AirMap Vs B4UFly Vs Kittyhawk

[Harold Morgan]

Scouting out a labor day river event in Tulsa. AirMap says it is class E airspace, while B4Ufly and Kittyhawk have no advisories. Should I simply discard AirMap?

 

[Geani66]

With AirMap you have to sell your drone.....Not a lot of places to fly.
I choose to go on Transport Canada site for drones and I was OK to fly in that region....with caution.
I still have airmap on my phone,it's useful sometimes

 

[Thomas B]

@Harold Morgan ... please add you location in your profile to get the best answers to your questions. TIA.

If you follow the most restrictive app you will always be OK. I use AirMap and FAA DroneZone exclusively for clearance to fly.

 

[dylanthecat]

Look on a sectional map. They’re online.

 

[Mavic Mac]

I had just d/l both Airmap and KittyHawk and was going to find YouTube on how they operate. AirMap shows I am in a restricted zone, d/l the chart for the area I am in shows I am just outside the zone and the DJI app shows I am outside the zone. Who are you supposed to believe ? ?

 

[Thomas B]

I had just d/l both Airmap and KittyHawk and was going to find YouTube on how they operate. AirMap shows I am in a restricted zone, d/l the chart for the area I am in shows I am just outside the zone and the DJI app shows I am outside the zone. Who are you supposed to believe ? ?

This may also be affected by the accuracy of location services in your phone/device.
If you are in the zone of either app, just put in as an exception. If you fly the location a lot try FAA DroneZone to get clearance for 30 days at a time that is renewable easily.

 

[DanMan32]

Note that notices include the entire area you report you intend to fly, or before settling a flight plan, the zoom of the map area.

 

[Mavic Mac]

This may also be affected by the accuracy of location services in your phone/device.
If you are in the zone of either app, just put in as an exception. If you fly the location a lot try FAA DroneZone to get clearance for 30 days at a time that is renewable easily.

Thanks for advising about DroneZone. Will try that next based on the situations below.

Setting up Kittyhawk and they want me to agree to let them manage my storage and PHONE. Anybody know why? Has anybody granted this "permission"? I declined and got message app won't work right - oh well.........

The airport near me is not on the list in AirMap. I get the message
Automated authorization coming soon at or below 100 ft
Clicking on the little i in the circle for further info it brings me to the FAA page about Part 107 waivers. I am thinking when they say the authorization is coming soon they mean the next software upgrade.

 

[Thomas B]

Thanks for advising about DroneZone. Will try that next based on the situations below.

Setting up Kittyhawk and they want me to agree to let them manage my storage and PHONE. Anybody know why? Has anybody granted this "permission"? I declined and got message app won't work right - oh well.........

The airport near me is not on the list in AirMap. I get the message
Automated authorization coming soon at or below 100 ft
Clicking on the little i in the circle for further info it brings me to the FAA page about Part 107 waivers. I am thinking when they say the authorization is coming soon they mean the next software upgrade.

DroneZone took about 36 hours to respond by email for clarification of location boundaries... my area is about 3 miles by 3 miles. (they want latitude and longitude definitions of the area... they were very helpful). Final request took < 24hrs for response.

 

[Mavic Mac]

DroneZone took about 36 hours to respond by email for clarification of location boundaries... my area is about 3 miles by 3 miles. (they want latitude and longitude definitions of the area... they were very helpful). Final request took < 24hrs for response.

Was on the FAA web page - is there a specific form that needs to be filled out for the authorization ?

 

[Thomas B]

Was on the FAA web page - is there a specific form that needs to be filled out for the authorization ?

Go directly to FAA DroneZone (google if needed). There is a form. Easy to fill out and for renewals you only need to change dates.

 

[aneal321]

@Harold Morgan ... please add you location in your profile to get the best answers to your questions. TIA.

If you follow the most restrictive app you will always be OK. I use AirMap and FAA DroneZone exclusively for clearance to fly.

is FAA DroneZone an app? I haven't found it in Google Play.

 

[DanMan32]

It's FAA's website for UAS.

 

[aneal321]

It's FAA's website for UAS.

Got it, thanks. Same place as registration.

 

[MrChris]

I think part of the issue between Airmap and KittyHawk/FAA B4uFly is that Airmap is showing fields that loosely qualify as airports, including airports that have been closed, emergency fields (here in WA there are designated fields near the mountain passes for just that purpose) and every single heliport and lake that supports seaplane operations. A good example of this is a hospital in my area, they have a "designated" helipad however they are not a trauma facility and the last time a helicopter landed there was at least 30 years ago. Airmap shows it with a 5 mile radius as if it were any other airport. B4uFly doesn't show it. Similarly the little town in Eastern WA where my FIL grew up "had" an airport that closed 10 or 12 years ago officially and maybe had a total of 10 operations in the previous 5 years because it was in such disrepair. Again B4uFly doesn't show it and Airmap still lists it as an operating airport with the 5 mile radius.

I've been flying since the mid-80's and having sectionals and terminal maps or the electronic equivalent is a good idea, having a good idea of the general flight operations in the area helps too. There are some registered airports that are used so infrequently, and do not appear as controlled airspace on B4uFly and knowing this and keeping a watchful eye is a more sensible approach to such a location.

 

[Ztopgun28]

Does this mean i can fly above my house up to 200 feet even though I'm within 5 miles of an airport? Do I need to notify anyone or register it also first? I just got my mavic air

 

[azmikew]

Does this mean i can fly above my house up to 200 feet even though I'm within 5 miles of an airport? Do I need to notify anyone or register it also first? I just got my mavic air

5 miles from an airport means nothing anymore. You are in Class D airspace which requires authorization to fly and based on you screenshot, the allowable altitude is 200’ AGL once approved. You must use a LAANC enabled app like Kitty Hawk or AirMap to apply for the authorization. Plenty of videos on You Tube on how to do this, it’s quite easy.

 

[Ztopgun28]

5 miles from an airport means nothing anymore. You are in Class D airspace which requires authorization to fly and based on you screenshot, the allowable altitude is 200’ AGL once approved. You must use a LAANC enabled app like Kitty Hawk or AirMap to apply for the authorization. Plenty of videos on You Tube on how to do this, it’s quite easy.

Ok good to know, thanks!

 

[lookout]

Airmap shows circular boundaries. And the one FAA site shows squared off sections.

I was driving around town without the drone. I came up to a place where several police/ambulance/fire were working a car accident. Probably pretty nasty one. Pulled out the airmap and showed no first responder at that location. So much for that... Wonder how they get them? Our city is big on big E and maybe airmap can't get them even though I might have seen first responder in the city limits previously.

 

[usaken]

Isn't class E airspacce starting at 700 or 1,200’ AGL? The space under in many areas is class G, I think.