On Airlines

[Shaw520]

Greetings fellow hobbyist,... Im going to be taking a trip from NYC to Las Vegas next month, then proceeding to drive from LV to the Grand Canyon and other points of interest along the way. The Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon should be opportunities to hopefully capture some amazing footage. I do have the DJI hard shell backpack that holds my equipment + (3) batteries,... will there be any restrictions on the airplane (Jet Blue), as well as any restrictions near the Hoover Dam and/or Grand Canyon that ya'll are aware of?.... thank you in advance for any information provided.

 

[Paul2660]

Yes Grand Canyon would be a total NFZ. It’s a national park.

And even if you launch from outside park boundaries it’s still going to have a NFZ due to the huge number of daily tourist flights over the Canyon.

Paul C

 

[daveisim]

Hover Dam is also restricted.
FAA Restricts Drones over Statue of Liberty, Other Landmarks

 

[tcope]

Won't be any issues on airlines. You cannot check the batteries, they need to be carry on. Plenty of threads on this.

Just to be clear, most of the Grand Canyon is a National Park so no take off, landing or operating from their property. It is _not_ a NFZ. The Hoover Dam _is_ a NFZ (I believe it is within 400' of the dam).

Edit: However, you will also be in the Lake Mead Recreational Area while and all around the Hoover Dam. This is controlled by the National Park Service. See above.

Edit: I highly recommend taking the longer paid tour at the Hoover Dam. It is worth every penny and very interesting. You an take all the pictures/video you like on this tour using a hand held camera.

 

[Shaw520]

Yes,.. getting the 'picture' here,... NP NFZ's,.. although FAA site does not depict that,.. the list only Airports. On another thought; I have a Zero-Tech Dobby that falls 'below' the weight restrictions for FAA registration,..... same rules apply I imagine.

 

[tcope]

Yes,.. getting the 'picture' here,... NP NFZ's,.. although FAA site does not depict that,.. the list only Airports. On another thought; I have a Zero-Tech Dobby that falls 'below' the weight restrictions for FAA registration,..... same rules apply I imagine.

That is because NP are _not_ NFZ (as I mentioned). NFZ are created by the FAA. You can feel free to fly over a NP, in FAA controlled airspace. You just can't take off, land of operate from the land... which is controlled by the NPS.

NFZ include more then just airports. For example, it includes Hoover Dam.

 

[Shaw520]

That is because NP are _not_ NFZ (as I mentioned). NFZ are created by the FAA. You can feel free to fly over a NP, in FAA controlled airspace. You just can't take off, land of operate from the land... which is controlled by the NPS.

NFZ include more then just airports. For example, it includes Hoover Dam.

Understood,... thank you for this Info.