anybody use b4ufly app? Question about helicopter and airfield icons

[disco1stu]

I see helicopter icons, which I assume it means there is helicopter activity in that area. But they there's no radius indication, and no explanation as far as I can find. What do the icons actually mean? How reliable are they? Are these just where some known helicopter companies are flying regulrly (and there may be others not marked)?



I was also checking an area which looked safe to fly but when I zoomed in there was an airfield in the middle of it! It was a small airfield, and the icon only popped up when I zoomed in. Again, no radius around it, just an icon. here it is zoomed out a bit (no icon showing) and then zoomed in. If you are taking a high level view of allowed flight areas you will definitely not see these smaller air fields. What's the deal with those?



I feel more and more like I need to take that commercial test to be sure I know where it is actually safe to fly...flying next to a small plan air field would be super dangerous, they will be below 400 ft and that could cause significant damage.

 

[Droning on and on...]

The helicopter symbol indicates a heliport, quite often found at hospitals.

Many small airports without control towers are in uncontrolled airspace. DJI drones are supposed to prevent you from flying to close to one without unlocking it in the software.

I use the AirMap app to see what's going on in the airspace near me.

 

[disco1stu]

DJI drones are supposed to prevent you from flying to close to one without unlocking it in the software

So the drone will automatically stop when it gets too near one of the helicopter icons? I guess helicopters will descend vertically (do they?) when they land, so there might not be much of a radius concern.

I use the AirMap app to see what's going on in the airspace near me.

AirMap does not mark this air field at all. I checked their website and it looks like it is in use. Going to go take a look at it myself later today

 

[Droning on and on...]

You can check where DJI prevents flight here:

DJI FlySafe

www.dji.com

 

[DanMan32]

Prior to the 2018 FAA reauthorization act and FAA's response in implementing LAANC and DroneZone, a recreational UAS flier had to contact every airport within 5 miles of where they fly.

Now we only need to obtain authorization when flying in controlled airspace. LAANC provides an automated way of obtaining said authorization, DroneZone used for when LAANC is unavailable or for exceptions.

We also need to be aware of TFR/NOTAMs.

Even in G airspace, we still need to be aware and yield to manned traffic. DJI attempts to have us aware of possible traffic contention by making runway approaches at some G space airports by making them authorization zones.

 

[Deleted member 114292]

Prior to the 2018 FAA reauthorization act and FAA's response in implementing LAANC and DroneZone, a recreational UAS flier had to contact every airport within 5 miles of where they fly.

Now we only need to obtain authorization when flying in controlled airspace. LAANC provides an automated way of obtaining said authorization, DroneZone used for when LAANC is unavailable or for exceptions.

We also need to be aware of TFR/NOTAMs.

Even in G airspace, we still need to be aware and yield to manned traffic. DJI attempts to have us aware of possible traffic contention by making runway approaches at some G space airports by making them authorization zones.

If you need to fly above the stated LANNAC height (or if it is 0) you may still need to use DroneZone. My experience has been if it is a big airport and near the runway they will give you 50ft, which is useless for any real world job.

 

[DanMan32]

I did say if you want an exception, you had to use dronezone.

They offer exceptions for recreational?

0 is ridiculous 3 or more miles out from the runway, even along the approach path, particularly when there are power lines about 120ft or more crossing the approach path, not to mention trees. 100ft would make more sense.

 

[Deleted member 114292]

I did say if you want an exception, you had to use dronezone.

They offer exceptions for recreational?

0 is ridiculous 3 or more miles out from the runway, even along the approach path, particularly when there are power lines about 120ft or more crossing the approach path, not to mention trees. 100ft would make more sense.

These locations were right at the end of the runway of MIA. I have gotten 100ft auths in 0ft zones when it was a small regional.
If you ask for an auth above the LANNAC height they have to ask ATC.

 

[Deleted member 114292]

BTW The authoritative FAA map is:

ArcGIS Web Application

faa.maps.arcgis.com

Just type (no not paste) the address in the search box. The mess up part is they give coordinates in decimal byt dronezone wants DMS.
Also the Airmap site is good to and you can find on the map an then get a LANNAC auth.
You then need to go here:

Self Unlocking - Fly Safe - DJI

DJI technology empowers us to see the future of possible. Learn about our consumer drones like DJI Mavic 3, DJI Air 2S, DJI FPV. Handheld products like DJI OM 5 and DJI Pocket 2 capture smooth photo and video. Our Ronin camera stabilizers and Inspire drones are professional cinematography tools.

www.dji.com

If it is blue you will need to do a custom unlock. If it's not blue it's not a bad idea to do a self unlock on the web site.
Not that the DJI map really is not related to controlled air space and in some ways may be more sensible than the FAA way, but it is what it is.

 

[Corsair415]

The heliport icons in San Francisco are mostly unreliable from a practical standpoint It seems. B4UFLY shows several icons scattered throughout the city, but there is only one that is in use. The others haven’t been active in decades.