No airports/heliports

TiminSac · Jan 31, 2017

OK So I searched here for this question and I did not find any posts so I am starting this thread. If this question has been answered before I apologize.

There are several areas around where I live that have no airports/heliports or other businesses that I would need to call before I fly. In these cases I do not need to call anyone before I fly, is that correct?
I call these areas 'free zones' as I can just go an take off with no worries about airports.
Am I understanding airmaps and b4ufly correctly? Or am I completely wrong?

microlinux · Jan 31, 2017

If you will be flying in a public use area, you may want to check with your local parks dept, police, city etc . . . for any local regulations/restrictions.

Use common sense, fly safe. I've seen way too much drone footage taken by idiots flying over highways, etc . . .

DanMan32 · Jan 31, 2017

Helicopters may still appear within "your" airspace so look out for them. I too was flying in class G airspace at 400 feet taking panoramic video using POI mode when a helicopter flew by at what seemed like 200 feet since it seemed much lower than my drone.

Sent from my HTC 10 using PhantomPilots mobile app

tobby · Jan 31, 2017

I use the Airmap App. When you see an area highlighted in orange, touch the highlighted area and you will get a list of the entities that you need be concerned about, along with phone numbers.

Tobby

DaveD · Jan 31, 2017

Uavforcast is also good

Sent from my VS987 using PhantomPilots mobile app

Yiorgaks · Jan 31, 2017

tobby said:
I use the Airmap App. When you see an area highlighted in orange, touch the highlighted area and you will get a list of the entities that you need be concerned about, along with phone numbers.

Tobby

^^This. Airmap for iOS is great. I use this app religiously when flying in Toronto (where I live).

Unfortunate part is the park just outside my building is in a big, bold red no fly zone (0.4km from an international airport). Woe is me...

JayDDubya · Feb 1, 2017

I use airmap, you might think there are no airports or helipads nearby but there are. I typically have to go into the boonies or unpopulated coastal areas to fly. I've yet to call a helipad to notify them, i will in the future though.

Yiorgaks · Feb 1, 2017

JayDDubya said:
I use airmap, you might think there are no airports or helipads nearby but there are. I typically have to go into the boonies or unpopulated coastal areas to fly. I've yet to call a helipad to notify them, i will in the future though.

Not condoning anything here or trying to get flamed but I feel like helipads are that gray area in UAV aviation. In Canada you need to be at least 9km away from any aerodrome (helipads included) but I feel like this may be a gray area in enforcement given their much less frequency of use compared to airports. Transport Canada definitely needs to revamp the laws here to make it a little more pragmatic to fly for us responsible hobbyists.

JayDDubya · Feb 1, 2017

Yiorgaks said:
Not condoning anything here or trying to get flamed but I feel like helipads are that gray area in UAV aviation. In Canada you need to be at least 9km away from any aerodrome (helipads included) but I feel like this may be a gray area in enforcement given their much less frequency of use compared to airports. Transport Canada definitely needs to revamp the laws here to make it a little more pragmatic to fly for us responsible hobbyists.

In the US, you just have to notify them, "Hey, i'm flying my drone in this general area ,bye".

Yiorgaks · Feb 1, 2017

JayDDubya said:
In the US, you just have to notify them, "Hey, i'm flying my drone in this general area ,bye".

That's just for helipads I presume? Airports and such would probably be a different story I'd imagine.

Richard R · Feb 1, 2017

No, hobby fliers are only required to 'notify' any airports (most take that to include heliports too) about your intended flights. Some exceptions, such as in Class B airspace around busy airports.

Yiorgaks · Feb 1, 2017

Richard R said:
No, hobby fliers are only required to 'notify' any airports (most take that to include heliports too) about your intended flights. Some exceptions, such as in Class B airspace around busy airports.

I'd imagine the US equivalent of Class C and Class D need to be notified as well? Or are those complete no-fly zones?