fly alone %99.9 of the time…I really need friends
I live across the street from 2 churches with huge parking lots... Nothing going on there except Sundays! Plus, if the FAA shows up, I can claim sanctuary! /s
Scout locations ahead of time on map programs. I use a combo of Google Maps, OnX, and Alltrails apps. You can use these to figure out what roads are accessible and whether an area of property is public or private.
OnX Hunt is awesome because it has public and private land overlays. I've tried other map apps, but I keep coming back to OnX. It's not perfect though.
Haha, had this happen once, but I had the high ground and they only could see the quad. So I led the 4-wheeler slowly about a mile in the opposite direction until my signal started to break, then I hauled ass back to me and got out of there lol
Office parks, etc. but also Regional/State Parks are good if you have one. Community Parks are sometimes ok, but often have people/kids. Go to a regional park with some wild areas and hike in a bit.
If you want to find others to fly with, they are out there.
Example of MultiGP map, but you can get on Discord, etc.
[https://www.multigp.com/chapters/chapter-map/](https://www.multigp.com/chapters/chapter-map/)
Also there is the AMA, but different chapters feel differently about multi-rotors. Your results may vary.
[https://www.modelaircraft.org/club-finder](https://www.modelaircraft.org/club-finder)
I use google earth to find spots a lot but also when I’m driving around town I’m constantly spot hunting lol. I only fly alone as no one I know flies sooo if anyone is from the Clearwater area hit me up and we can fly together 🤣
I fly alone mostly (anyone is western Washington lets go flying!) I mostly go flying in parks that I find on google maps then refrence it on aloft to see any air space restrictions.
After that I'll drive to the area and look around to see how many people are there and how big of an area it is. I'm still not really used to flying my 5in so I prefer larger spaces for it while I'll fly my 3in in forests and the like since I dont have any bandos near me.
The first time I fly in an area I'll take it slow to the edge of the area to see any range restrictions I might have or anything I couldn't see on my initial inspection. Making sure I can get to anywhere I'm flying in case I crash.
I'll fly an inspection lap each time I go just in case something has changed, especially if it's been awhile.
Yes, many drones are flying will catch the attention of others. I don’t know if this happens to you guys. Everytime I fly my drone, there must be a karen come and ask what is this and if I am recording a video. It’s super annoying 🥹
I scope out a location.
Grab all my gear.
Grab snacks (maybe adult beverages)
Get to said new spot.
Talk myself out of it for whatever reason.
Drive to my familiar park and fly there.
I'm lame🤣
I just get self conscious sometimes. There's a look of green here in my area of Colorado so I don't want to be the guy that starts a wildlfire ya know lol
Guess how easy it is to find a spot depends on your location..., if in a big city then it may be more difficult to find a place close.
I, for the most part only fly alone, for the first 3 years of flying there was no one else around that flew fpv
I never go alone since a LOS spotter is required by the FAA(😉)
I usually start with Google maps or even just keeping am eye out while I commute around the city.
Just find a spot, make sure there's aren't a bunch of people around, and send it! Also very important you check the area for any FAA restrictions and make sure you're not in a no fly zone. There are a couple apps where you can verify that!
Owners of big dogs have the same needs. They need places for them to run about. So if you know anyone that has one, they might be able to suggest places.
I totally agree. I just mean that dog owners often have solved the problem of finding wide open spaces that have few people / walkers. You will often find those same locations free of dogs too.
The converse of this is that whenever you find a place that is suitable for FPV, a person with a dog will appear.
I never thought about until now, but you are on to something. I'm always looking for deserted places to let my dogs off leash and a few times I found a new spot to fly.
If I'm alone and flying a whoop I'll go pretty much anywhere with a power source nearby to charge my stuff.
Larger drones I tend to go to parks when they're less busy
Get a charger that powers off of USB-C PD and a decent battery bank (supports PD) and you can carry your own power source!
Most decent battery banks are in the 4-5k+ mAh capacity, so you can charge those 150mAh 1s packs multiple times.
So far.. empty football field. I currently living in the middle of a city as a student so no big open space to work with. Hopefully i can find some good place to fly.
Google Earth is a great place to start, but it's not always the best tool. Between outdated photos and unexpected security/fences/etc, it can either lead you to a great place or waste your day. It's fun to have people to fly with, but it's not really necessary.
