So first... I understand the rule of thumb is to not fly within 5 miles of an airport.
I just got my Mavic Pro, and wanted to test it out at my in-laws house. They live in a neighborhood with a huge backyard and a lot of space. I knew I wasn't super close to any airports, plus I was just going to fly under like 60 feet on their property. I was able to fly around their yard with no problem.
Then I decided to drive to another part of their neighborhood and fly over a pond for some more space and practice. I was able to take off from where I was, but I hit an imaginary wall when flying forward about 10 feet infront of me. I realized the DJI app wouldn't let me because (what I found out after) that imaginary wall was the line of exactly 1.5miles radius from a small airport in their small-ish town. Makes sense. Definitely don't want to fly within 1.5miles. But where I flew in their backyard was probably uhh 1.8 miles from the airport, according to that imaginary wall I hit at 1.5 miles. Soo... as a hobbyist (for now), I think I was NOT supposed to fly there. Or do I just simply give a heads up to the ATC/airport manager saying "hey I'll be flying a drone under 200 feet about 1.8 miles west of the airport" ? I have a feeling they wouldn't like that.
ALSO - more confusion - I've heard you're technically not supposed to be calling ATC anymore? They don't have the time & resources to talk on the phone with drone pilots all day, or something. But that you're supposed to submit some online request to FAA and it could take 90 days?! Umm, I'm not that serious of a drone pilot right now, just want to fly it here and there, not far away, probably under 200 feet always.
Can someone try to clarify these rules/laws for me? Apparently I may have broken one already when I was about 1.8miles away from a small airport. I actually think it's cool that the imaginary wall stopped me at 1.5 miles, I don't mind that at all. (side note, even at 1.5miles I was only planning to fly around a pond within 100-200 feet from me, and under 100feet AGL), so in reality, I wasn't causing any trouble in the airspace... but I get it, rules are rules.
I just got my Mavic Pro, and wanted to test it out at my in-laws house. They live in a neighborhood with a huge backyard and a lot of space. I knew I wasn't super close to any airports, plus I was just going to fly under like 60 feet on their property. I was able to fly around their yard with no problem.
Then I decided to drive to another part of their neighborhood and fly over a pond for some more space and practice. I was able to take off from where I was, but I hit an imaginary wall when flying forward about 10 feet infront of me. I realized the DJI app wouldn't let me because (what I found out after) that imaginary wall was the line of exactly 1.5miles radius from a small airport in their small-ish town. Makes sense. Definitely don't want to fly within 1.5miles. But where I flew in their backyard was probably uhh 1.8 miles from the airport, according to that imaginary wall I hit at 1.5 miles. Soo... as a hobbyist (for now), I think I was NOT supposed to fly there. Or do I just simply give a heads up to the ATC/airport manager saying "hey I'll be flying a drone under 200 feet about 1.8 miles west of the airport" ? I have a feeling they wouldn't like that.
ALSO - more confusion - I've heard you're technically not supposed to be calling ATC anymore? They don't have the time & resources to talk on the phone with drone pilots all day, or something. But that you're supposed to submit some online request to FAA and it could take 90 days?! Umm, I'm not that serious of a drone pilot right now, just want to fly it here and there, not far away, probably under 200 feet always.
Can someone try to clarify these rules/laws for me? Apparently I may have broken one already when I was about 1.8miles away from a small airport. I actually think it's cool that the imaginary wall stopped me at 1.5 miles, I don't mind that at all. (side note, even at 1.5miles I was only planning to fly around a pond within 100-200 feet from me, and under 100feet AGL), so in reality, I wasn't causing any trouble in the airspace... but I get it, rules are rules.