FAA heliports

[joe21]

If they deny you should get it in writing and make sure to get them to note why as well as what can be done in the future to avoid this.

Good luck with that. I have written to a local airport and local FAA office on much more important safety concerns in the past (non-drone related). They do not respond. If they stay on the phone long enough to hear to request for written response, they will probably laugh at you.

While there are absolutely some valid safety concerns at play, the entire concept is ridiculous for what I would guess is 99% of situations. The hospitals, heliports and small private airstrips likely feel they have much better things to do than field phone calls and write letters for "some kid who want to play with a toy in his backyard." The system was not designed with the current situation/technology in mind. Something needs to be done - quickly. Our FAA has their collective heads so firmly up their back-ends that they can see sunlight out of their own mouths.

 

[John Locke]

If the FAA wants us to contact airport controllers to give notification (or get permission), when are they going to provide the tower phone numbers to the public? You know they have this kind of list available. Doesn't it make sense to make that public to increase efficiency of the integration program?

The FAA made a "Rule" that discloses all 333 exemption owners address and phone#, AND THE CRAFT THEY OWN! It seems logical they reciprocate and provide RC pilots with all flight tower addresses and phone#s in the same way, on the internet with a search tool specifically for this purpose.

 

[ChristopherGlenn]

If all that is truly needed is notification, how hard would it be to make the b4ufly app (the one the FAA released) call home based on your gps, notify the faa you are wanting to fly, then their backend notifys whoever is within range of your gps location that you are flying, and where. It could all be automated and done before you have the compass calibrated.
Before people say I don't want them to know where I am, the app only downloads the portion of the restricted airspace / airports you are near. They already know. I went to pier 39 with the family last weekend, just for giggles I opened the map to look.. There are 4 heliports overlapping most of SF, as well as almost the entire coastline west of fisherman's wharf, past the golden gate, and a significant distance south along the peninsula are all red - resitricted airspace.

 

[JFHughes08088]

What a ridiculous joke this whole thing has become.. I will never advise any **** airport when I want to fly.. Why, so they can tell me it's "not allowed" in the area and I would be in violation? No thanks, I'll just say nothing and fly sensibly.. Obviously any airport isn't going to want you flying a drone around, even if you are not near them, so they are going to want your reg. and tell you it's a violation.

You know you are also in violation by not notifying them, right? The 2 regional airports I notify before every flight (several per week) appreciate the communication. I give them rough estimates, something like "within 1.5 mile radius of location x and between these times". I advise I will maintain altitude below 400 feet.

Work with them and odds are you shouldn't have an issue.

"Maverick, Top Gun rules of engagement exist for your safety and for that of your team.

They're not flexible, nor am I. Obey them or you're history. Is that clear?

 

[snowghost]

So to clarify, who do you contact if you're shown to be in helipad country? I never see any landing or taking off when I'm flying, so it must be rare.

 

[JFHughes08088]

Get their phone number and call them. If they don't answer, then the pad is probably un-manned. From there, I'm not sure there is much more you can do. I have email addresses for the 2 airports and we've agreed I email them with times and location of my flights.

You can un-lock yellow areas by confirming you have permission to fly in them. Trying to contact the helipad, to me, satisfies notification obligations..

 

[WetDog]

If you go talk to their "Security" dept they can probably give you the name of the company that manages/schedules the MediVac. That's the same thing I have here. I live close to the hospital and they have a heliport but the aircraft is stationed 25 miles away. I got the right people and have a direct line of communication with the flight scheduling team so if I am close to hospital I let them know. They keep my # on hand just in case they are coming my way while I'm flying. It's worked great thus far.

Problem is that this doesn't scale. If there were a dozen UAV operators in the area then somebody would have to contact all of them. Typically when you are calling for a medical evac helicopter, these sorts of things are just not high priorities. What we need is some sort of automated system where you text a central number and it spits out notifications to whatever flight facilities happen to be in the area. Perfectly doable - for a price, but we don't seem to be heading down that particular path.

Then again, the person you have to worry about is not the responsible operator that is going to ground their craft as soon as they hear rotors - it's the nitwit that will try to get a video of the event.

 

[joe21]

What we need is some sort of automated system where you text a central number and it spits out notifications to whatever flight facilities happen to be in the area. Perfectly doable - for a price, but we don't seem to be heading down that particular path.

In a sense, that's what DJI's geofence system is supposed to do. As airspace restrictions change for TFRs and other reasons, the authorization zones will change.

The problem, of course, is that the DJI system cannot account for last minute things like medivac helicopters or Air Force One. Although is is certainly possible that DJI can change an area into a NFZ and lock out those who have previously authorized (provided the flyer has an internet connection).

To your point, it does become a problem of scale. Moreso, it becomes a problem of priorities. I simply don't see every emergency medical flight company putting the notification of "drone" flyers at the top of their list when they have a life to save. Whether calling each person or posting to an online service(s)... it's an extra step they probably don't have time for and shouldn't have to take.

 

[Mark The Droner]

So to clarify, who do you contact if you're shown to be in helipad country? I never see any landing or taking off when I'm flying, so it must be rare.

