What's Up With Treasure Island?!?!

[Bayflier]

I've seen several things in this forum and elsewhere about flying and shooting from Treasure Island in the SF Bay. Here's an example of some cool video taken in 2017 by photojunkie: Treasure Island, San Francsico, Ca. One of my favorites..

Everyone seems to think you can fly there but I went there this past weekend and stopped at a lot of different spots but couldn't find a single "green" area in the Airmap app. Sure, it's not "red" restricted but there are still orange advisories for heliports and whatnot, which I take to mean I'm in a no-fly area unless I somehow track down and get permission from whatever heliport or other thing is causing the advisory. Is Treasure Island now subject to those restrictions but it wasn't before? Is there some special safe place on Treasure Island I didn't find? Am I wrong to assume I can't fly in orange areas without advance permission? What gives?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Odogster]

Not sure about that but I am also in the bay area, maybe at can get together and do some flying.

 

[LuvMyTJ]

If you are flying for hobby purposes you can call the tower or heliport if it is manned. Check Airmap for the phone numbers. If you tap in the area it will pop up the locations & numbers. You only call to let them know your intentions to fly, you are not asking permission.

 

[Bayflier]

Thanks for the tip and advice! Yes, I am flying and shooting non-commercially. Unfortunately, it seems like 90% of the time you get the message "No Phone Number Provided." This is the case, for example, on Treasure Island, where I get advisories for Alcatraz, the SF Hall of Justice and a UC-San Francisco hospital. Cold-calling people to find out the right person to inform doesn't seem like a very effective approach. Then again, flying around the house does nothing but piss off the wife and scare the dog half to death, so I guess I gotta find some way to deal with this!

 

[finlayson]

When I look at the "airmap.io" map for Treasure Island - AirMap Web App - I see only five 'no fly' zones, for schools. The rest of the island looks OK...

 

[Swirleigh]

It used to be a Navy base, and the helicopter pads are buried and long gone, but the maps haven't been updated.

I fly there most weekends.

 

[flyhelp]

The answer - as I've been calling around various places, and this is what ATC and the helicopter pilots told me, is you call the air traffic control tower of the nearest airport even if you are outside that 5 mile radius perimeter. Tell them where, when, and under what part (336 or 107) you are flying on. They inform the airspace (which includes the helicopters within) of your location.

It makes sense if you think about it. If you are flying a private plane, you don't contact every other pilot in the sky and helipad you cross otherwise you'd probably crash from the sheer volume of people you'd have to contact haha! Just let ATC know, and they may even recommend a closer airport to you if they feel like you're out of bounds.

 

[LuvMyTJ]

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It makes sense if you think about it. If you are flying a private plane, you don't contact every other pilot in the sky and helipad you cross otherwise you'd probably crash from the sheer volume of people you'd have to contact haha! Just let ATC know, and they may even recommend a closer airport to you if they feel like you're out of bounds.

Manned aircraft have transponders to show where they are so other manned aircraft are aware. They soon may be on drones too.

 

[Drdave56]

Most of the restricted area in Treasure island is due to Oracle park, but that only applies when there is a large event there