Niagra Falls Flying?
- Thread starter KevMo Photog
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If it's a national Park (in the US) then it's NO. Remember there is an American side AND a Candadian side. Don't know what the Canadian issues are. I would urge against it.
It is a State Park on the US side. Why would you urge against it if it's just a state park? Canada's laws are a little bit stricter it sounds like. But most are saying no problem as long as you don't get to close to people ect.
It is not allowed to take off or land in any state park in the state of New York.
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Wow! That sucks! So you just take off outside the park and go then? Wonder why New York has made it that way in all their state parks? I guess I should just ask all of you if you were going to Niagra in the near future would you fly the falls best you could?
The Canadian side looks like this:
So... legally? Not looking like it. Over here there is a 9km NFZ around airports but more noticeably here, helipads... and we all know there are plenty of those in Niagara.
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So... legally? Not looking like it. Over here there is a 9km NFZ around airports but more noticeably here, helipads... and we all know there are plenty of those in Niagara.
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Thx for replying jwmcgrath. So I would think you would be ok if you were on the US side. Seen so many nice video's of the falls from Phantom's. But it sounds like you would want to take off outside of the park grounds in US.The Canadian side looks like this:
So... legally? Not looking like it. Over here there is a 9km NFZ around airports but more noticeably here, helipads... and we all know there are plenty of those in Niagara.
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To be honest, everything I know about flying in the US I've read on here (I'm on the CDN side) so you can probably find better answers than mine, or better answers will show up here.
What I CAN offer as advice though is to check the FAA site, and use apps that will be helpful to correlate an answer. I have good guesses but they are just that.
Rules are similar. In Canada, you shouldn't be within 9km of an airport, helipad, etc... in addition, there is other restricted airspace (gov't or military, sensitive installations), which is good to know, but how to you find those installations, and that 9km ring?
I use apps to find those places...
The three I use (for different reasons and features) are No Fly Zone, Hover, and UAV Zones.
No Fly Zone is quick, easy, and seems to cover more of the smaller regional airports, but, it only shows a 30 mile range at a time.
Hover is highly detailed, has a cool flight log you can fill out for each flight, has weather readings and shows you when you start it whether you are in a NFZ, but it's slower than the others.
UAV Zones' best feature is that you can type in a location to search it, regardless of where you actually are at the time (which is what I did for above.)
Hope that helps!
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Thank you very much for the very kind reply with good info man! This trip is on my bucket list to visit and fly one day. I also use Hover as well.
Happy to help! There are a ton of places I'd love to fly over for photography... however I'm finding the nicer they are, the more popular they are likely to be = tourist areas = no fly zones. Sadly.
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Totally agree! Their are many Niagra Falls flights on Youtube. So people are def doing it and posting it.
Yessir... no shortage of recorded flights that probably never should have been taken. Great footage though.
Oh, and one thing I should probably have added... DJI does prevent takeoff in some areas that are prohibited... however there are also some areas that are in NFZ's where takeoff IS allowed... so don't rely on the software to be a fail safe!
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Sorry to the good pilots about the rant
I believe you haven't done your homework.
The National Parks Service calls it a "National Heritage Area". Note the word "National". It's run by the NPS. Learn About the Park - Niagara Falls National Heritage Area (U.S. National Park Service)
Begin quote: ""Designated by Congress in 2008, the Niagara Falls National Heritage Area stretches from the western boundary of Wheatfield, New York to the mouth of the Niagara River on Lake Ontario, including the communities of Niagara Falls, Youngstown, and Lewiston. The region is home to natural wonders, rich cultural traditions, and nationally significant historical sites.'" (end of quote)
So, strike one on NPS sites (I'm not saying it's an ABSOLUTE NO, just saying it's MORE than a State park). Next, if you happen to 'stray' (or it appears as if you did based on what the GPS says), you may have flown over a border. Now, the RCMP could get involved. DO you really want to take this chance?
Finally (and it's not mentioned here, but people should be aware of it), many of the "National" Parks (like the Grand Canyon, for example), are actually "UNESCO World Heritage Sites". Guess what? That is UN owned.
I get it; you don't know, you are probably pretty young, and you are not trying to cause trouble here. I apologize to you (all of you) if I'm coming across as a know it all (because I don't know it all).
But my mileage is thus:
I spent 21 years in signals intelligence, and another 19 in IT security at the senior Pentagon level, actually at the Pentagon. Although retired, I am still certified and current in IT Security. During my military time, I was an ongoing participant and technical reporter when fighters got scrambled for inadvertent "border violations and near misses"--even for mundane things like weather balloons. This is called "an international incident". We were watching, and so were they. And we were watching each other watching. That is what happens on borders--even friendlies watch each other--in our case we have each other's backs.
My belief, based on the security technology available is that you try to fly anything across OR even NEAR an INTERNATIONAL border, in a highly populated tourist facility, at any time of the day or night and the law enforcement of either country will be watching you, tracking you on radar, satellite and cameras, and they will be extremely aggressive, and also very polite. You will get caught. The RCMP, then the FBI and others would be all over it. (I used to know two Mounties--we were friends, but I wouldn't pull anything on them, ever, they have NO sense of humor). I wouldn't even joke about doing this.
My opinion based on my own experience is that you are asking for trouble, and asking to get on somebody's watch list.
I live here and at Niagara Falls and I actually have flown there and shot some breathtaking footage with my phantom. I am on the American side by the way. What I had to do was I simply went up to a border patrol/park ranger that was driving the area and he simply just hung out next to me and watch me fly just to make sure I did not cross into the Canadian side. It was quite hilarious because he was just as into drones as I was! Always remember, it can't hurt to ask
,!!
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,!!
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That doesn't mean you can't fly the amazing rapids a mile down stream.
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