Airspace confusion

[Nautidawg]

Hi All,
When I look at distances on a boating app and compare it to Google map and also to the DJI Go 4 app-they each tell me differently what airspaces are there. For instance, my own property is 15 miles from the nearest airport, nowhere near a stadium, heli pad, military base etc etc. But on Go 4 it says i'm located in about 5 different classes of airspace. What am I configuring wrong-something on the app? I do know that my boating app (Navionics) tells me in nm (based on gps as well) where things are-and I can honestly say in my experience from boat navigation that it is pretty darn close when judging between the paper chart and the app (locations of ATONs, obstacle to navigation etc)....as well as measuring in nautical miles and then comparing it to the App. I'm so confused trying to determine where in the future I can actually use this thing. Thanks

 

[brett8883]

Hi All,
When I look at distances on a boating app and compare it to Google map and also to the DJI Go 4 app-they each tell me differently what airspaces are there. For instance, my own property is 15 miles from the nearest airport, nowhere near a stadium, heli pad, military base etc etc. But on Go 4 it says i'm located in about 5 different classes of airspace. What am I configuring wrong-something on the app? I do know that my boating app (Navionics) tells me in nm (based on gps as well) where things are-and I can honestly say in my experience from boat navigation that it is pretty darn close when judging between the paper chart and the app (locations of ATONs, obstacle to navigation etc)....as well as measuring in nautical miles and then comparing it to the App. I'm so confused trying to determine where in the future I can actually use this thing. Thanks

Without knowing the location you are in its impossible to tell you what airspace you are in but your proximity to an airport isn’t a good indication of what airspace you are in.

Apps like AirMap or Kittyhawk are good resources to figure out where you can fly, where you need to get authorization to fly, and where you can’t fly. If you need authorization to fly they can facilitate that for you too.

Do the boating app tells you airspace? Why would someone in a boat care about airspace? Just curious

 

[Russ Still]

First of all, are you flying under art 107? If yes, then do you understand the National Airspace System? It divides the entire volume of air into 6 lettered classes, each with their own rules for drone operations.

 

[Nautidawg]

Without knowing the location you are in its impossible to tell you what airspace you are in but your proximity to an airport isn’t a good indication of what airspace you are in.

Apps like AirMap or Kittyhawk are good resources to figure out where you can fly, where you need to get authorization to fly, and where you can’t fly. If you need authorization to fly they can facilitate that for you too.

Do the boating app tells you airspace? Why would someone in a boat care about airspace? Just curious

Because I would like to fly the unit above a boat eventually and need to be at least 5 mis from any airport

 

[Nautidawg]

First of all, are you flying under art 107? If yes, then do you understand the National Airspace System? It divides the entire volume of air into 6 lettered classes, each with their own rules for drone operations.

No I'm flying as recreational... just trying to figure out where I shouldn't go anywhere near

 

[brett8883]

Because I would like to fly the unit above a boat eventually and need to be at least 5 mis from any airport

Not by any FAA rules. Your proximity to an airport has no significance in where you can and can’t fly. It’s all about airspace now.

 

[brett8883]

First of all, are you flying under art 107? If yes, then do you understand the National Airspace System? It divides the entire volume of air into 6 lettered classes, each with their own rules for drone operations.

Even rec pilots need to understand NAS now. They may not need to understand the difference between class B and class D but they need to know if it’s controlled airspace or not. Frankly in practice this isn’t any different for 107 pilots

 

[Nautidawg]

Ok Wi ll try to look up. Because the app shows warnings for like 5 airspaces near where I wish to go. Even tho I'm not tryign to fly at 1000's of feet. Maybe I bought this and it will be a waste of money. I read the info prior but now it's becoming confusing.

 

[Nautidawg]

Just downloaded Airmap. Will see what that one looks like

 

[JimWest]

If you really want to understand this, I think there's nothing better than learning to read the sectional charts. Horribly confusing at first, but you can learn it. To get an idea, go to SkyVector: Flight Planning / Aeronautical Charts and enlarge to 100% around your home.