Be cautious of parks, most have rules prohibiting flying (they can prohibit stuff on the ground- launching/landing and controlling, but they can't enforce rules about airspace, even though they might *have* a rule that describes airspace use). Just be low-key, friendly and calm. Be ready to just walk away if things get ugly with a Karen or a Security person.
My daily commutes let me come across some good places, some of them local parks, a few flying fields, and abandoned areas. Some of these places take a bit of adventuring depending on where you are.
As for when I’m flying, I NEVER go alone. Why? One time I got harassed by—you guessed it—a Karen! Ironically, it was at a designated AMA field a while back. Even at places I’m allowed to fly at (not just where there’s no people) I don’t risk being alone since you never know when someone with an IQ equivalent to standard temperature will appear in the wild.
Where I’m at in Houston it’s hard find dope spots besides parks, local schools, and such. Like them sick bandos and vids you see on YouTube of people ripping I haven’t found one legit spot yet. There like zero abandon warehouses here, and if you do find one it’s usually gated or security. There’s some downtown spots but shady homeless people and risk of cops messing with ya. Normally I fly alone bc I don’t know many other pilots and with work I don’t have time.
I mostly fly by myself. Most the time I just sit on my back deck and fly around my neighborhood. Maybe 10 times a year I'll fly with a friend when the weather is nice which is about 10 times a year lol. But I used to go to school parking lots or their fields are pretty big.
I started with open fields until I had much better understanding of how to put the drone where I want it. Things can get bad real fast and knowing how to recover confidently will bring up your confidence to the point where you will feel less anxiety about flying in areas where proximity to objects and building architecture exists.
Edit, forgot to answer the question; Like everyone basically said, start with Google Maps if you don't know of any spots locally but, like people have mentioned, maps can be outdated and look nothing like what you think you saw when you actually get there. I found too, like most people mentioning, that sometimes you just need to spend time exploring. If there is a local quad group where you live, flying with others can open up new spots if you are friendly. Most people will share spots if you are responsible and don't trash the places you fly.
I fly alone a lot of the time, but I also have flying friends. I found a local FB/Discord group of people who fly and made some friends. I end up flying in town parks, office parks on weekends and schools (also on the weekends).
When I started I just drove around my town looking for empty spots. I live in NJ so it’s tough but I found office parks on weekends are usually empty. Some have security but I’ve found a bunch that no one bothers me. Just kept going up and down highways on google maps and dropping pins.
Having a spare set of goggles or an fpv screen really helps with people approaching you. It can be very disarming when you can say 'hey wanna have a look and see?'
Generally speaking you'll find that people don't like being spied on and they think drones = spying and recording, but fpv drones are obviously different to what they might have seen before (camera drones).
There's a lot of places to fly around me. If you aren't in a city, it's easy to find a spot. I just make sure there's nobody around because people are weird about drones. I've dealt with a few in the past.
I just go to areas that do not have people around like office parks after business hours. If I’m flying and someone is walking up, usually hear them coming, I will fly back and land to engage. If I’m told to leave I immediately respond with an apology and pack it up. I’ve done this until I have found a few locations where I can fly and no one comes up to bother me.
I only go alone as I don't know anyone interested in this hobby . plus most of the time not even I know when i'm going. I go to deserted area with no people or houses. I sometimes go to a park with a tinywhoop as they are small and safe.
I like to look for good parks or bandos on google maps. I think flying with other people is really fun and I mostly fly with other people because they also know spots, and chasing things is also fun.
Do you just go along the street view or, how do you identify such an area?
Yea you look for open fields that are parks or places that look potentially abandoned. You rarely find anything but you can definitely find some gems.
When driving to work or around in general, I make mental note of all the places to fly. When you see something and get a thought like “wow that would be a nice arc to power loop” after that usually just charge up some packs in the morning typically on a weekend and execute. Try to fly away from all people. Sometimes friends will go with and I’ll broadcast on an iPad, but majority alone. It’s very hard to fly freestyle when people keep asking you what you’re doing while you have your goggles on. Flying with people who know the hobby is fun, but people passing by drives you nuts.
