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- Aug 16, 2019
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- 898
In years gone by I was an active private pilot. The actual skills weren't difficult for me, but preparing for the written test was a serious challenge. The FARs read as you would expect most government regulations and there's a bunch of them. I was fortunate in that I worked with my CFI and we talked during breaks and lunch, plus I used a Gleim book as a prep aid. I haven't flown since 2001 for a variety of reasons, but stepping into the sUAS arena means I need to ensure I have a grasp of the rules and regs from the FAA, state and local authorities for safe, responsible drone operation.
The regs for operation of a manned aircraft have evolved over many decades and the bulk of information is well defined. Framework for sUAS ops is evolving at a relatively fast pace. I try to stay abreast of pertinent information by reading official information. I have written before about how unhelpful FAA sectional charts are for drone pilots, so I use AirMap and the FAA's Visualize It. They show where the NFZs are, but what is far less clear is how to handle the many areas iwith orange circles on AirMap depicted as "Airport Faciities" they define as "Airport location buffers are displayed for situational awareness". These are non-towered airfields or seaplane bases, so I presume they are Class G airspace which extends from the surface up to 700 feet. There are a lot of these "facilities" in my neck of the woods, so they deserve consideration. Thing is, AirMap provides no information on this, they just draw the orange circle and give you the facility names when you click on them. Finding out that non-towered airfields, their Class G airspace classification and the altitude limits of that classification was deduced by researching several sources.
Why can't it be simpler if the authorities are trying to aid drone operations for newcomers to the NAS? AirMap is a wonderful resource and shows the necessary information on towered airfields, restricted areas, national parks/wildlife areas, and NFZs, but falls short in other areas. It gets even murkier with state restrictions. Neither AirMap nor Visualize It address this and I understand it becomes even more convoluted when states and municipalities enact their own restrictions. I've found some sites online that list restrictions by state and even some counties/municipalities, but at present there is no single point of reference to aid the sUAS operator. Does any of this frustrate those of you trying to fly responsibly? Please excuse the rant, but it shouldn't have to be this difficult.
The regs for operation of a manned aircraft have evolved over many decades and the bulk of information is well defined. Framework for sUAS ops is evolving at a relatively fast pace. I try to stay abreast of pertinent information by reading official information. I have written before about how unhelpful FAA sectional charts are for drone pilots, so I use AirMap and the FAA's Visualize It. They show where the NFZs are, but what is far less clear is how to handle the many areas iwith orange circles on AirMap depicted as "Airport Faciities" they define as "Airport location buffers are displayed for situational awareness". These are non-towered airfields or seaplane bases, so I presume they are Class G airspace which extends from the surface up to 700 feet. There are a lot of these "facilities" in my neck of the woods, so they deserve consideration. Thing is, AirMap provides no information on this, they just draw the orange circle and give you the facility names when you click on them. Finding out that non-towered airfields, their Class G airspace classification and the altitude limits of that classification was deduced by researching several sources.
Why can't it be simpler if the authorities are trying to aid drone operations for newcomers to the NAS? AirMap is a wonderful resource and shows the necessary information on towered airfields, restricted areas, national parks/wildlife areas, and NFZs, but falls short in other areas. It gets even murkier with state restrictions. Neither AirMap nor Visualize It address this and I understand it becomes even more convoluted when states and municipalities enact their own restrictions. I've found some sites online that list restrictions by state and even some counties/municipalities, but at present there is no single point of reference to aid the sUAS operator. Does any of this frustrate those of you trying to fly responsibly? Please excuse the rant, but it shouldn't have to be this difficult.