so this happened a few days ago and im still kind of annoyed about it. i was flying at a local park, nothing fancy just practicing some slow orbits around a tree, and i got a call on my phone maybe 20 minutes later from a number i didn't recognize. turned out to be someone who said they saw me flying near their house which is adjacent to the park and told me i was breaking the law by flying over private property and that i needed some kind of permit.

here's the thing though, i wasnt flying over their property at all. i was staying within the park boundaries the whole time, at maybe 150 feet altitude, well within visual line of sight, registered drone, the whole deal. i checked beforehand and the area isnt in any controlled airspace, no TFRs active, no stadiums or anything. i didnt have part 107, just flying recreational under the fria rules.

the person seemed pretty convinced i was doing something illegal but i honestly dont think i was? like is there some rule about flying near private property even if youre not over it that i dont know about. i dont want to get in trouble but also i dont think i did anything wrong

from what you're describing it sounds like you were fine honestly. there's no federal rule that says you cant fly near someone's property as long as you're in legal airspace. the whole "you cant fly over my yard" thing is kind of a gray area legally and homeowners tend to massively overestimate what rights they have over the airspace above and near their property. the FAA controls navigable airspace, not your neighbor.

that said local ordinances are a thing and they vary a lot by city or county so its worth double checking if your area has anything specific. some places do have local rules about drones in parks too, separate from FAA stuff. but based on the federal rules alone you werent breaking anything from what you described.

people always think they own the sky above their house lol. ive had similar conversations. as long as you checked your airspace beforehand and werent doing anything sketchy youre probably fine. i'd just note down the date and time you flew and keep your flight logs just in case anything comes of it, probably nothing will but good to have a record