re: Can I launch a recreational drone in the gulf of mexico?

Oh, and "legally" if you're using the drone for any type of income purposes then you'll need an FAA UAV license.

And "legally" you cannot curse in public places, nor can you hitch your horse in front of a saloon on Sunday mornings before 12 PM.

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Mavic Mini

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DJI= China.
Congrats.

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Why is this the case specifically?

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It was the only option for manufacturers like DJI: Not be proactive and let the general public (aka large quantities of imbeciles) who are flying DJI drones decide on whether or not to do the reasonable thing, or actually do something about it like geofence areas and strongly focus on the status of the pilot's flight area within the UI of the app and the ramifications of not following SOP and laws and regulations.

The former would have almost certainly resulted in the government shutting their shite down with the quickness when the inevitable mishap of a drone being sucked up into a jet engine approaching a runway kills all 200 people on board. At the very least, "doing nothing" would've resulted in people like the OP never having the opportunity to buy and fly a DJI drone because massive red tape procedures would've rendered it as an impossibility, and one thing is for sure: DJI wants to sell every Tom, Dick and Harry a drone, not just people using them for business purposes.

Like my business law professor said in college: If your industry does not regulate itself then the government will do it for you- and you do NOT want that.

You know the saying, "One bad apple ruins the whole bunch."

But there are ways around this using 3rd party flight software, but because of the cost, complexity, etc., the only people who need that "work around" are ones who have any business working around it anyway- and the clearances too.

Oh and to the OP'er: If you didn't get insurance then you should. TRUST ME: get insurance, even if it's the DJI care policy but preferably insurance where a total unrecoverable loss will result in it being replaced for its adjusted value since you're primarily flying over water. If you fly it enough you will crash, and if it's crashed after a year or two of use, then the replacement and repair charges will surpass what it costs to go buy another similar or even newer, better model.

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Oh and to the OP'er: If you didn't get insurance then you should. TRUST ME: get insurance, even if it's the DJI care policy but preferably insurance where a total unrecoverable loss will result in it being replaced for its adjusted value since you're primarily flying over water. If you fly it enough you will crash, and if it's crashed after a year or two of use, then the replacement and repair charges will surpass what it costs to go buy another similar or even newer, better model.

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What are your recommendations on insurance options?

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I will be using mine to take footage for my business...but I wont be for hire to 3rd parties.

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It doesn't matter: If you're flying and eventually generating any type of revenue from the flight then you're in violation.

Similarly speaking it's like the federal laws pertaining to commercial driver's licenses: If the combined GVWR of your truck and trailer is over 26,001 pounds and your rig is involved in commerce of any type- whether it be hauling hay, going to compete in a rodeo for cash prizes, a landscaper hauling topsoil with a 14 ft. dump trailer hooked to 3/4 ton pickup, hauling UTV's on a gooseneck to a racing event with prizes for the winners, and even hauling dope- you're in violation of federal law. The key to getting by with it is to not get caught by an officer fresh out of cadet school who sees a fellow hauling cattle to the market and decides to check his truck and trailer plates for his combined GVWR. There are tons of people and small business owners, sometimes including my business and my employees, who break CDL laws because they are either directly or indirectly making money by use of the rig. (FTR, it doesn't take much of a truck and trailer to go over 26,001 pounds combined GVWR: If you have a 3/4 ton like, say, a 2019 F250 with a GVWR of 10,000 pounds and are doing commerce, then you have 16,0001 pounds to work with before you're breaking the law- it doesn't take much of a gooseneck to have a GVWR of 16k and a decent size bumper pull can easily top that.)

I digress, but the point applies to drones: Whether directly or indirectly, personally or 3rd party, Uncle Sam wants his taxes and power, and politicians gotta be pertinent so that means they gotta make laws, and the law is this: If you're making money in any way with your drone then you'd better not tell whomever the official who's doing the questioning that you are,

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using mine to take footage for my business...

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or he will arrest you on the spot for... illegal UAV flying?

Frick if I know, but just like being pulled over on the side of the highway with your F2shitty hooked to a dump trailer and going to a customer's house to landscape their beds for compensation, assuming you don't have placards on your door and the insurance isn't in a business name and the tag isn't a "B-10," then how the hell would they find out during an impromptu investigation on the side of the road? Likewise, without a deeper investigation how the hell would "they" know that you're a business owner using a drone for reasons of commerce when you're standing in a field? That's the thing: Politicians write this shite that looks good on paper but isn't nearly as applicable in real life...so they make more laws to try and fix it. Regardless, the main thing is not frick up (i.e., fly your drone into a helicopter) to where "they" come knocking and asking questions.

I'm not saying I like it because the staunch libertarian in me hates it, but just like a fellow who commits a crime by breaking law 16 USC §551 & 36 CFR §261.16(c) where it's illegal to "wash a fish at a faucet if it's not a fish-washing faucet, in a national forest," you too, sir, are in violation of federal law.

So hold off on your pursuit for profit, economic stewardship and putting bread on your table for a month or two and get your UAV license like a good little citizen.

Do real etate agents or home builders fall under this regulation as well? What about car salesman or land and timber salesman.....hunting leases etc?

Not a good idea at a public beach anyway. Can you imagine relaxing in your chair with a cold beer and some jackass smashes a drone into you? Lose control of a drone at a beach and smash it into someone and you're looking at an arse whipping or a lawsuit or both.

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Do real etate agents or home builders fall under this regulation as well? What about car salesman or land and timber salesman.....hunting leases etc?

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Yep, IIRC. Also, I'm in those categories myself (but I'll also dip dogs if it's profitable), but I'll refrain from stating the status of my UAV license for proprietary purposes.

Here's a link from nerd wallet with a quick primer on it nerd wallet: drone licensing

sure you can.

The no=fly zones I know about are around Pensacola NAS, but I'm sure there are others.

You can't take off or land on many beaches, state or federal parks, but localities cannot regulate the airspace. There are no-fly zones around all airports and many gov't or utility facilities.

The done software will warn you if it's restricted airspace, or won't let you take off at all.

You can also get supplemental apps which also compile no-fly zones ( b4ufly

I've taken some pretty cool footage out in the gulf, but it can get real when trying to land on a moving deck

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It was the only option for manufacturers like DJI: Not be proactive and let the general public (aka large quantities of imbeciles) who are flying DJI drones decide on whether or not to do the reasonable thing, or actually do something about it like geofence areas and strongly focus on the status of the pilot's flight area within the UI of the app and the ramifications of not following SOP and laws and regulations.

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Oh, I understand that general idea here. I was just wondering why the Hardrock site would be deemed "restricted."