 

[Nautidawg]

That is fascinating! Ok so here's a screenshot of Lake Champlain. I'm looking to film here one day...
What are those red circles? Controlled airspace?

 

[Mavic Mac]

The "red circles" are controlled airspace - the red numbers inside the "red circles" are the various elevations of the the controlled airspace. The SFC inside the the inner "red circle" means the airspace is controlled from the surface up to the elevation listed.

I would also do a search of the forums here for flying from/over a boat and the problems you may encounter.

 

[mcbutler]

May be something to do with altitude, many airspace’s are bubbles at high altitude. For example the average flight path is miles wide and deep but nowhere near the ground. You may have anoptoon to turn off high altitude restrictions?

 

[JimWest]

The inner circle shows Class C airspace from the surface to 4400' AGL (above ground level). The outer circle shows Class C airspace from 2200' AGL to 4400' on the right and from 1500' to 4400' on the left. So you can fly under the Class C airspace in the outer circle because you don't fly higher than 400'. Note that there's also restricted airspace due east of Burlington at the outer edge of the outer circle. This gets a lot more complicated. Take a look at the FAA's guide: https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/fli...ts/aero_guide/media/editions/cug-complete.pdf

 

[Nautidawg]

The inner circle shows Class C airspace from the surface to 4400' AGL (above ground level). The outer circle shows Class C airspace from 2200' AGL to 4400' on the right and from 1500' to 4400' on the left. So you can fly under the Class C airspace in the outer circle because you don't fly higher than 400'. Note that there's also restricted airspace due east of Burlington at the outer edge of the outer circle. This gets a lot more complicated. Take a look at the FAA's guide: https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/fli...ts/aero_guide/media/editions/cug-complete.pdf

Thank you for that explanation! I wondered if the numbers represented 100's or 1000's
As for East, that is a military training grounds, I think.
What about west on the lake? I see/hear drones out there all the time...are they all operating illegally, maybe?

 

[Nautidawg]

The "red circles" are controlled airspace - the red numbers inside the "red circles" are the various elevations of the the controlled airspace. The SFC inside the the inner "red circle" means the airspace is controlled from the surface up to the elevation listed.

I would also do a search of the forums here for flying from/over a boat and the problems you may encounter.

Thank you
Yes I'm spending the weekend reading issues/challenges surrounding takeoff/landing/settings on a boat It will be a long time until I attempt it

 

[Nautidawg]

Thank you for that explanation! I wondered if the numbers represented 100's or 1000's
As for East, that is a military training grounds, I think.
What about west on the lake? I see/hear drones out there all the time...are they all operating illegally, maybe?

Oops! I answered my own question that it's surface to 400'....west is 1500 to 4400 airspace. Duh ?

 

[Ranger]

It won't seem so confusing after a little study. Best thing I did was purchase a paper sectional chart (a few dollars online). Preparing and taking the 107 exam was extremely helpful. The 5 mile thing went away in May (making things a whole lot better), but people (and apps) still seem to cling to it. Find out if where you want to fly is uncontrolled airspace (Class G), check for TFRs (temporary flight restrictions) and fly. If you want to fully understand airspace, watch Tony Northrup's video on preparing for part 107. It's long, but you can skip to the airspace discussion.

 

[Nautidawg]

It won't seem so confusing after a little study. Best thing I did was purchase a paper sectional chart (a few dollars online). Preparing and taking the 107 exam was extremely helpful. The 5 mile thing went away in May (making things a whole lot better), but people (and apps) still seem to cling to it. Find out if where you want to fly is uncontrolled airspace (Class G), check for TFRs (temporary flight restrictions) and fly. If you want to fully understand airspace, watch Tony Northrup's video on preparing for part 107. It's long, but you can skip to the airspace discussion.

Yikes! The 5 mile thing went away in May. I just registered the MZ on Fri! And the site stated 5 mi.

 

[JimWest]

Oops! I answered my own question that it's surface to 400'....west is 1500 to 4400 airspace. Duh ?

Note that the part of the lake closest to the city is controlled airspace from the surface to 4400'. If drones are flying there, they may be doing it illegally (I see that a lot!), but they may also have authorization to fly in that area, which is not too hard to get.