I have been very excited for many years to get a drone. Well, my wonderful wife gave a great Christmas surprise - a Mavic Air 2.
But, as we all have discovered, flying a more advanced drone brings more regulation which can be a good thing. For this new pilot, the few hours I have spent trying to understand my local regulations have been aggravating. It is like learning new language. I have turned to YouTube videos for answers, but the videos I have watched don't fully answer my question.
With this said, my home in Utah (USA) is on the edge of a military restricted fly zone. I have looked forward to taking simple videos of neighborhood parties, my kids playing basketball in the street, and some backyard activities. Top elevation would 150' maximum. The area a flight radius would be less 1/4 mile.
I have registered my drone, placed the FAA number on the side, and am looking forward to the flights. Before I launched, I did a check on the b4ufly app. This is where I discovered the restriction. The app displays the following:
- a yellow caution symbol
- gives the area R-6412C
- states that is a "Special Use Airspace Type Restricted"
- effective by NOTAM
- the GMT offset time
- Level: Low Altitude Only
- Contact FAA
There is a "?" in the top right hand corner I click on, but this is when my confusion begins. The "?" brings me to a page full of links. Remember, I am new to this, so I have to research most acronyms, try and figure how to ask if I can fly my drone in this area (with authorization), sift through the links, read many pages hoping to get a directed answer, and well, it's the government so it shouldn't make sense. Long explanation, I know.
I have started to create an authorization on Dronezone, but end up getting very frustrated, and start reading more websites
- Will I need authorization?
- Who do I contact to get my my flight privileges authorized?
- Will I need my 107 license and an additional waiver?
- What class is my airspace? C?
- Is this area being overseen by LAANC?
- How do I determine my "proposed area of operation?"
- How simple can I make my description of proposed operation? I am not very well versed in FAA speech and acronyms.
- My radius on nanometers?
As you can see this noob just needs some help to get started. If anyone seasoned in fly zone regulations can help this noobie, I would so greatly appreciate it. I am only trying to determine if I can fly and how to get authorization (if needed).
Thank you for the help.
But, as we all have discovered, flying a more advanced drone brings more regulation which can be a good thing. For this new pilot, the few hours I have spent trying to understand my local regulations have been aggravating. It is like learning new language. I have turned to YouTube videos for answers, but the videos I have watched don't fully answer my question.
With this said, my home in Utah (USA) is on the edge of a military restricted fly zone. I have looked forward to taking simple videos of neighborhood parties, my kids playing basketball in the street, and some backyard activities. Top elevation would 150' maximum. The area a flight radius would be less 1/4 mile.
I have registered my drone, placed the FAA number on the side, and am looking forward to the flights. Before I launched, I did a check on the b4ufly app. This is where I discovered the restriction. The app displays the following:
- a yellow caution symbol
- gives the area R-6412C
- states that is a "Special Use Airspace Type Restricted"
- effective by NOTAM
- the GMT offset time
- Level: Low Altitude Only
- Contact FAA
There is a "?" in the top right hand corner I click on, but this is when my confusion begins. The "?" brings me to a page full of links. Remember, I am new to this, so I have to research most acronyms, try and figure how to ask if I can fly my drone in this area (with authorization), sift through the links, read many pages hoping to get a directed answer, and well, it's the government so it shouldn't make sense. Long explanation, I know.
I have started to create an authorization on Dronezone, but end up getting very frustrated, and start reading more websites
- Will I need authorization?
- Who do I contact to get my my flight privileges authorized?
- Will I need my 107 license and an additional waiver?
- What class is my airspace? C?
- Is this area being overseen by LAANC?
- How do I determine my "proposed area of operation?"
- How simple can I make my description of proposed operation? I am not very well versed in FAA speech and acronyms.
- My radius on nanometers?
As you can see this noob just needs some help to get started. If anyone seasoned in fly zone regulations can help this noobie, I would so greatly appreciate it. I am only trying to determine if I can fly and how to get authorization (if needed).
Thank you for the help.