Get their phone number and call them. If they don't answer, then the pad is probably un-manned. From there, I'm not sure there is much more you can do. I have email addresses for the 2 airports and we've agreed I email them with times and location of my flights.

You can un-lock yellow areas by confirming you have permission to fly in them. Trying to contact the helipad, to me, satisfies notification obligations..

Let's be clear. We're talking about heliports here, not airports. Right?

Since when do we have to advise somebody at a heliport that we want to fly? Since never.

I'm going to follow AC 9157A. There is nothing in there about calling heliports.

I would self-certify my craft if I'm near a heliport. My self-certification would indicate that I am aware of the heliport, so that's a good thing and the process makes sense. And at that point I have done my duty.

 

[snowghost]

The thing about the heliports is that they are flagged as airports in the FAA phone app. Are you're saying there's no written regulations for them and UAVs?

 

[matt7771]

I called the airport locally and talked to the FAA. They told me I can fly anywhere at 100ft. We picked 3 areas they told me 400ft. I do not have to call them back unless I want to fly over 100 Ft in any other area. Which is fine, I asked them about the heliport he told me to just stay away from the hospital, which would be common sense anyway. I have not read anything about contacting anyone for a heliport. When I talked to the FAA, they looked where I wanted to fly and ok'd it. He took my name and address. I took his name and noted the time and made a record of our conversation.

 

[DaGunn]

Just got off the phone with my local hospital's helipad manager and he was very helpful. I offered to provide my FA number and he told me he was good with just my name and cell phone number. I like the FAA's B4UFly notification method as it does not attempt to marginalize me. I feel like an equal participant in safely managing the shared airspace. Now, if the FAA would just reduce the 5 mile radius around heliports to 1-2 miles.

 

[Mark The Droner]

The thing about the heliports is that they are flagged as airports in the FAA phone app. Are you're saying there's no written regulations for them and UAVs?

I'm saying I'm going to follow AC 91-57A and it doesn't mention heliports. It mentions a lot of things (TFRs, SFRAs, Prohibited Areas), but heliports are not in the document. It doesn't mention anything about a b4ufly app either. And let's not forget, unless it can be determined a UAV pilot has endangered the safety of NAS, the document implies that the pilot will not be "pursued" for "enforcement action."

The document does mention that a hobby pilot should be "aware" of NOTAMS that address flying near stadiums, emergency services complexes, etc. And that's fine. It's reasonable to define a hospital or a heliport as an emergency service complex. Right? Okay. We have a hospital nearby. Or a heliport. We're aware of it. Good. That's it. We're done.

 

[Lonewolf]

5 miles around heliports is crazy. I don't see any reference to it in the AC 91-57a or anywhere else.

I have heliports all around me. The one I'm directly in, I'm 4.78 miles from it's epicenter took over an hour to find a phone # for it. Called it and no one answers. In a clear sense, I'm stumped! When DJI officially releases their Geofencing Program/System and that helipad isn't shown what program/system should we trust as bonafide?

Using the GoApp 2.5.1 I don't see a large military airport base nearby in my map, yet B4UFLY has it shown. Extremely confusing.

 

[Lonewolf]

...The document does mention that a hobby pilot should be "aware" of NOTAMS that address flying near stadiums, emergency services complexes, etc. And that's fine. It's reasonable to define a hospital or a heliport as an emergency service complex. Right? Okay. We have a hospital nearby. Or a heliport. We're aware of it. Good. That's it. We're done.

I'd like to see it where you could provide them your cellphone # so they could txt or call you in case their helicopter needed to take off in an emergency. That way you can have enough time to take precautions.

 

[DaGunn]

I have heliports all around me. The one I'm directly in, I'm 4.78 miles from it's epicenter took over an hour to find a phone # for it. Called it and no one answers. In a clear sense, I'm stumped! When DJI officially releases their Geofencing Program/System and that helipad isn't shown what program/system should we trust as bonafide?

Using the GoApp 2.5.1 I don't see a large military airport base nearby in my map, yet B4UFLY has it shown. Extremely confusing.

The FAA's app B4UFLY is the only one that matters in the U.S.

 

[Lonewolf]

The FAA's app B4UFLY is the only one that matters in the U.S.

Perhaps. However DJI's Geofencing is still in beta so it's entirely possible these NFZ's currently not being shown will be in the official release. I also do not recall seeing where we were instructed to use the B4UFLY app when registering. Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[DaGunn]

Perhaps. However DJI's Geofencing is still in beta so it's entirely possible these NFZ's currently not being shown will be in the official release. I also do not recall seeing where we were instructed to use the B4UFLY app when registering. Correct me if I'm wrong.

The B4UFLY app for android is still beta and its maps will surely be challenged in Court as it imposes different requirements on UAVs than it does on manned aircraft. DJI and its GEO has no legal standing in US airspace. In order to use GEO you have to agree that you won't take DJI to court.

 

[PJ Orlando]

I've beta tester both DJI and the FAA app. I agree the FAA app is terrible and not even super clear about things. They are completely CYA right now.

 

[brianrmartin]

Wouldn't filing a NOTAM work also?