Can I fly at night now?

[Weston Ney]

I'm not good at reading legalese. Can a hobbyist fly around at night now? I want to film fireworks on the 4th of July by just taking off from my yard and leave it over my yard at about 200 feet so I can see the fireworks over the trees. What are the new rules?

 

[Fly Dawg]

Can a hobbyist fly around at night now?

Hobbyists have always been able to fly at night.

 

[Weston Ney]

I was always told I couldn't 30 minutes after sunset. My neighbor who is a drone guy told me that I can't fly at night, and I heard you had to get a waiver to fly at night. What is that all about?

 

[mossphotography]

I was always told I couldn't 30 minutes after sunset. My neighbor who is a drone guy told me that I can't fly at night, and I heard you had to get a waiver to fly at night. What is that all about?

Your neighbor is wrong. Hobbyists can fly at night. They need strobes on their drone that can show attitude and altitude. Most OEM strobes do. All DJI OEM strobes do. 107 Pilots can't fly at night without a waiver.

You need to know what airspace you're in. If you're in controlled airspace, you can't fly right now. Once LAANC for hobbyists (Section 349 flyers) is ready on July 23, you can fly.

As far as flying for fireworks, do stay far enough away so you don't interfere with the show. And of course, don't fly over people. But if you stay above your back yard, you should be fine.

 

[Starz]

I was always told I couldn't 30 minutes after sunset. My neighbor who is a drone guy told me that I can't fly at night, and I heard you had to get a waiver to fly at night. What is that all about?

Believe none of what you hear, and half of what you see.
Your neighbor isn’t as much of a drone guy as he thought.

 

[Weston Ney]

Your neighbor is wrong. Hobbyists can fly at night. They need strobes on their drone that can show attitude and altitude. Most OEM strobes do. All DJI OEM strobes do. 107 Pilots can't fly at night without a waiver.

You need to know what airspace you're in. If you're in controlled airspace, you can't fly right now. Once LAANC for hobbyists (Section 349 flyers) is ready on July 23, you can fly.

As far as flying for fireworks, do stay far enough away so you don't interfere with the show. And of course, don't fly over people. But if you stay above your back yard, you should be fine.

Cool, thanks. So I guess it is the part 107 guys that have to get a waiver. But isn't that changing with the new rules?

 

[Starz]

Cool, thanks. So I guess it is the part 107 guys that have to get a waiver. But isn't that changing with the new rules?

New “rules” haven’t been established yet.

 

[mossphotography]

Cool, thanks. So I guess it is the part 107 guys that have to get a waiver. But isn't that changing with the new rules?

New FAA hobby rules are changing. Some are now enforceable and some aren't. It very confusing at the moment. Even for someone like me who has to keep up with them.

 

[mossphotography]

New “rules” haven’t been established yet.

Some have, and some have't.

 

[Starz]

Some have, and some have't.

You’re referring to controlled airspace?

 

[mossphotography]

You’re referring to controlled airspace?

There basically 8 aspects of Section 349 that qualify for hobby flights. Some are now in affect, and some aren't.

In affect:
Permission for controlled Airspace (coming soon), 400' ceiling in G, registration number on the outside, VLOS, strictly for recreational purposes, does not interfere with manned aircraft.

Not in affect yet:
In accordance with a CBO (CBO not defined yet), Aeronautical knowledge test.

That's the state of the current hobby rules.

 

[Weston Ney]

There basically 8 aspects of Section 349 that qualify for hobby flights. Some are now in affect, and some aren't.

In affect:
Permission for controlled Airspace (coming soon), 400' ceiling in G, registration number on the outside, VLOS, strictly for recreational purposes, does not interfere with manned aircraft.

Not in affect yet:
In accordance with a CBO (CBO not defined yet), Aeronautical knowledge test.

That's the state of the current hobby rules.

Cool, thanks!

 

[N017RW]

There basically 8 aspects of Section 349 that qualify for hobby flights. Some are now in affect, and some aren't.

In affect:
Permission for controlled Airspace (coming soon), 400' ceiling in G, registration number on the outside, VLOS, strictly for recreational purposes, does not interfere with manned aircraft.

Not in affect yet:
In accordance with a CBO (CBO not defined yet), Aeronautical knowledge test.

That's the state of the current hobby rules.