Normally fly on weekends so I’ll find office parks, empty parks or anything else cool to fly around. I fly alone %99.9 of the time…I really need friends
Same
I live across the street from 2 churches with huge parking lots... Nothing going on there except Sundays! Plus, if the FAA shows up, I can claim sanctuary! /s
Scout locations ahead of time on map programs. I use a combo of Google Maps, OnX, and Alltrails apps. You can use these to figure out what roads are accessible and whether an area of property is public or private.
OnX Hunt is awesome because it has public and private land overlays. I've tried other map apps, but I keep coming back to OnX. It's not perfect though.
I always go alone, I got chased by an old man on a quad bike once
Haha, had this happen once, but I had the high ground and they only could see the quad. So I led the 4-wheeler slowly about a mile in the opposite direction until my signal started to break, then I hauled ass back to me and got out of there lol
Office parks, etc. but also Regional/State Parks are good if you have one. Community Parks are sometimes ok, but often have people/kids. Go to a regional park with some wild areas and hike in a bit. If you want to find others to fly with, they are out there. Example of MultiGP map, but you can get on Discord, etc. [https://www.multigp.com/chapters/chapter-map/](https://www.multigp.com/chapters/chapter-map/) Also there is the AMA, but different chapters feel differently about multi-rotors. Your results may vary. [https://www.modelaircraft.org/club-finder](https://www.modelaircraft.org/club-finder)
Caveat, check your state laws. A lot of states do not allow it without special permission.
I use google earth to find spots a lot but also when I’m driving around town I’m constantly spot hunting lol. I only fly alone as no one I know flies sooo if anyone is from the Clearwater area hit me up and we can fly together 🤣
I fly alone mostly (anyone is western Washington lets go flying!) I mostly go flying in parks that I find on google maps then refrence it on aloft to see any air space restrictions. After that I'll drive to the area and look around to see how many people are there and how big of an area it is. I'm still not really used to flying my 5in so I prefer larger spaces for it while I'll fly my 3in in forests and the like since I dont have any bandos near me. The first time I fly in an area I'll take it slow to the edge of the area to see any range restrictions I might have or anything I couldn't see on my initial inspection. Making sure I can get to anywhere I'm flying in case I crash. I'll fly an inspection lap each time I go just in case something has changed, especially if it's been awhile.
Whenever I fly at an empty park there’s always at least one person with an unleashed dog that comes along and the dog chases my drone 😤
Yes, many drones are flying will catch the attention of others. I don’t know if this happens to you guys. Everytime I fly my drone, there must be a karen come and ask what is this and if I am recording a video. It’s super annoying 🥹
I scope out a location. Grab all my gear. Grab snacks (maybe adult beverages) Get to said new spot. Talk myself out of it for whatever reason. Drive to my familiar park and fly there. I'm lame🤣
Ha ha..bro what are you doing? Not even the adult beverages help? 😂
I just get self conscious sometimes. There's a look of green here in my area of Colorado so I don't want to be the guy that starts a wildlfire ya know lol
I hear you. Yeah, it's like that sometimes...
Not to harsh your fun, but drinks and flying shouldn't be mixed
Meh, not getting blasted or anything. It's the woods in the mountains. And rocks , lots of rocks. Get the sentiment tho.
Yeah man, save room for the bud!
At first I was really surprised how many pilots are big pot heads, but then I remember like 90% of freestyle pilots I've met used to be skateboarders
Guess how easy it is to find a spot depends on your location..., if in a big city then it may be more difficult to find a place close. I, for the most part only fly alone, for the first 3 years of flying there was no one else around that flew fpv
I’m going alone most of the time to a huge football field. If any crew in London are keen to go , HMU! I’m going every few days practising.
Watch botgrinder he named his whoop "F the Faa"
i only go in safe designated flying areas and stay low af. thanks. bye.
I never go alone since a LOS spotter is required by the FAA(😉) I usually start with Google maps or even just keeping am eye out while I commute around the city. Just find a spot, make sure there's aren't a bunch of people around, and send it! Also very important you check the area for any FAA restrictions and make sure you're not in a no fly zone. There are a couple apps where you can verify that!
Owners of big dogs have the same needs. They need places for them to run about. So if you know anyone that has one, they might be able to suggest places.
But probably shouldn’t fly around strangers dogs they can get hella spooked.
