u/mazer225

Hi everyone,

I'm new to San Antonio, Texas and had some questions about the area. I am newly certified under part 107. I also am a private pilot with my instrument rating and have been actively flying for a couple of years now.

I'm aware of the prohibited areas, bases and the airspaces around the city. My concern is that outside of these in the uncontrolled areas (in class G under 400'), I still see a LOT of military air traffic. Obviously I don't plan on flying my drone that high, but I would like to ensure I am being safe and considerate of other aircraft activity.

Do you recommend filing a LAANC, even when flying outside of these areas?

Are there any other rules or recommendations I should know about before I take my drone out for some aerial photography?

Thanks.

I'm a CCA and have been doing the same walking route now for a few weeks now. The route itself is not too terrible, and the people are pretty chill. However, I've started to notice that almost all the businesses on one of the streets are...not actually businesses. A few are selling drugs, right out in the open and one of them is definitely doing laundering.

Despite this, the owners are nice and always offer me water. I never complain and I'm definitely going to mind my own business (outside of Reddit lol).

I started work as a CCA in Texas 40 days ago. Our office is strictly walking routes (park and loops) and I've been averaging between 10-16 miles per day.

The first three weeks were absolutely miserable for me. Every inch of my body hurt so bad and it was always a challenge to push myself to drive to work each day. I took a lot of ibuprofen and muscle relaxers to get past the first two weeks of walking. The heat is also unbearable now and extremely humid. I drank a TON of fluids and still do.

Yesterday I got home from work, and noticed that I still had energy to walk my dog and play a board game with my spouse. I also no longer feel as sore and walking outside in the heat barely makes me break a sweat now (unless I am outside for long periods of time).

Obviously the job has its pros and cons, but I'm doing my best to keep my attitude up and keep at it, and make it past probation.

I got out of the Army in 2022 after 12 years of service. I was a 88M (truck driver) and ETS'd as a E-6. My spouse was active duty and is ETS'ing and will be out of the Army soon in a week.

We make enough to survive on our VA disability ratings, but it basically leaves us house poor with no money to do much of anything or save up for things we need in the future (car, house, emergencies etc.). It basically covers our rent and food and that's it; which I am thankful for.

Mentally I am at my wits end...I'm exhausted. When I ETS'd from the Army, I went to college before we PCS'd and became a licensed pilot with an instrument rating. It was a ton of work, and when we moved I had hoped to start working towards my commercial rating. My goal was to become a flight instructor, build hours and eventually work my way into a regional airline position. However, the job market for aviation has dried up (mostly due to the economy and other issues with Airlines [Spirit etc.]) and is expected to be quite stagnant for several years. I have friends who have graduated and have been unable to find flight instructing jobs as pilots anywhere. I've even networked with a few regional and legacy pilots, who work at different airlines. No one is hiring.

Since we have moved, I applied for hundreds of jobs. I have a CDL (Class A) license, and couldn't get a job as a truck driver. Companies want documented CDL experience for their insurance. I have a ton of experience in logistics management and administrative work. I applied for jobs in logistics management, local CDL driving and many administrative positions (management).

I went on base to talk to someone who specializes in resume writing and had them review my resume to see if it needed improvement. They gave me a few tips, which I used, but they said my resume was decent and not too diversified (which is what they see a lot).

The only job I have gotten is with USPS as a city carrier making $21.21 an hour. Yesterday I walked over 22 miles in the hot Texas sun delivering mail all day (it was 97 degrees), avoided getting bit by a dog and got home late. I'm exhausted and for the first time in my adulthood, I think I am experiencing depression. I feel mentally beat and frustrated.

I went to a the M&FRC (I am a veteran spouse here), to seek out some advice for my resume. The job market has been tough lately.

No shit, the people who run the center sent me an AI auto-generated email and gave some terrible advice for resume writing. This woman sits behind a desk and watches TikToks all day and has Claude send out emails for her job, doesn't answer the phone...like WHY are we paying her? No wonder there is a soft-freeze on Federal jobs.

Edit:

Just to clarify, I did go in person. I went in person, since they weren't answering the phone when I first called them.

A maintenance worker showed up at our house unannounced today and was about to walk straight in. My husband was home and called me and asked if we had heard from the property manager about any maintenance requests. The worker was extremely polite and explained that the property manager had sent them to replace the water filters and do work on the water softener.

I called the PM and asked if they sent anyone (even if it was unannounced) and they said no and that it is a scam. I was polite to the maintenance worker and asked who sent him and if he had the correct address. He said he was sent by a woman with the name of Bianca. I told him we didn't have any maintenance requests and he seemed okay with it and said that was fine and packed up his tools. He said if we hear anything from the PM that he would stop by again. I also asked him who would have been billed, and he said it would have been us.

PM got back with me an hour ago and said that this is a fairly new scam, targeting renters who are renting houses. The maintenance workers will show up a month after the lease has been closed and attempt to do work on the home, footing the renter with the bill. They will usually be vague and polite about who sent them. I'm assuming the scammers observe ads on zillow etc., and find out when the homes have been rented out and then attempt to make their move.

Tl;dr Beware of unannounced maintenance workers and crosscheck with your property manager, so you don't get stuck with an expensive bill.