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- Oct 28, 2015
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surplussunshine,
The area of the flight was in Class B airspace, controlled from the surface to 11,000 ft. According to this 2014 FAA fact sheet, "UAS operations are currently not authorized in Class B airspace, which exists over major urban areas and contains the highest density of manned aircraft in the National Airspace System."
GadgetGuy,
You're right about it being safer for helos to fly over major roads / freeways instead of congested built up metropolitan areas. It's easier to find a safe space to autorotate into in case of an emergency.
Also, most large cities with a dense helicopter presence publish "Helicopter Routes" which are designed to bring the helo to the airport at low altitude, avoiding the normal fixed wing traffic patterns as much as possible. These routes are commonly defined by road intersections and highway paths, as most helicopters operate strictly under visual flight rules and are accustomed to navigating in that manner. (Enlarge the highlighted helo route map and zoom in on the lower left to read some of the route instructions and you'll see what I mean.)
The area of the flight was in Class B airspace, controlled from the surface to 11,000 ft. According to this 2014 FAA fact sheet, "UAS operations are currently not authorized in Class B airspace, which exists over major urban areas and contains the highest density of manned aircraft in the National Airspace System."
GadgetGuy,
You're right about it being safer for helos to fly over major roads / freeways instead of congested built up metropolitan areas. It's easier to find a safe space to autorotate into in case of an emergency.
Also, most large cities with a dense helicopter presence publish "Helicopter Routes" which are designed to bring the helo to the airport at low altitude, avoiding the normal fixed wing traffic patterns as much as possible. These routes are commonly defined by road intersections and highway paths, as most helicopters operate strictly under visual flight rules and are accustomed to navigating in that manner. (Enlarge the highlighted helo route map and zoom in on the lower left to read some of the route instructions and you'll see what I mean.)