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Wired Cautions Would-Be Drone Photogs on the 4th
Last year's spectacular but unauthorized you-are-there video from the inside of a fireworks display has probably inspired quite a few people to try getting their own bird's-eye view this year. Wired cautions photographers, though, that many municipalities have specifically banned (and some will be looking for) unauthorized airborne visitors, and that the FAA's guidelines for legal flight are tricky to comply with during a fireworks show. This is both because it's hard to maintain visual contact with a drone amid the dark and smoke of a show, and because of the altitude at which many commercial firework shells burst. In addition, even if a drone photo mission goes under the radar vis-a-vis local authorities, if resulting footage appears on an ad-supported site, like YouTube, the FAA may be a bit more interested than the pilot would like.
Jackasses seem to keep ruining it for everyone. For example i was at an art show and it was pretty packed, some jackass drone operation was flying a larger model, around 4kg / 10 lbs or so, up and down the isles probably 15 feet over people's heads. It was large enough that a simple slip up, if not outright killing someone would have caused a few trips to the ER. It's that kind of jackassery that ruins it for everyone. It's finally starting to be a greater danger to be injured by an idiot teenager looking for some hits on his youtube channel than being hit by a stray firework.