Where to fly and not fly on Long Island, NY...

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So this is my 1st post outside of the Introductions Thread. I think I have found a new home away from home here.

I've had my Phantom 3 Standard for about 8 months now, give or take a few. Up until now, I haven't really encountered any law enforcement telling me not to fly here or there. I am aware of the Federal and State Park bans. I am not sure about County (locally Suffolk County) Parks restrictions. I tried to find some specific laws at the county website but couldn't find any.

This is a picture (if I posted it correctly) of my 1st encounter with the law. (I don't think she's identifiable, so I didn't blur the pic). This was at a park adjacent to the Smith Point County Park, at the Fire Island National Seashore. I didn't notice the sign that said "National" indicating it was a National Park and thought it was part of the County park. It's all good as the Park Ranger was super nice and just told me to land it. It was her 1st drone sighting, so she was more curious than anything and didn't give me a ticket or anything. She actually hung out for a while and had all sorts of questions about it.

So this rises the question in my head:

Where can I fly and where can I not fly?

Is there a good thread on here or a good resource/link on the web that has all the No-Fly-Zones especially for the Long Island, NY area? At the moment, I fly my drone purely for recreational use and have registered with the FAA for the $5.
 
You're on the right track, and correct about the National Parks ban. State/county/local have their own rules (check their websites or call before you fly).

As for "no fly" zones, try AirMap. You can easily map local airports, airspace, temporary restrictions, and national parks. The FAA's "B4UFly" app also does the same thing, albeit AirMap is slicker.
 
As for "no fly" zones, try AirMap...

Thanks jopa, I was using the "UAV Forecast" App, but it only covers Airports. With this app, there seems to be a lot fewer places to fly locally. :(

I had set a goal to Photograph all the lighthouses on Long Island. I can see now that it's going to be pretty difficult without breaking some rules as most of them are on Park land.

How do the laws work for being adjacent to a restricted park? Like I can take some pretty great photos/video without actually flying over a park but a few hundred feet away from it.
 
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Lol yeah and with all the private airports and heliports on li, plus the hospitals it is a challange


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Thanks jopa, I was using the "UAV Forecast" App, but it only covers Airports. With this app, there seems to be a lot fewer places to fly locally. :(

I had set a goal to Photograph all the lighthouses on Long Island. I can see now that it's going to be pretty difficult without breaking some rules as most of them are on Park land.

How do the laws work for being adjacent to a restricted park? Like I can take some pretty great photos/video without actually flying over a park but a few hundred feet away from it.
You can fly around them. As long as you don't take off, land, or fly through those zones, you're fine.
 
You can fly around them. As long as you don't take off, land, or fly through those zones, you're fine.
You can actually fly over park lands too (as long as there aren't other restrictions such as NFZs or TFRs. The rule is that we are only not allowed to take off or land on park property.
 
You can actually fly over park lands too (as long as there aren't other restrictions such as NFZs or TFRs. The rule is that we are only not allowed to take off or land on park property.
This is incorrect from my understanding. For national parks, it includes drone takeoff, operation, and landing. One of the primary reasons for the ban is noise/nuisance. With this reasoning, it would make sense all operation is banned.
 
This is incorrect from my understanding. For national parks, it includes drone takeoff, operation, and landing. One of the primary reasons for the ban is noise/nuisance. With this reasoning, it would make sense all operation is banned.

But they don't have the jurisdiction to ban anything in the air whether they want to or not.


Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots
 
Thanks jopa, I was using the "UAV Forecast" App, but it only covers Airports. With this app, there seems to be a lot fewer places to fly locally. :(

I had set a goal to Photograph all the lighthouses on Long Island. I can see now that it's going to be pretty difficult without breaking some rules as most of them are on Park land.

How do the laws work for being adjacent to a restricted park? Like I can take some pretty great photo/video without actually flying over a park but a few hundred feet away from it.
 
Thanks jopa, I was using the "UAV Forecast" App, but it only covers Airports. With this app, there seems to be a lot fewer places to fly locally. :(

I had set a goal to Photograph all the lighthouses on Long Island. I can see now that it's going to be pretty difficult without breaking some rules as most of them are on Park land.

How do the laws work for being adjacent to a restricted park? Like I can take some pretty great photos/video without actually flying over a park but a few hundred feet away from it.
 
Thanks jopa, I was using the "UAV Forecast" App, but it only covers Airports. With this app, there seems to be a lot fewer places to fly locally. :(

I had set a goal to Photograph all the lighthouses on Long Island. I can see now that it's going to be pretty difficult without breaking some rules as most of them are on Park land.

How do the laws work for being adjacent to a restricted park? Like I can take some pretty great photos/video without actually flying over a park but a few hundred feet away from it.



I totally feel your Pain!!! I am in Suffolk County and According to Airmap there is almost no place available!!!! Also the State, County, and local Town Laws are so hidden and convoluted leaving Enforcement to the Opinion of "Local Law Enforcement!!!!" They really Need to Clarify! Feels like our rights are being tampered with in many locations. I have also seem many Videos on this Topic and it is Scary that People have such a Negative Impression of Drones / Flying Cameras. I hate that each time I power up I get Paranoid!!!!
 

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