so anyway i was flying my avata 2 in the park down the street from my house, just cruising around doing some low passes nothing crazy, and this older guy came up to me and started going on about how i need a commercial license to fly a drone and that i was breaking the law. i dont really know all the rules that well if im being honest but i've never had any issues before and i've been flying for like 8 months. he seemed pretty sure about it but also seemed like the type of guy who just wanted to complain. i live in texas if that matters. do i actually need some kind of license just to fly for fun in a park

that guy was wrong, at least partially. for recreational flying you dont need a Part 107 certificate, thats only required if you're flying commercially, meaning you're getting paid or flying as part of a business in any way. for just flying for fun the FAA requires you to register your drone if it's 250g or more, take the TRUST test which is free and takes like 20 minutes online, and follow the community based safety guidelines. the TRUST thing is kind of new-ish and a lot of people dont know about it, so worth checking if you've done that. texas doesnt really have any statewide drone laws beyond the FAA stuff as far as i know, though some cities have their own ordinances. was the park a city park? some city parks have no drone rules posted somewhere.

lol yeah people love to tell you youre breaking the law when they have no idea what the law actually is. happens constantly. the real things to watch out for are airspace restrictions, flying over people, and flying near airports without clearance. a neighborhood park in texas is almost certainly fine unless its near an airport or something. that said the TRUST certification thing is legit and if you havent done it you technically arent in compliance even for recreational flying. its free though so just knock it out. the avata 2 is over 250g too so make sure its registered on FAA droneZone if you havent already.