Newbee FAA wavier and no-fly operational question

[Tizeye]

First, I am a professional photographer and have resisted drones due to Class B airspace dominating the area. But with competition forcing the issue, should take the Part 107 in a week or so. As a former/inactive private pilot in the 1980's quitting due to cost to remain current (and safe) the study for the exam is a review and would be surprised if I don't pass on first attempt. Then it becomes interesting, and I have two questions.

1) It appears I will need to apply for a waiver to fly in Class B (or and other regulated airspace) which I understand takes months. Realtors of course want their photos in 24 hours to list the property and I just drew a 5 mi radius around Orlando Executive which is the original airport close to downtown and even limits downtown building height. Within that 5 mi radius there were 171 $1M+ homes for sale, and an additional 97 sold in the past 6 months. That doesn't even include the other two international airports in the Orlando area, with MCO the one most people know. Not to many high end houses in Sanford, but MCO is a different story as the medical community has made it a major expansion area. Orlando is not an LAANC test city - Miami is only one in Florida. Is there a faster waiver method that can be filed with each drone shoot while waiting for a blanket waiver? All flights will easilly be below 400' as too high accents the roof, and not the house.

2) While I have settled on the Phantom 4 Pro due to the camera, one thing that concerns me is the "no-fly" which in P mode wouldn't even allow it to take off even if I was legally operating with a waiver. Reading the manual, it appears A mode would allow flight...but you lose everything supporting flight safety - GPS, vision sensors, auto return, etc. You are literally 'pilot in control' flying by the seat of your pants. Is there an override that would allow the P mode features to be active?

 

[Mark The Droner]

I can tell you what I think I know and let others confirm or amend.

1) From what I've read in posts on this site, there is no way to get around the months-long wait for a waiver. Let somebody confirm this.

2) The no fly restrictions built into the firmware can be a real nuisance - especially when you know you are legal to fly. Often you can email [email protected] and request your restrictions to be lifted but I've heard they're not particularly fast to respond. Also, in some instances, they will not lift your restrictions regardless (e.g. you're within 1.5 miles of the airport or your within the DC FRZ, etc.). For example, people have requested to fly indoors and they're requests were refused. Re the A mode, that won't help you fly in an NFZ because the AC still knows where it is located even if you're flying without GPS (the AC has GPS but ignores it during controlled flight). The only solution is to block the GPS receiver with something like a layer of foil or two.

Good luck.

 

[barefootbeachcombing]

1. You need an authorization, not a waiver to fly in controlled airspace. Waivers are for flying outside of a rule (night flights, flights beyond VLOS, etc).

Also, the "5 mile rule" doesn't apply to Part 107 flights. It appears that Orlando Executive is in Class D (from the surface to [but not including] 1600 feet MSL) and then MCO's Class B airspace takes over to 10,000 feet MSL. There's also a Class E surface extension to the southwest of the ORL runway. Check out SkyVector. SkyVector: Flight Planning / Aeronautical Charts

From what I have read, the waiver/authorization process on the FAA website is typically taking less than 6 months now.
Request a Part 107 Waiver or Operation in Controlled Airspace

There is not a "faster" process (outside of the LAANC) but you possibly will be able to get an authorization for an extended period (as opposed to a single day or week) with restrictions on height. You can get a general idea of what height they might authorize flights on the FAA UAS FacilityMap.

ArcGIS Web Application

 

[Tizeye]

Thanks. I can now see the dotted blue for ORL that was partially obscured where overwritten by the (higher altitude) solid blue of MCO sharing the same border. Also understandable why MCO would have control at the altitude to the east as it is the final approach area to both with MCO traffic north/south, ORL traffic east/west. ORL has considerable business jet and cargo traffic in addition to small planes, helicopters, and even a blimp pad.

 

[barefootbeachcombing]

Based on the UAS maps, you likely shouldn't have a problem getting a blanket authorization to operate in the areas where the altitude listed is something other than zero. Just be very detailed in your application about what you are doing, what altitudes you are going to use, and especially what safety measures you are going to use.

 

[BigAl07]

1. You need an authorization, not a waiver to fly in controlled airspace. Waivers are for flying outside of a rule (night flights, flights beyond VLOS, etc).

Sorry @barefootbeachcombing this is not correct. See below for specifics:
Airspace Authorization: short term (less than 6 months)

Airspace Waiver: long term (6 months or more) Airspace waivers require significant mitigations and may require a longer period of time for processing.


These details can be verified at:
Request to Operate in Controlled Airspace

Below is a more detailed list of Part 107 Waivers:
Request a Part 107 Waiver or Operation in Controlled Airspace

From what I have read, the waiver/authorization process on the FAA website is typically taking less than 6 months now.

That depends... some are happening quick while others are taking much longer. Keep in mind the complexity of the request, accuracy/completeness of the request, and risk factor of the request all determine length of time.

"Easy" ones can be approved very quickly (once they get to yours through the huge backlog) while complex ones have to be reviewed and then submitted to the ATC facility for the area of the request. Of course errors and incompleteness will greatly extend your time of approval/denial.

 

[barefootbeachcombing]

Sorry @barefootbeachcombing this is not correct. See below for specifics:
Airspace Authorization: short term (less than 6 months)

Airspace Waiver: long term (6 months or more) Airspace waivers require significant mitigations and may require a longer period of time for processing.


These details can be verified at:
Request to Operate in Controlled Airspace

Below is a more detailed list of Part 107 Waivers:
Request a Part 107 Waiver or Operation in Controlled Airspace


That depends... some are happening quick while others are taking much longer. Keep in mind the complexity of the request, accuracy/completeness of the request, and risk factor of the request all determine length of time.

"Easy" ones can be approved very quickly (once they get to yours through the huge backlog) while complex ones have to be reviewed and then submitted to the ATC facility for the area of the request. Of course errors and incompleteness will greatly extend your time of approval/denial.

Thanks for the clarification.

 

[BigAl07]

Thanks for the clarification.

We're all in this together and we are all learning.