Depending on location determines if illegal or not. Florida State parks it is illegal to fly at all. They have it written in thier laws that no aircraft manned or un-manned my fly in a State Park
unless it is in effort to save human life all other flights require written permission from the State Parks system.
Sent: Monday, November 07, 2016 2:05 PM
To: Dean, Jason W
Subject: RE: Drone flying in Florida State Parks
Dear Mr. Dean,
Thank you for your interest in visiting Florida’s state parks. Unfortunately, drone usage is prohibited within Florida State Parks except in very rare circumstances. The portion of the Florida Administrative Code which governs the operation of Florida State Parks, Chapt. 62D-2.014
(
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/legal/Rules/parks/62d-2.pdf ) says:
(15) Aircraft. No person operating or responsible for any aircraft, glider, balloon, parachute, or other aerial apparatus shall cause any such apparatus to take off from or land in any park except in an emergency when human life is endangered or where a designated landing facility may exist on park property.
The Florida Park Service Operations Manual was recently updated to clarify this regulation in light of growing interest in drone usage:
21. Use of Aircraft
a. Definitions
Aircraft: Any machine supported for flight in the air by buoyancy or by the dynamic action of air on its surfaces, such as gliders, balloons, parachutes, drones, powered airplanes, helicopters, unmanned aircraft systems or other aerial apparatus.
b. Use of Aircraft
No person operating or responsible for an aircraft shall cause any such apparatus to take off from or land in any park, except when the aircraft is either authorized by the Park Manager or needed in an emergency in which human life is endangered. The Park Manager may authorize the use of aircraft when the flight is beneficial to the Division.
An example of “beneficial to the Division” recently was when Fort Mose State Park contracted with a drone/aerial camera operator to film a reenactment of a 1740 battle on park grounds so that the footage might be incorporated into an interpretive video to be shown at the park visitor center. Please let me know if I can provide any further information regarding this matter.
Very truly yours,
Information Line Manager
Bureau of Operational Services
Department of Environmental Protection
3800 Commonwealth Blvd., MS 535
Tallahassee, FL 32399-3000