Out at the lake today putting in some stick time, shooting some b-roll for an MDA gig coming up next month. Had a terrific time and the Inspire did a fantastic job. After 6 batteries I took a break and slummed around waiting for the sun to start setting. As I waited, a killdeer decided I was too close to its nest nestled somewhere below the point I was standing on. It tried in vain to get me to follow it, chirping loudly and executing a perfect "My wing is broken!" pose. I talked to he/she for a few minutes in a soothing voice hoping to calm its nerves. Of course, it didn't work. Oh well...
Sunset started around 8pm CDT and I took to the air. My goal was to make a few passes toward the sun with a tilt down at the water in the beginning of the run, and a slow tilt up. By this time there weren't a lot of boats on the lake. What few craft were on the water were of the pontoon variety. Nonetheless, I took advantage of them and attempted flyovers, silouetting them against the fiery disc. After a couple of passes over several different craft, I did a turnaround in hopes of getting one more shot out of my last battery. As I watched the bird return, I noticed that one of the pontoons I'd flown over was pulling in close to my shore location. When the operator stopped just off shore from me, he asked "Does that thing have a camera?" I replied in the affirmative. In a very serious tone he said, "I'm going to get my gun." My response... "Why? I'm shooting watersports activities." He retorted with "I don't want my picture taken". I laughed. "I don't even know who you are, let alone I can barely make out what you look like from here!" The douchenozzle didn't respond. Instead, he went to leave and found that he'd essentially beached himself in the shallows. After a minute or so of gunning his motor, he was off to the other side of the lake. I finished up the last couple of minutes on my battery and then landed.
You can see the star of this drama in the pic below. Well... You can see a pontoon. I'm flying in a State Park, from the marina I keep my Regal 30 Express Cruiser at, and my truck is marked with my aerial company logo. The whole thing was extremely amusing. Sure, the guy could have got his gun and shot the Inspire or me. But, if he had... He'd have gotten his picture taken anyway... by the cops.
Sunset started around 8pm CDT and I took to the air. My goal was to make a few passes toward the sun with a tilt down at the water in the beginning of the run, and a slow tilt up. By this time there weren't a lot of boats on the lake. What few craft were on the water were of the pontoon variety. Nonetheless, I took advantage of them and attempted flyovers, silouetting them against the fiery disc. After a couple of passes over several different craft, I did a turnaround in hopes of getting one more shot out of my last battery. As I watched the bird return, I noticed that one of the pontoons I'd flown over was pulling in close to my shore location. When the operator stopped just off shore from me, he asked "Does that thing have a camera?" I replied in the affirmative. In a very serious tone he said, "I'm going to get my gun." My response... "Why? I'm shooting watersports activities." He retorted with "I don't want my picture taken". I laughed. "I don't even know who you are, let alone I can barely make out what you look like from here!" The douchenozzle didn't respond. Instead, he went to leave and found that he'd essentially beached himself in the shallows. After a minute or so of gunning his motor, he was off to the other side of the lake. I finished up the last couple of minutes on my battery and then landed.
You can see the star of this drama in the pic below. Well... You can see a pontoon. I'm flying in a State Park, from the marina I keep my Regal 30 Express Cruiser at, and my truck is marked with my aerial company logo. The whole thing was extremely amusing. Sure, the guy could have got his gun and shot the Inspire or me. But, if he had... He'd have gotten his picture taken anyway... by the cops.
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And on my theory you don't need to have a gun or any weapon to be an a******, I stand by my previous statement!
Yeah. I sometimes wonder about some of the douchenozzles I come across from time to time. But, I have to assume that in the fading light of the day, he didn't really get a good look at me. He was about 30-40' away from me. Nonetheless, I may look scary, but I'm a teddy bear with most folks. I'm afraid, in this particular case, I wouldn't have been cuddly if he'd been stupid enough to confront me after actually seeing me.
