This is a very interesting question… the answer to which is not as simple as you might imagine.
The issue of property/privacy rights vs. access to the public airways is extremely complicated. Over the years the decisions on this issue in state and federal courts have differed as new technologies emerge and as societal change reflect the evolution of the world around us. There’s no doubt the introduction and advancement in unmanned aerial systems will prove to be a truly “disruptive technology” and the courts will once again be faced with the dilemma of balancing the individual’s right to property and privacy against the right to access to the public airways and the pursuit of commercial enterprise.
In the past the individual’s reasonable expectation of privacy has been the accepted standard; however, that expectation is somewhat in the eye of the beholder and is offset by changes in our environment. As unmanned aircraft are introduced into the national airspace and are proliferated throughout our communities the court will again be challenged in once again redrawing and establishing the line between the two.
For the hobbyist the issue is much less confusing. Though we certainly have the right to enjoy our hobby, modelers must always be respectful of property/privacy rights and operate our model aircraft in a neighborly and community friendly manner.
Click the link below to read Alexis Madrigal’s intriguing article on the concept of aerial trespass. Alexis Madrigal is a senior editor at The Atlantic, where he oversees the Technology channel. He’s the author of Powering the Dream: The History and Promise of Green Technology.
If I Fly a UAV Over My Neighbor’s House, Is It Trespassing?
Rich Hanson
AMA Government and Regulatory Affairs