Got my airspace authorization! But still required to call tower one day in advance??
- Thread starter delonybro
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Well we are not quite sure what COA's do yet; and the FAA has not really talked about. Ultimately you need to get in touch, probably in person, with the airport operator. Come up with a plan that works for them. I went and brought coffee for my airport operator and we came to a good consensus that works; If I know about a proposed operation in advance - I should email them if its 3-4+ days out. If its very soon, he gave me the phone number of the daytime field manager, and evening manager. I have to call them to get permission, and then they will forward me to their tower to get verification of flight. Something like this might work for you! Just bring them doughnuts and have a sit down. If its a medium or large airport, good luck. From Googling the airport, it looks city owned so you may have a whole other fight to win 
Congratulations OP, not sure why you would think that your authorization goes agaonst Part 107. You went through the system and got authorization to fly in the controlled airspace at Abelene (btw, what class is Abelene?) just like Part 107 says we should. A telephone call the day before and just prior to take off is a pretty reasonable requirement to get you flying where you wanted to. I would expect that the FAA has already coordinated this with the airport and you are on file there ( may be the reason for the day before call) so there shouldn't be any issues hen you call. And any aircraft, manned or not, can be told not to enter the airspace when contacting the tower. You never know who or what might already be there or on its way. Enjoy the flying and good luck with it.
I definitely don't think the requirements are unreasonable, I just thought it was drilled in that you do not call the tower, use the FAA website, do not call ATC, etc etc. Guess I was just surprised that once using the website, it was back to calling the tower. And Abilene is Class C, for those interested.
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Well we are not quite sure what COA's do yet; and the FAA has not really talked about. Ultimately you need to get in touch, probably in person, with the airport operator. Come up with a plan that works for them. I went and brought coffee for my airport operator and we came to a good consensus that works; If I know about a proposed operation in advance - I should email them if its 3-4+ days out. If its very soon, he gave me the phone number of the daytime field manager, and evening manager. I have to call them to get permission, and then they will forward me to their tower to get verification of flight. Something like this might work for you! Just bring them doughnuts and have a sit down. If its a medium or large airport, good luck. From Googling the airport, it looks city owned so you may have a whole other fight to win
I think this is a great strategy for relationships and you're doing a huge service for the community. Just remember that the airport operator legally cannot issue ATC permission, which is the limitation in FAR 107. They are separate entities. I've seen cases where the airport operator facilitates permission from ATC. I'd argue that's okay but it's not consistent with how the FAA says it should be done so that could cause you some headache at some point.
Th difference is that you are already on their list as an authorized flight (probably par of the reason for the day before call requirement - gives the atc folks time to get things in order without impacting ongoing ops -. So now you are coordinating with ATC to insure that you are playing nice with all the other aircraft that are in or entering the airspace. By comparison, my authorization only requires me to contact Columbus Approach prior to flying in the Class E(sfc) in my area.
I've been searching around tonight for clarification on airspace authorizations and wanted to thank you for this thread - it actually really helped clarify what is needed for airspace authorizations. I was confused at how one could request an airspace authorization for multiple years, for example, and still maintain a safe airspace.
Just for curiosity sake, any updates on this? Have you received any pushback or more information to share?
Just for curiosity sake, any updates on this? Have you received any pushback or more information to share?
I actually submitted an authorization request for multiple years which the FAA rejected. They told me to resubmit it as a waiver request. Probably do that this week.
Oh interesting. I saw a Drone U interview with someone from the FAA and he mentioned waivers, but made it sound like he didn't know why you would use one or that it would be unlikely to get through, but maybe there's been a change in policy, or a further understanding since that interview (published in Oct. I believe).
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