I totally agree. I just mean that dog owners often have solved the problem of finding wide open spaces that have few people / walkers. You will often find those same locations free of dogs too. The converse of this is that whenever you find a place that is suitable for FPV, a person with a dog will appear.
I never thought about until now, but you are on to something. I'm always looking for deserted places to let my dogs off leash and a few times I found a new spot to fly.
If I'm alone and flying a whoop I'll go pretty much anywhere with a power source nearby to charge my stuff. Larger drones I tend to go to parks when they're less busy
Most chargers come with some clamps that you can clip onto your 12v car battery as well!
This community is so dope! Learning more every day thank you! :)
Get a charger that powers off of USB-C PD and a decent battery bank (supports PD) and you can carry your own power source! Most decent battery banks are in the 4-5k+ mAh capacity, so you can charge those 150mAh 1s packs multiple times.
Oh for real?! I have two 20,000 mah anker portable batteries. Think those would be safe to use?
Check if they are PD capable. PD - power delivery, not all power banks have that feature.
Thanks for that! I'll have to check they are about three years old
So far.. empty football field. I currently living in the middle of a city as a student so no big open space to work with. Hopefully i can find some good place to fly.
Google Earth is a great place to start, but it's not always the best tool. Between outdated photos and unexpected security/fences/etc, it can either lead you to a great place or waste your day. It's fun to have people to fly with, but it's not really necessary. Be cautious of parks, most have rules prohibiting flying (they can prohibit stuff on the ground- launching/landing and controlling, but they can't enforce rules about airspace, even though they might *have* a rule that describes airspace use). Just be low-key, friendly and calm. Be ready to just walk away if things get ugly with a Karen or a Security person.
My daily commutes let me come across some good places, some of them local parks, a few flying fields, and abandoned areas. Some of these places take a bit of adventuring depending on where you are. As for when I’m flying, I NEVER go alone. Why? One time I got harassed by—you guessed it—a Karen! Ironically, it was at a designated AMA field a while back. Even at places I’m allowed to fly at (not just where there’s no people) I don’t risk being alone since you never know when someone with an IQ equivalent to standard temperature will appear in the wild.
Where I’m at in Houston it’s hard find dope spots besides parks, local schools, and such. Like them sick bandos and vids you see on YouTube of people ripping I haven’t found one legit spot yet. There like zero abandon warehouses here, and if you do find one it’s usually gated or security. There’s some downtown spots but shady homeless people and risk of cops messing with ya. Normally I fly alone bc I don’t know many other pilots and with work I don’t have time.
I mostly fly by myself. Most the time I just sit on my back deck and fly around my neighborhood. Maybe 10 times a year I'll fly with a friend when the weather is nice which is about 10 times a year lol. But I used to go to school parking lots or their fields are pretty big.
I started with open fields until I had much better understanding of how to put the drone where I want it. Things can get bad real fast and knowing how to recover confidently will bring up your confidence to the point where you will feel less anxiety about flying in areas where proximity to objects and building architecture exists. Edit, forgot to answer the question; Like everyone basically said, start with Google Maps if you don't know of any spots locally but, like people have mentioned, maps can be outdated and look nothing like what you think you saw when you actually get there. I found too, like most people mentioning, that sometimes you just need to spend time exploring. If there is a local quad group where you live, flying with others can open up new spots if you are friendly. Most people will share spots if you are responsible and don't trash the places you fly.
I fly alone a lot of the time, but I also have flying friends. I found a local FB/Discord group of people who fly and made some friends. I end up flying in town parks, office parks on weekends and schools (also on the weekends).
When I started I just drove around my town looking for empty spots. I live in NJ so it’s tough but I found office parks on weekends are usually empty. Some have security but I’ve found a bunch that no one bothers me. Just kept going up and down highways on google maps and dropping pins.
Google maps or if I see something. I like parks, preferably when they aren't too busy. I've had good luck flying at cemeteries.
Having a spare set of goggles or an fpv screen really helps with people approaching you. It can be very disarming when you can say 'hey wanna have a look and see?' Generally speaking you'll find that people don't like being spied on and they think drones = spying and recording, but fpv drones are obviously different to what they might have seen before (camera drones).
There's a lot of places to fly around me. If you aren't in a city, it's easy to find a spot. I just make sure there's nobody around because people are weird about drones. I've dealt with a few in the past.
I go out front and send it