Official Club Event Coloyota Expo Info regarding Drones

[timmbuck2]

If you plan on bringing a drone, you need to let us know, and the Fairgrounds!!

• Drone
  • Please review our Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) section in the Fairgrounds Facility Reservation and Use Regulations document on pages 26-27. If the drone use aligns with these regulations, please send over the drone info and plan for the event and I will get it approved by our leadership.

 

[Mike Shull]

I would like to take drone footage of the event, including capturing the vehicles and vendors, but it appears that the rules explicitly prohibit this. @timmbuck2, am I understanding correctly that this type of use is not allowed?

“UAS cannot fly over playing surfaces, seating, and spectator areas where and when people are present, as well as event parking areas where and when people and vehicles are present.”

 

[timmbuck2]

I am asking them for more clarification. I am not a drone guy (yet) but are the items I highlighted in red a common thing?

The Applicant may be required to provide insurance coverage that meets or exceeds the requirements set forth in
the Fairgrounds Insurance Requirements for UAS.
• All UAS must be under 55 lbs. and operated in accordance with community-based guidelines and within the
programming of a nationwide community-based organization.
• Anyone operating a UAS must maintain line of sight at all times during operation.
• UAS cannot fly over playing surfaces, seating, and spectator areas where and when people are present, as well
as event parking areas where and when people and vehicles are present.
• UAS operators are responsible for ensuring they are trained in the use of their UAS. UAS operators must be
aware of the risks including, but not limited to, personal injury and property damage caused by the UAS as a
result of weather, operator error or judgment, and failure of device systems and equipment.
• Flights may not take place when precipitation is falling or when sustained winds exceed 15 mph or gusts exceed
20 mph.
• The Fairgrounds shall refuse admission to any individual or group attempting or intending to use a UAS without
prior written authorization.
The use of UAS for commercial or public purposes on or above the Fairgrounds property requires advance written
approval from the Community Venues Manager. In addition to the above, the following terms also apply to the use of
commercial or public UAS on and/or above the Fairgrounds property:
Page 27 of 29
Revised: 1/6/2026 JEFFCO FAIRGROUNDS FACILITY RESERVATION AND USE REGULATIONS
• The Applicant must provide proof of a current Remote Pilot Certificate from the FAA.
• All UAS must be registered with the FAA. The flight of UAS must be in compliance with current Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) regulations.

 

[timmbuck2]

OK so if your drone is under 55 pounds, you should be ok but we still need to let them know:

For drone approval, please send me an email explaining what you would like to do, confirming that you have reviewed and understand the regulations, and that the drone falls under the 55lbs weight limit

 

[Mike Shull]

We fly drones commercially at the airport for various purposes and the team that does this must comply with FAA regulations, including having the proper licensing and insurance. Generally this does not apply to a non-commercial operator that is flying for recreational purposes.

Not allowing a drone to be flown over vehicles is an odd one for me as we use drones to monitor parking lots to monitor utilization and security, but we do have quite a few regulations about flying around people, but those restrictions are generally for security or privacy concerns. I.e capturing footage near the hotel is prohibited as hotel rooms are private. Inspection on the hotel require quite a bit more regulation.

 

[timmbuck2]

OK she did confirm that anything under 55 pounds will be fine without all that crap.

However....she also said "As long as it’s not over people, that is fine. The reason is that if it were to fall or be caught by a strong gust of wind, it wouldn’t fall on anyone."

So.....there will be people all over the fairgrounds......I am asking for clarification yet again!

 

[Mike Shull]

OK she did confirm that anything under 55 pounds will be fine without all that crap.

However....she also said "As long as it’s not over people, that is fine. The reason is that if it were to fall or be caught by a strong gust of wind, it wouldn’t fall on anyone."

So.....there will be people all over the fairgrounds......I am asking for clarification yet again!

I suppose that could be a concern. If it is that windy I imagine that I will be chasing down a tent instead of flying the drone. I don’t remember the layout of the park and a quick look on Google Maps didn’t help as I couldn’t figure out where the grassy area is, but it may be possible to fly the drone a little distance away from people.

 

[Mike Shull]

@timmbuck2, is there power by the vendor area to charge the drone batteries?

 

[timmbuck2]

There should be power under the picnic pavilion and also by the food trucks

 

[gr8fulabe]

What’s the policy for those of us that don’t want to be filmed by every drone in a mile radius of the event? Are we just shit out of luck? I’m on enough cameras every day. I don’t want to pay money to end up as someone’s content. This isn’t a dig at Mike, or anyone else wanting to film. I just don’t want to be filmed by random strangers without my consent, blah blah blah…

 

[timmbuck2]

She just keep saying that we can't have drone flying over people and that means apparently even 3 mi in the air so I have to make the call that just no drones allowed sorry

 

[J1000]

What’s the policy for those of us that don’t want to be filmed by every drone in a mile radius of the event? Are we just shit out of luck? I’m on enough cameras every day. I don’t want to pay money to end up as someone’s content. This isn’t a dig at Mike, or anyone else wanting to film. I just don’t want to be filmed by random strangers without my consent, blah blah blah…

In the USA the 1st Amendment protects the right of free press. That means Americans have the right to photograph anything and everything they want from public areas. The National Air Space (NAS) has been ruled a public space by the supreme court. Long way to say if you don't want to be filmed then you have to stay home.

The fairgrounds has the ability to restrict where drones can be taken off and landed, but other than that the jurisdiction belongs to the FAA. Reading the fairgrounds rules it seems they are overstepping their authority and can not actually dictate where you can fly, as that is regulated by the FAA.

As @Mike Shull stated, they seem to be mixing up Commercial with Recreational drone flight.

 

[timmbuck2]

OK she called to clarify that basically as long as we are careful and not flying 3 feet over people's heads and they meet the under 55 pound requirement etc, then we can use drones. PLEASE contact me first if you want to fly a drone at the event. We will have one that the committee will use to take cool long range pics and vids for social media. Anyone else using a drone, please be respectful of others and keep the pics and vids at a distance. Thanks all for your patience while I worked through all of this.

 

[Mike Shull]

What’s the policy for those of us that don’t want to be filmed by every drone in a mile radius of the event? Are we just shit out of luck? I’m on enough cameras every day. I don’t want to pay money to end up as someone’s content. This isn’t a dig at Mike, or anyone else wanting to film. I just don’t want to be filmed by random strangers without my consent, blah blah blah…

Feel free to send me a photo of your face if you would like and I can use that to scan footage and provide a blur.