I recently took a trip from Maryland to Alaska with my P3A. My plan was to get some aerial footage of a National Historic Landmark called Kennicott Mines. The thought of traveling thousands of miles and spending thousands of dollars only to be prohibited once I got there caused much stress. I wasn't even sure if the software (Go App) would let me launch. But I was determined to find out.
Of course I did my due diligence by both calling and emailing the Park Service. The pdf policy they sent to me was very outdated so I'll choose not to share it. It was intended for small aircraft like a single engine Cessna. But based on my conversation with NPS I can say what the rules are currently. If you launch and land your drone from Private property you can fly over a National Park, and that also means to respect the FAA guidelines. This is exactly what the so-called flight seeing tours of Alaska do. They load up a small aircraft with tourists, launch from a private airport, and fly over the National Park. Perhaps those guidelines are only for Alaska – I don't know.
Fortunately for me there is a fair amount of private property within the park. Still, on two separate occasions I was confronted by different people who told me I was not allowed to fly the drone. They were not park rangers. Trying to fly the drone, swat mosquitoes, and argue with a stranger made this rather difficult. He went away after I set the controller on the ground while the Phantom was in flight. I guess he figured it was going to crash. But I was operating the point-of-interest so it didn't matter. Here is a link to that footage if that interests you.
Kennicott Alaska:
Anyway, I flew on Delta and had my P3A as a carry-on in a backpack along with several Phantom batteries. I did not encounter any problems with security.
Of course I did my due diligence by both calling and emailing the Park Service. The pdf policy they sent to me was very outdated so I'll choose not to share it. It was intended for small aircraft like a single engine Cessna. But based on my conversation with NPS I can say what the rules are currently. If you launch and land your drone from Private property you can fly over a National Park, and that also means to respect the FAA guidelines. This is exactly what the so-called flight seeing tours of Alaska do. They load up a small aircraft with tourists, launch from a private airport, and fly over the National Park. Perhaps those guidelines are only for Alaska – I don't know.
Fortunately for me there is a fair amount of private property within the park. Still, on two separate occasions I was confronted by different people who told me I was not allowed to fly the drone. They were not park rangers. Trying to fly the drone, swat mosquitoes, and argue with a stranger made this rather difficult. He went away after I set the controller on the ground while the Phantom was in flight. I guess he figured it was going to crash. But I was operating the point-of-interest so it didn't matter. Here is a link to that footage if that interests you.
Kennicott Alaska:
Anyway, I flew on Delta and had my P3A as a carry-on in a backpack along with several Phantom batteries. I did not encounter any problems with security.
