okay so this was kind of stressful. i was flying at this open field near my house, not a park, just like a big empty grassy area that i always assumed was just unused land or something. guy comes up to me really aggressive saying i need a license to fly and that im breaking federal law and threatening to call the police. i have a mini 2 and i honestly dont know if i need a license for it or not, i thought under 250g you were exempt from most of the rules? he eventually walked away but it kind of ruined my afternoon and now im second guessing everything

i wasnt flying over people, wasnt near an airport, maybe 150 feet up just cruising around. felt pretty harmless to me but now im not sure what the rules actually are and i dont want a real legal problem

under 250g you're exempt from FAA registration requirements for recreational flying, which is probably what you were thinking of. but that doesnt mean zero rules apply ? you still need to follow the recreational flyer guidelines, keep it under 400 feet AGL, stay away from controlled airspace without authorization, dont fly over moving vehicles or people etc. the license thing he mentioned, thats only required if youre flying commercially (getting paid, doing real estate photos for clients, that kind of thing). if youre just flying for fun with a mini 2 you dont need part 107. the guy was probably just being a territorial jerk honestly. whether that field is actually legal to fly from depends on who owns it and where it is, but nothing you described sounds like an obvious violation to me

ive had similar run-ins and most of the time its just people who read one headline about drones two years ago and think they know everything. that said worth double checking who owns that field cause sometimes what looks like empty land is technically city property or part of a park district and they do have their own rules posted somewhere. i got a warning once flying somewhere i thought was fine and it turned out there was a tiny sign at an entrance on the complete other side of the property. wasnt a legal disaster but made me more careful about verifying before i just assume a space is good to go