As a long time lurker, I hope you don't mind me chiming in here as my first post but this is a subject that has been very important to me as I've been flying R/C for decades and formerly competed in National and International Precision Aerobatics competition for many years. If my post is too long winded, let me know.
Currently, I fly a foam Seawind from my son's dock in Moultonborough. My son also flies his Ugly Stick on floats with a .60 glow engine from there. I think it would be fun to have a joint flying day on the lake.
Regarding safety:
First, if you are serious about flying R/C you should join the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) which is the governing body for all forms of Model Aviation R/C, Control Line, Free Flight and now Multi Rotors. As a member, you must promise to abide by their extensive, common sense safety rules. Also as a member, you will be covered with liability insurance which I believe is secondary to your homeowners policy. More info @
www.modelaircraft.org
Second, The state of the art in today's radios is light years ahead of what we were flying just a few years ago. The advent of 2.4 GHZ transmission has all but eliminated interference from other radio sources which used to be a major source of crashes. With those radios, if someone turned on another transmitter on your frequency while you were flying, it would confuse the receiver and the plane would crash.
Regarding Multi Rotors (Drones) The Federal Government through the FAA is in the process of defining rules controlling the use of these vehicles. The AMA is in the process of working with the FAA to define the rules governing flying them as Model Aircraft as opposed to other uses (Commercial, Law Enforcement, ETC) which will eventually be very strictly controlled. Flying them for recreation as Model Aircraft will require following the same rules as other model aircraft which means they must stay below 400' altitude and in a designated Model Aerdrome. This is currently a huge issue for the Feds and suffice it to say, I believe you will not be able to fly them anywhere or anytime you want.
My opinion on the Multi Rotors is they are just an expensive novelty that you will quickly get bored with. There is very little in the way of aerobatics you can do with them as compared to fixed wing or helicopters which provide seemingly endless possibilities for aerobatic adventures.
Cheers,