400' FAA altitude limit a law or a suggestion?

[Clapper]

Seems odd that you revived a year-old thread claiming to be a pilot and a lawyer, but perhaps you could point to some airspace, any airspace, in the US, that is uncontrolled at 1640 ft AGL?

Seems strange that you used a question mark on a declaratory statement that was not interrogatory so as to imply deceit and illicit motive without having courage to make the accusation outright as if you were a troll or a coward? See how I did that?

Any airspace outside 5 miles of an airport or other established landing zone is not controlled for purposes of hobbyist drone operation.

 

[sar104]

Seems strange that you used a question mark on a declaratory statement that was not interrogatory so as to imply deceit and illicit motive without having courage to make the accusation outright as if you were a troll or a coward? See how I did that?

Any airspace outside 5 miles of an airport or other established landing zone is not controlled for purposes of hobbyist drone operation.

I see how you tried to do that. I conclude that you are neither a pilot nor a lawyer since the term "controlled airspace" only has one meaning in the NAS, and it does not mean airspace within 5 miles of an airport.

 

[Clapper]

I see how you tried to do that. I conclude that you are neither a pilot nor a lawyer since the term "controlled airspace" only has one meaning in the NAS, and it does not mean airspace within 5 miles of an airport.

Your powers of observation and deduction are astounding. Touché. I bow to your inescable knowledge and logic.

 

[Glenn Goodlett]

Hopefully, with some luck and a lot of technology, we can pull through, because common sense isn't going to cut it.

 

[Indiana Scott]

Popping popcorn now and getting my seat. Lol

 

[FASTFJR]

I just flew to 1100ft the other day. Then again I was in the mountains of New Hampshire filming some climbers. I was at 350ft and they were around 1500

 

[sar104]

I just flew to 1100ft the other day. Then again I was in the mountains of New Hampshire filming some climbers. I was at 350ft and they were around 1500

It really is a good platform for climbing videos. Were you comfortable getting as close as you needed for appropriate framing?

 

[ianwood]

Well, that FAA investigator in your hypothetical for a hobbyist flight pilot failing to avoid a manned aircraft (a) has a lot of time on his hands or got a call from the President and (b) has an incredible investigative skill and tenacity to track down the drone pilot who was not dumb enough to post the video of the close call to Youtube. But seriously, if you are up there at 1640 feet or lower and some manned aircraft pilot comes close to your much slower drone, he is probably more at fault than you are for flying so low and not avoiding the drone. If visibility is too low to see the drone, the manned pilot was definitely at fault for being that low unless of course it is a controlled airspace. As a lawyer, pilot, and drone hobbyist I can tell you that most drone pilots are way too freaked out about the "rules". If you are not flying near people or in a controlled airspace (use Airmap if you aren't sure) then you should relax and enjoy your drone! There are so many hyped up rule junkies on these sites - jeeze! [end rant]

So, in your world, planes shouldn't fly below 1,640ft unless they can spot a 1ft piece of white plastic from several hundred feet away. Interesting.

I am pretty sure it is the FAA's position that drone operators carry the responsibility of giving way to manned aircraft regardless of altitude. But I'd bet, with your legal expertise being as robust as your knowledge of airspace, you can easily explain how the FAA has no legal leg to stand on.

 

[FASTFJR]

It really is a good platform for climbing videos. Were you comfortable getting as close as you needed for appropriate framing?

Its a great platform. My son was climbing around North Conway New Hampshire a few weeks ago. Unfortunately the weather was crap, light rain and mist. I did get up for a few minutes but because of the fog around the mountain I was not able to find them

I did get some great video of Jackson Fall and outside of Acadia National Park

Photo is from my phone

 

[AlienJohn]

Being also a Private Pilot I can tell you that coming across anything at 500 feet is very unnerving. For example, I was on a long final in a Cessna 172 in the Bay Area (San Francisco) a few years back and a wedding party had released a couple hundred or so helium balloons in the air, which I encountered at roughly a mile out from the airport while I was descending. They came up and my prop struck several of them tied together. I would have initiated a go-around if I didn't realize there were several pieces of nylon string and balloon rubber still on my prop. Fortunately I was already landing so I rode it out. When I taxied off the runway and looked in my engine cowl, there was a lot of balloon and nylon string debris in there. I won't go into too much detail, but I can assure you this could have been a BIG problem if I weren't already so close to the airport. Easily it could have caused an engine-out. A drone could have taken out my plexiglass windshield, or many other bad things you don't want to happen at altitude. Personally, I live in Class D airspace and there are several small airports in my area, including one that does a lot of training, so I always stay below 400 feet when I fly. Even then I have experienced police and medical helicopters "dropping in" on me. It's not just us up there folks.

 

[BigAl07]

Being also a Private Pilot I can tell you that coming across anything at 500 feet is very unnerving. For example, I was on a long final in a Cessna 172 in the Bay Area (San Francisco) a few years back and a wedding party had released a couple hundred or so helium balloons in the air, which I encountered at roughly a mile out from the airport while I was descending. They came up and my prop struck several of them tied together. I would have initiated a go-around if I didn't realize there were several pieces of nylon string and balloon rubber still on my prop. Fortunately I was already landing so I rode it out. When I taxied off the runway and looked in my engine cowl, there was a lot of balloon and nylon string debris in there. I won't go into too much detail, but I can assure you this could have been a BIG problem if I weren't already so close to the airport. Easily it could have caused an engine-out. A drone could have taken out my plexiglass windshield, or many other bad things you don't want to happen at altitude. Personally, I live in Class D airspace and there are several small airports in my area, including one that does a lot of training, so I always stay below 400 feet when I fly. Even then I have experienced police and medical helicopters "dropping in" on me. It's not just us up there folks.

Well said.

400' AGL does not guarantee you won't be in the path of a manned aircraft but it sure does improve your odds greatly.

 

[Clapper]

So, in your world, planes shouldn't fly below 1,640ft unless they can spot a 1ft piece of white plastic from several hundred feet away. Interesting.

I am pretty sure it is the FAA's position that drone operators carry the responsibility of giving way to manned aircraft regardless of altitude. But I'd bet, with your legal expertise being as robust as your knowledge of airspace, you can easily explain how the FAA has no legal leg to stand on.

In my world I totally agree with everyone who is trying to make everything totally safe, especially inherently dangerous activities like piloting small aircraft. Not only will I never fly my drone again above my roof line, I will also sit out back with my 12 gauge and shoot down every bird I see in an effort to make sure manned aircraft never encounter obstacles on my watch. I have the FAA on speed dial and now spend much of my days watching drone videos and making reports. In my spare time I am attending AMA rule conferences and making sure that my pocket protector is clean and shiny as I take notes on how we can all make sure people are scared as hell into believing they really should not have any fun at all with their drones - or the FAA, which we all know is a super fast acting and efficient government agency, will swoop down and "get them". Did you know the FAA will seize your house if you fly your drone above 400 feet? That is totally a law because I just wrote it on this super authoritative forum. I thank you old school super serious guys for helping me see that flying drones is not fun - it is a super serious danger that will kill thousands if not stopped. Please keep up the good work making sure we all stay scared! Can I still drive past the airport if my drone is in the car?

 

[hit-n-run]

Seems strange that you used a question mark on a declaratory statement that was not interrogatory so as to imply deceit and illicit motive without having courage to make the accusation outright as if you were a troll or a coward? See how I did that?

Any airspace outside 5 miles of an airport or other established landing zone is not controlled for purposes of hobbyist drone operation.

Someone got a thesaurus for Chanukah.

 

[Clapper]

I use the online thesaurus when I need one, but this was actually extemporaneous.