Accuracy of NRC drone site selection tool

[kingjon]

I am getting conflicting information from the DJI fly app and the NRC selection tool. Selection tool and airmap are identical and show me close to 10km outside of any controlled air space. The DJI app was indicating I was in a controlled zone with 150m height limit. Airsense also warned me of manned aircraft. I did see one passenger aircraft but it was several thousand feet high and a few km north of me. Just want to do my due diligence before I fly here. How accurate is the NRC tool and how would I verify accuracy?

I do have all the zone warnings set to on in the DJI app. Maybe some of them are not regulatory requirements. I have no problem staying under 150m but can't fly in controlled air space with basic operations.

Thank you - I am new at this.

 

[Thanev]

As long as you observe the max.height AGL for Canada(150 m in the DJI Ssoftware sounds a little high...no?),I would probably default to the Canadian site for controlled flight zones.You may even take a screen shot of the map before your flight in case there is a perceived error in allowable flight zones you are in.
The way I see it,if the Government gives us a utility to use in flying safely,I would put the onus on them to verify it's accuracy. Third parties such as DJI may not follow the same guidelines,and variances may occur.

 

[kingjon]

You are right, 150m would be above 400 feet. It wasn't clear to me at the time if it was considered controlled airspace because of the warning (my drone was on the ground when I got the warning so I did not fly). I did find the information I was looking for online. Don Drones On has a video comparing the NRC tool to the DJI app and the latter is not at all consistent with regulatory requirements in Canada (at least not in Ottawa). It's missing most of the controlled airspace around Ottawa (military, helipads, parlement, prisons,etc) and has additional restrictions several km outside of the regulated controlled air space for the YOW airport. It looks like the NRC tool is accurate and I was OK to fly. I will have to get used to the airsense warnings. I was at least 20-25 km from the airport. There are not a lot of options in the area to fly a drone so Im glad this spot works out.

 

[cmurr]

Yeah don't go based on what DJI is saying, look at the NRC site, which pulls in data from the CFS and VTA's from NavCanada. If you are still unsure, you can look at the VTA for Ottawa.

 

[kevbac]

Transport Canada specifically disclaims responsibility for any errors or omissions in their safe to fly map. They say that the onus is on the pilot to check with the the current flight supplement (I don't remember the name of the publication offhand).

 

[Thanev]

Excellent point.Why would TRANSPORT Canada say anything else?Due diligence is the primary responsibility of the user.
Trudough Castro disclaims any knowledge of anything.Why would the lackeys differ?Garbage at the top leaves no hope for the bottom...sorry...rant over.

 

[kevbac]

@Thanev
TC makes it clear that they provide the map for convenience. The map is automatically built from multiple sources, none of which are under the control of Transport Canada, and many of which update on a 56 day cycle. That means that parts of it could be at least 56 days out of date, and some parts might not have any data if there was a failure with one of the data suppliers.
If some sort of enforcement action was taken because of where you are flying, you MIGHT try to make the argument that you checked the Transport Canada map. But, when you passed your Advanced certification exam and flight test (the only way you can legally fly within 'orange' and 'red' airspace), you would have had to answer questions about ensuring that you can fly.
You are partially correct though, the pilot is responsible for ensuring they fly safely and within the laws and regulations. The TC map is just one of the tools we should use. TBH, the maps in the UAV pilot app and the Drone Pilot Canada app are better. They include, as far as I can tell, all of the same data as the TC map, plus Class F/restricted airspace like prisons, Parks Canada places and military installations.

What one shouldn't do, is rely solely on the DJI maps.

 

[cmurr]

It is the responsibility of the pilot to perform a site survey prior to launching their RPAS. One of the tasks involved in a site survey is checking airspace, and looking at the NOTAM system. NOTAMs can contain temporary changes to airspace (for example). You should also know what the adjacent aerodromes are (just in case). More details in CAR 901.27.

Site surveys apply to both basic and advanced operations. I think there are some apps that do it based on selecting where you are going to fly on a google map. I wrote a python script to scrape the data I need and shove it into a PDF file that I store with my flight logs.