Almost...
No flying over people, crowds, stadiums public events, similar.
No flying near emergency operations.
No flying under influence of chemicals.
No flying in restricted airspace- NOTAMs, etc.

 

[Weston Ney]

Almost...
No flying over people, crowds, stadiums public events, similar.
No flying near emergency operations.
No flying under influence of chemicals.
No flying in restricted airspace- NOTAMs, etc.

Exactly. Why would you want to fly your expensive drone under the influence of anything? This is why I will never do alcohol or drugs. I don't want to wake up in the morning and find out I crashed my Jeep, Phantom 4, chucked my MacBook Pro in the river, and dropped my DSLR the night before. One night of fun isn't worth $15000+

Just my $0.02

 

[mossphotography]

Almost...
No flying over people, crowds, stadiums public events, similar.
No flying near emergency operations.
No flying under influence of chemicals.
No flying in restricted airspace- NOTAMs, etc.

The ones I mentioned are the 8 in Section 349 of the 2018 FAA Reauthorization Act for hobbyists (officially called Limited Recreational Operations).

Full text:

"§ 44809. Exception for limited recreational operations of unmanned aircraft

(a) In General.—Except as provided in subsection (e), and notwithstanding chapter 447 of title 49, United States Code, a person may operate a small unmanned aircraft without specific certification or operating authority from the Federal Aviation Administration if the operation adheres to all of the following limitations:

“(1) The aircraft is flown strictly for recreational purposes.

“(2) The aircraft is operated in accordance with or within the programming of a community-based organization’s set of safety guidelines that are developed in coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration.

“(3) The aircraft is flown within the visual line of sight of the person operating the aircraft or a visual observer co-located and in direct communication with the operator.

“(4) The aircraft is operated in a manner that does not interfere with and gives way to any manned aircraft.

“(5) In Class B, Class C, or Class D airspace or within the lateral boundaries of the surface area of Class E airspace designated for an airport, the operator obtains prior authorization from the Administrator or designee before operating and complies with all airspace restrictions and prohibitions.

“(6) In Class G airspace, the aircraft is flown from the surface to not more than 400 feet above ground level and complies with all airspace restrictions and prohibitions.

“(7) The operator has passed an aeronautical knowledge and safety test described in subsection (g) and maintains proof of test passage to be made available to the Administrator or law enforcement upon request.

“(8) The aircraft is registered and marked in accordance with chapter 441 of this title and proof of registration is made available to the Administrator or a designee of the Administrator or law enforcement upon request."

 

[umanbean]

107 Pilots can't fly at night without a waiver.

Not trying to muddy the waters, but a 107 certified quad operator can still make hobby flights, it depends on the intent at the time of takeoff.

If the intent is a hobby/recreational flight, 107 rules do not apply

 

[Deleted member 62848]

Yip you can flight night,strobe up and away,the air is so much clearer and clean (well here anyway), good time like early morning,less people and aircraft can be seen further away due to their super strobes,I prefer almost better than the day,lol this pic below was my first p4.had 2 sets of phantom headlight sets and on side had lumb cube holders with pen light torch on each side,p4 never minded the extra weight including battery's, looked awsome in flight,,only downfall was coming into land.blinded can't see,oh that scary,,so had to come in on angle so I could see...now days I just use strobes,oh this pic makes me laugh now,,what was I thinking or drinking

 

[Capt KO]

Yip you can flight night,strobe up and away,the air is so much clearer and clean (well here anyway), good time like early morning,less people and aircraft can be seen further away due to their super strobes,I prefer almost better than the day,lol this pic below was my first p4.had 2 sets of phantom headlight sets and on side had lumb cube holders with pen light torch on each side,p4 never minded the extra weight including battery's, looked awsome in flight,,only downfall was coming into land.blinded can't see,oh that scary,,so had to come in on angle so I could see...now days I just use strobes,oh this pic makes me laugh now,,what was I thinking or drinkingView attachment 112511

I thought those were UFO sightings, in NZ, not you. Wow, that's Bright!

 

[Curt47]

Hello all.
I was unaware a recreational flyer could fly at night.
So I downloaded the 2018 Reauthorization.
I read several sections within specifically section 349.
I did not see anything that said a recreation flyer could fly at night.
Could someone point me in the right direction so I can actually read that a recreational pilot can fly after civil daylight hours.
Thanks in advance.
I will also continue reading.

 

[Starz]

Legal as long as you have the correct lights.