USA Travel

[hcardenosa]

Hi there, I am planning to travel to the US in the next few months from Australia. After looking at a tonne of websites regarding all the different laws I have found the Australian droneflyer website says your drone must be registered with the FAA to fly in the USA while the FAA website says it only has to be registered if you have a residential address. Any advise or opinions from people who have travelled there would be much appreciated.
Thanks

 

[Thomas B]

Hi,
It only costs $5.00 USD and takes about 3-4 minutes and is good for 3 years. Could prevent a lot of hassles, especially at customs.
The Spark is not heavy enough to need it, but all other DJI aircraft do. FAA will send an email with a link to verify and then Just go to the FAA website and search drone registration. They will also explain the no fly zones arou airports and the US rules via links they provide.

BTW, what part of the US are you visiting? Happy to provide ideas in the areas where you’ll be. Happy flying!

 

[packnrat]

the faa registration page only $5.00 USD for three years, commercial site are to be avoided at all costs as the charge a big fee to do what you can get done with in 10 minutes.here are some apps to down load to your phone.
djigo4 ----------app
B4Ufly -----------faa app.
uav forcast. ---app
american model association rules. (model airplane thing)

welcome to America. you will find many places to fly, but most are not in city's. like in the country?
and maybe if you like maps (paper that is) get a couple sectional maps via the faa. they are maps showing airports and such for flying. then of course the google earth app can be useful.

 

[hcardenosa]

Awesome. Thanks Thomas! I’m travelling through California and New York over to Canada and Hawaii. Will be gone for 7 weeks so hopefully will get plenary of flying in over that time.

 

[packnrat]

what part of ca? or down los angles way?

the passes here (hwy's 4 and 108) will be open late april (early) most of the time not till june. you can get some fantastic alpine country video up there, right now this area is under 15 or more feet of snow. these passes are closed for the winter at the first icing or snow storm.

 

[Thomas B]

Driving or flying (you, not the drone) on your trip? In AZ a flight off the Mogollon Rim, a 2000 ft vertical cliff 300 miles long, makes some spectacular video amid a myriad of small lakes and the largest stand of ponderosa pine in North America.

 

[hcardenosa]

Driving parts and flying other parts! Are there any places I need to be really careful of flying in (other than not flying in national parks)/ is Canada very strict?

 

[AMann]

Hi @hcardenosa - Interested in flying (the legal parts of) Joshua Tree and the Mojave Desert? PM me if you are going to fly in Southern California! Cheers, Anthony

 

[AMann]

Driving parts and flying other parts! Are there any places I need to be really careful of flying in (other than not flying in national parks)/ is Canada very strict?

You can fly in most federal recreation areas, and pretty much anywhere that’s federal BLM or National Forest lands, excluding designated wilderness areas or other areas under special administrative orders. Check the local forest or BLM websites for info. Most California State and county parks are restricted these days, unless you fly into them from beyond their borders and there is no standing administrative order. A lot of the central and northern California coast has NOAA and CA Fish and Wildlife sanctuaries that have minimum AGL aircraft altitude zones which also make it too high for drones to legally fly in. Consult the FAA sectional maps for more info here: VFRMAP - Digital Aeronautical Charts

 

[Meta4]

Hi there, I am planning to travel to the US in the next few months from Australia. After looking at a tonne of websites regarding all the different laws I have found the Australian droneflyer website says your drone must be registered with the FAA to fly in the USA while the FAA website says it only has to be registered if you have a residential address.

According to the FAA's website:
UAS Flown by Recreational Fliers and Modeler Community-Based Organizations (Formerly Section 336)

If you are flying for hobby or recreation only, you must:

1. Register as a "modeler"
2. Label your model aircraft with your registration number

In order to register, you must be:

• 13 years of age or older (if the owner is less than 13 years of age, a person 13 years of age or older must register the model aircraft)
• A U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident*

In order to register, you'll need:

• Email address
• Credit or debit card
• Physical address and mailing address (if different from physical address)

Register online (must weigh less than 55 pounds).
Register an unmanned aircraft by paper.

* Visiting foreign nationals must register their drone or UAS upon arrival in the United States (online registration serves as a certificate of ownership). Read more about Information for Foreign UAS Operators in the United States.

Here's the page for info for foreign nationals:
Information for International UAS Operators in the United States

 

[theDRONEranger]

Excellent web site for all things sUAS, with links to state laws.
Ultimate Guide to Drone Laws from a Lawyer & Pilot (2018) -

Very knowledgeable drone lawyer
His site is filled with very valuable data.

 

[Cairnsimages]

Hi there, I am planning to travel to the US in the next few months from Australia. After looking at a tonne of websites regarding all the different laws I have found the Australian droneflyer website says your drone must be registered with the FAA to fly in the USA while the FAA website says it only has to be registered if you have a residential address. Any advise or opinions from people who have travelled there would be much appreciated.
Thanks

Hi, we are also travelling to the states from FNQ. Not sure but around August - September and have already registered with FAA. Much easier than registering with CASA I have to say. We just want to do the right thing. We are also flying into LA and hiring a car and getting out to the country. Then flying to NYC and check out the east coast. After reading all the info on drone flying in the USA I am not entirely sure if we should take it.

 

[Meta4]

Much easier than registering with CASA I have to say.

What trouble have you had with CASA?
Are you talking about registration for recreational flying?

 

[Cairnsimages]

Yes recreational flying only. In Australia it is not law to register, we just wanted to and guessing it will come in eventually. We had no trouble whatsoever with CASA just takes a day by the time you email them and wait for their reply. With FAA it was pretty well instantaneous.

 

[Meta4]

Much easier than registering with CASA I have to say.

That's rather confusing.
It's hard to see how any registration system could be easier than having none.

 

[Cairnsimages]

Point taken.

 

[alexbrown]

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