would requiring a permit help or hinder our hobby

[Roscue2]

Actually, people do own the sky. I was surprised to discover in a real estate class that when a person buys a piece of land in this state (NY), that person owns from the center of earth out to infiniti. LOL. Moral of the story, don't tell someone that you'll fly your plane wherever you want because nobody owns the sky unless you've checked to make sure!

In Cali I think you own the land, but not the mineral rights. Meaning, you don't own the ground underneath you unless you buy it. Not sure about the sky though.

 

[scubadetector]

n/t

 

[Critterhunter]

Actually, people do own the sky. I was surprised to discover in a real estate class that when a person buys a piece of land in this state (NY), that person owns from the center of earth out to infinity. LOL. Moral of the story, don't tell someone that you'll fly your plane wherever you want because nobody owns the sky unless you've checked to make sure!

If that's the case then the airlines and satellite companies owe me a ton of money for using my property to go from point A to point B.

Tell that to the hundreds of people posting FPV (first person view) RC electric plane videos on Youtube. If there was any kind of law against it I'm sure there would be heads rolling long ago. I've got one friend who wears LCD goggles for the "pilot's perspective" and flies his planes several miles out, complete with onscreen GPS coordinates of where his plane is. I fly RC with cameras too but thus far not over private land. Not because I don't feel I can, but just because I got plenty of public spots to inspect for old signs of activity to later come back and detect. The few private places I've flown over I've had permission to launch and fly from.

But in reality, what is an RC plane doing but just getting a better view of the horizon from a higher vantage point? Not any more different than climbing up a hill or a tree to look out over things if you think of it that way. If they start inflicting laws on a camera view of things in the sky also seems that would put a lot of news rooms out of business. If there is any such laws sure don't seem like they are enforcing them, but then never underestimate a sea of laws we never even heard about.

...... Moral of the story, don't tell someone that you'll fly your plane wherever you want because nobody owns the sky unless you've checked to make sure!

Or as in the case of metal detecting: "Sometimes ..... no one cares.... UNTIL you ask"

Exactly. Dead spot on with that point. Always remember that if we expect to do what we want in our particular hobbies (within reason that is), then we should be careful about telling others how to enjoy different other hobbies. It's that slippery slope thing, where sooner or later everybody is telling everybody else how to live their life. That's the biggest problem I see with society these days. Too many people telling others how to live for "their own good". I don't want to be told what to eat or drink, and that's just the start of things to come I think...

 

[Critterhunter]

Critter, you have your opinion I have mine. I don't agree with yours and obviously you don't agree with mine. I will keep being me and if you want to leave you sure can keep being you. Thats the nature of this wonderful contry we live in. I will make my own choice and so will you. BUT we can still share the same hobby. And no matter what your doing, one person complaining is NOT going to get a law changed, not even a small group of people.

Sure, do what you want. I'm only relating that the "fly under the radar" thing for me has worked for years, never having had a spot I hunt be banned to detecting.

Far as the law thing goes, I'd just point out that there doesn't even have to be a law involved here to end up losing a spot. I grew up with several friends who are now cops, and I can tell you that one of the things they don't like is having to answer to their supervisor. Meaning, if they get called out to a dispute the easiest thing to do is ask somebody to leave to resolve it. If they don't, and another call comes in later to that same situation, then there is some explaining to do as to why it didn't get resolved the first time. That's the reason why domestic arguments often end with one of the two parties being asked to leave.

Way I see it if somebody calls the cops and says I'm digging, who do you think the cop is going to ask to leave, so that the squeeky wheel gets greased? And if that happens, maybe next time that cop rolls by and sees me hunting there again he takes a little offense me questioning his authority in some way? Just a bad situation I don't want to risk, but that's me.

I'd only add this- That with freedom comes responsibility. When it's abused, by say some who don't act within reason and push things even further than most feel they should be, then that's where lines get drawn to try to stop or regulate it, and then we all suffer. There are people who live for this stuff, and in fact make their very lives and careers out of writing laws and using fancy words so that they can wear fancy suits and make big money, and only they and their lawyers can understand it. I try to stay as far away from those kinds of people as possible in terms of them making decisions in my life.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

You're absolutely right: Too many md'rs who "got the boot" by a cop somewhere, simply assume that this must mean "the place is off-limits". This isn't always necessarily true. It could be just as you say, that the cop is merely responding to some busy-body's complaint, and is going to take the easy solution. But odds are, if that same cop had just been passing you by, he'd have probably paid you no mind.

So unless there's an actual rule saying "no metal detectors", I do not take a single booting, as anything indicative. Those poor cops have to satisfy "miss lookie-lou"s call. And ..... let's face it guys, there's no escaping that our hobby has connotations and draws curious stares. So simply avoid miss lookie-lou and anyone who might gripe.

For example, there was a park about 100 miles from me, that I enjoyed hunting whenever going through that part of my state. But one time, after 10 or 15 yrs. of having stopped there un-bothered, I got booted by a lady cop. Now SOME md'rs would tuck their tail and never return. Or they might march down to city hall to "get her over-turned" or "seek clarification". But instead, since I was just leaving anyhow, I gave lip service, and left. 6 months later, when passing through the town, I stopped and gave it a whirl. No problems (of course I used discretion, and wasn't going to be in the middle of retrievals in high traffic). That was 10 yrs. ago, and I've been back 20+ times and never had a problem again. Thus I deduce the cop was merely responding to a caller, or perhaps was just having a bad day that day, or whatever.

 

[scubadetector]

A fact. The jail was run by the county and my boss and I were state. A LOT of the time when my boss took people to jail the jailers would ask if they were arrested for contempt of Shawn. He had a HABBIT of instigating arguments and fights and I HATED to back him up when we were working together. Give some people a gun and a badge and they THINK they have all the right to push anyone around they can. And you know that most people are intimidated enough they do what they are told.

Have you ever been in a traffic jam on a freeway because of a cop going UNDER the speed limit and EVERYBODY affraid to pass him? I rest my point. I will pass without hesitation.