Ft. McHenry

tjshelton · Jan 7, 2017

Ft. McHenry is a small national park (only a couple of acres). Would it be allowable to fly around, but not over the park?

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tjshelton · Jan 7, 2017

tjshelton said:
Ft. McHenry is a small national park (only a couple of acres). Would it be allowable to fly around, but not over the park?

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My bad, it is a national monument, but still run by the NPS.

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Richard R · Jan 8, 2017

As has been discussed here many times, even the NPS agrees that their restrictions are against taking off and landing in their sites. Flying over them is ok. The fort is small enough that you could actually do it. Bigger issue will be what kind of airspace you would be in and any other restrictions such as around the inner harbor you might have to deal with. If the airspace is clear, I would, as a courtesy, stop by the office before you fly just to give them a heads up and to assure them that you know and are following their rules. If it works out, should be a great shot, post the pics/vid if you fly.

Richard R · Jan 8, 2017

Ugh! The fort is just inside the inner ring (sfc to 10000ft) of BWI which is Class B! So no flying, even as a hobby flyer without prior authorization! You might try talking with the airport manager (410-859-7018), his office should be able to connect you with the tower. If not, you'll have to go through the online procedure to request an authorization which may not work if you don't have your Part 107 ticket.

tjshelton · Jan 8, 2017

Richard R said:
Ugh! The fort is just inside the inner ring (sfc to 10000ft) of BWI which is Class B! So no flying, even as a hobby flyer without prior authorization! You might try talking with the airport manager (410-859-7018), his office should be able to connect you with the tower. If not, you'll have to go through the online procedure to request an authorization which may not work if you don't have your Part 107 ticket.

Are you sure? I'm showing it outside the BWI class B airspace. There are numerous heliports around, but B4UFly, Airmap, and Hover show advisories, but not restrictions over the fort and the harbor area... I'm new to this whole airspace thing, thus my questions here...

Richard R · Jan 8, 2017

Double check. When I use airmap, the fort shows up just inside. Check the sectional VFRMAP - Digital Aeronautical Charts.
Both show it inside the inner ring.

Formstone · Jan 8, 2017

I live near BWI and have flown out by Ft McHenry from our dinghy. The Airspace from BWI clears just North of the Lansdowne Light Rail station along the Patapsco. Basically it ends at W. Patapsco Avenue. This is the 5NM from BWI tower. It's the innermost circle.

Richard R · Jan 8, 2017

As I stated earlier, in both the sectional and airmap, the fort shows up inside the ring. The 5 miles don't nessecarily apply for class b. The airspace inner ring goes out beyond the fort into the harbor. The smaller diameter ring on the sectional is the VOR compass ring and has nothing to do with airspace.

tjshelton · Jan 8, 2017

Richard R said:
As I stated earlier, in both the sectional and airmap, the fort shows up inside the ring. The 5 miles don't nessecarily apply for class b. The airspace inner ring goes out beyond the fort into the harbor. The smaller diameter ring on the sectional is the VOR compass ring and has nothing to do with airspace.

Thanks for the info. I knew this was the place to check it out...

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