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Lunchtime Photo

This is a drone's eye view of a tanker docked at the Port of Long Beach. The drone was about 300 feet above the ship.

UPDATE: Photography? Phhht. The comments are all about whether it's legal to fly a drone over a port. Here are a few things about that.

  • A rule was finalized in April that makes all airspace, by default, legal for flying small drones. The point of the law was to enable package delivery, but it applies to all drones.
  • The FAA is in charge of airspace, and they generally care about airports and not much else.
  • That said, maps built into the drone software outline all restricted airspace. In fact, the drone software won't even fly into restricted airspace. I was surprised the Port of Long Beach was unrestricted, but as long as you stay out of the flight paths of local airports it's OK.
  • Owners of private property can forbid you from taking off or landing on their property. I was on public land when I launched the drone for this picture.
  • If someone ever asked me to stop flying my drone, I'd stop. No one ever has.
October 9, 2021 — Long Beach, California

23 thoughts on “Lunchtime Photo

    1. Kevin Drum

      According to my drone software, I was in legal airspace. I was a little surprised too, but in general airspace is restricted by the FAA, which cares about airports, not seaports. Also, by default, anything not restricted is OK thanks to a new law passed in April (meant to allow UPS and other delivery services to fly wherever they need to).

      Now, owners of private property can prevent you from taking off or landing on their land. However, I was on public property for that.

  1. rick_jones

    In other news, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Charles O. Peterman announced the department was seeking information concerning the person apparently surveilling the Port of Long Beach with a drone.

  2. cld

    World's first living robots can now reproduce, scientists say,

    https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/29/americas/xenobots-self-replicating-robots-scn/index.html

    a. Formed from the stem cells of the African clawed frog . . .

    b. Now the scientists that developed them at the University of Vermont, Tufts University and Harvard University's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering said they have discovered an entirely new form of biological reproduction different from any animal or plant known to science.

    c. With the help of artificial intelligence, the researchers then tested billions of body shapes to make the xenobots more effective at this type of replication. The supercomputer came up with a C-shape that resembled Pac-Man, the 1980s video game. They found it was able to find tiny stem cells in a petri dish, gather hundreds of them inside its mouth, and a few days later the bundle of cells became new xenobots.

    d. The research was partially funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency . . .

    I think what's going on here is these guys all watch the same movies I do, but from a different perspective.

  3. Traveller

    It is funny that we all had the same thought....Tip toe over laws and regs aren't you, Kevin?

    I best like the post...."Kevin, don’t answer the door...." Yet, there really is a lot to unpack here.

    1. This really is an excellent picture to start off...color, clarity, framing....just all gorgeous.

    That said

    2. This is an active demonstration of the vulnerability of...most everything, from power lines to parked ships to our airports and everything in-between.

    3. Kevin is a good person actor, though...others may not be so benign.

    4.

    (well heck, I've taken several phone calls, resolved some issues, and forgot what I was saying here....lol)

    I am still a little shocked by Kevin's bravado and ability to do whatever he wants...things that would cause trouble for me or you...Kevin gets to skate on...he is magical that way....:>]]

    Best Wishes, Traveller

    1. Kevin Drum

      Bravado? Nah. I just sat on a patch of dirt and flew the drone. If someone had asked me to stop, I would have stopped.

      It's worth noting that once a small drone gets up to about 100-200 feet, it's basically invisible. Also, I took this picture on a Sunday when no one was around, which is safer than during weekdays when people are working.

          1. Vog46

            But wouldn't you need permission via a flight plan?
            Sounds kinda like an illegal over flight
            Shades of Gary Francis Powers!!!!!

      1. Vog46

        So, Kevin, are you saying that the port of Long Beach is not doing it's share of relieving the supply chain back log ? You flew it on Sunday when no one was around?
        Pfft...........
        Bidens plan on getting the ports to work 7 days a week is a failure

  4. jte21

    What's going to happen, I wonder, when paparazzi start flying drones over the backyards of celebrities and snapping photos of them sunbathing or whatever. You can't land or take off on private property w/o permission, but no-one has said anything about hovering over it? My guess is that some laws addressing that get passed pdq.

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