Airport says "Don't call us"! Thoughts?

TGV401 · Feb 9, 2017

I found this on google...

Airports - with 5 mile radius (USA)

Gives you an idea of where the 5 mile limit is for any airport in the US... I'm 4.2 miles from an airport and I plan on staying below 300 AGL... I'm FAA registered and I don't plan on contacting the airport every time I fly in my backyard...

96P993 · Feb 10, 2017

My entire city is inside the 5 mile radius of our airport!!!

Andrew F · Feb 10, 2017

Jr. Stafford said:
I live about 2.5 miles from a small airport in a small town in Colorado. (8,000 people maybe?) I stopped by today and spoke to the airport manager, and told him the FAA requires me to call when I fly my drone. He asked how far out I was, and how often I fly. I told him it might be several times a day. By the end of the conversation he said "Don't call, you'll just piss us off!" He gave me a number of someone who is there from Dawn to Dusk, and said the only time he wants me to call would be in the case of a 'flyaway' that was going his direction......otherwise don't 'bother' us.

Thoughts? Certainly makes like easier to do what he says.

I think you should call him EVERY single time, multiple times, and tell him if he doesn't like it, he should call the FAA an complain about their policy. Hahahaha. Wouldn't that be an ironic twist!

deltalimatango · Feb 10, 2017

Move to Finland, and fly pretty much however you like as long as you do not go over the maximum ceiling. I went 11K+ (out and back) with my P4 and 10K+ with my Mavic. I fly out over the sea and no one says anything. Follow the basic set of rules and people leave you alone. They are more curious about the drone than what laws you might be transgressing.

kayakmike · Feb 11, 2017

I have 30 acres. One corner is ~4.7 miles from the airport tower and the other corner is 5.1 miles, with some gentle hills (~250' elevation gain across my property). When I first got my Phantom 3 and registered, I called the airport manager and she said I don't need to call them when I fly but I should check with the tower separately.

First time I called the tower, they said if you are over in the hills we won't even see you and didn't want any info. The second time, he asked for name and phone # (no reg info) and to call back when I was done. The first time I flew my Mavic I wanted to go ~400', so I called (third time). When I said I planned to fly at ~400 ft, he said that was kinda high and pulled out an info sheet and asked for my info including FAA registration # (first time that ever happened). My guess is if I would have told him 100' he wouldn't have cared.

So I've called 3 times while flying 50+ times on my property. I'll call occasionally just to make sure I'm following the rules and to see if the tower's attitude changes over time. I'm sure it also depends on who's working the tower that day. And the tower is only open 8AM-8PM, so if I fly first thing there's no one to call anyway...

Tomahawk · Feb 11, 2017

PropPilot said:
I fly full size AC and if I am at 400 feet and 2.5 miles out, I am calling MAYDAY and not worried about hitting a drone......

Exactly! 500 min from obstructions on VFR anyways in most cases.

Skyler King III · Feb 11, 2017

Jr. Stafford said:
I live about 2.5 miles from a small airport in a small town in Colorado. (8,000 people maybe?) I stopped by today and spoke to the airport manager, and told him the FAA requires me to call when I fly my drone. He asked how far out I was, and how often I fly. I told him it might be several times a day. By the end of the conversation he said "Don't call, you'll just piss us off!" He gave me a number of someone who is there from Dawn to Dusk, and said the only time he wants me to call would be in the case of a 'flyaway' that was going his direction......otherwise don't 'bother' us.

Thoughts? Certainly makes like easier to do what he says.

Get it in writing.

dewster · Feb 11, 2017

Pardon the expression: damned if you do damned if you don't. All it takes is for someone to call the police on you and then the question of notification arises and They say that you didn't talk with them. Crazy huh?

Sent from my iPhone using MavicPilots

dfb · Feb 12, 2017

Jr. Stafford said:
I live about 2.5 miles from a small airport in a small town in Colorado. (8,000 people maybe?) I stopped by today and spoke to the airport manager, and told him the FAA requires me to call when I fly my drone. He asked how far out I was, and how often I fly. I told him it might be several times a day. By the end of the conversation he said "Don't call, you'll just piss us off!" He gave me a number of someone who is there from Dawn to Dusk, and said the only time he wants me to call would be in the case of a 'flyaway' that was going his direction......otherwise don't 'bother' us.

Thoughts? Certainly makes like easier to do what he says.

Been watching Tony Northrup's guide to passing the FAA part 107, where he reports UAV pilots should never contact air traffic control. Contact the FAA, they might grant you a waver and will contact air traffic control for you. The bad news is that they want 90 days notice. Time=14:29 AIRSPACE.