Can I launch my drone from a private residence adjacent to a state park and fly over the state park?

[FLDroneDude]

Can I launch my drone from a private residence (my friends place, with permission) adjacent to a state park and fly over the state park? While I maintain a line of sight from the private property.

The park has "no flying drone signs".

However, there is some conflicting information, if its only prohibited to take-off and land within the state park.

If allowed, how many feet out would be reasonable for a "line of sight", at say a height of 100 ft.

 

[vindibona1]

TECHNICALLY SPEAKING, yes you can launch and land from private property. The FAA controls the airspace. But if your drone crashes in the park, that would probably radically change the "legality".

How far is reasonable for line of sight? If there are mature trees right there, you won't get much LOS distance at 100' up. It all depends on how much visual clearance there is between you and the drone. If you have totally open terrain, without strobes I'd say, depending on lighting conditions, you'll lose visual contact shortly after 400-600 ft. A good strobe in the daylight will allow you to spot your drone up to about 1600' if there are no obstacles between you and your drone.

 

[BigAl07]

As noted on the FB post, being WITHIN THE BOUNDARIES of the State Park does potentially changes the dynamics a bit. If the property were not WITHIN THE BOUNDARIES of the State Park you absolutely COULD fly FROM that property. This would be a question you ABSOLUTELY should consult LEGAL COUNCIL because the wrong answer could be financially and emotionally draining.

The portion where you ask, "how many feet out would be reasonable for a "line of sight", at say a height of 100 ft" depends entirely on the environment and your eyesight. In some instances you could have legal VLOS several hundred feet and in another you could lose VLOS in just a few feet due to obstacles.

 

[CalOldBlue]

You could run afoul of two things: 1) Restrictions (approved by the FAA) based on protecting a wildlife refuge, 2) LEOs who can make your life unhappy regardless of your legal status.

 

[spsphotos]

Better to ask forgiveness than permission....lol. Kidding of course.

 

[orionshooter]

Better to ask forgiveness than permission....lol. Kidding of course.

Better to ask forgiveness than permission and ….I’m not kidding. Aside from a wildlife refuge or some other FAA imposed airspace restriction, you are legally entitled to access the airspace above the park. That is not to say you won’t get grief from a LE officer or a park ranger but - the state or municipal govt does not and cannot control the airspace.

Fly safe and enjoy.

 

[wardtom084]

A question you might ask yourself, do regular aircraft fly over the spot. The answer is of course they do, not talking about any do not fly zones, military and the etc.

 

[vindibona1]

The portion where you ask, "how many feet out would be reasonable for a "line of sight", at say a height of 100 ft" depends entirely on the environment and your eyesight. In some instances you could have legal VLOS several hundred feet and in another you could lose VLOS in just a few feet due to obstacles.

Park rules aside, when I first got my Mini 1 I took it to an empty school yard and started practicing at low levels, maybe 30 ft in the air. I mostly kept my eyes on the drone and from time to time looked down at my phone. When I looked back up I had difficulty spotting my Mini 1. Regardless of the distance one has to be aware of the background tones. The gray quad gets lost in the sky easily and sometime even when below tree level.

It might sound like I'm proselytizing or harping, but I can tell you that one of the best accessories that one can equip your drone with is one or more strobes. One strobe can help you spot your drone from much further out. Two strobes, R/G can help you see it's orientation. If <250 grams is an imperative there are some options that can keep you below 250g.

The best buy/budget strobe is the Vifly for $15 on Amazon. It is pretty bright and you can select clear, red or green flashing or continuous light. It is 6 grams vs the Dual Cree 4g strobes from Firehouse technology, but at half the price. I've fashioned a composite image with the various weights with strobes. IMO velcro is fine for mounting and saves weight from plastice mounts. Firehouse Arc V strobes are the brightest, but are 13 grams each.

 

[KennethH]

I'm thinking that I live near a restricted zone, but probably 1/2 mile to spare. I depend on the DJI Fly GPS map to show me where I've have to get permission to fly. The posted Drone signs are another thing. That is most likely a city thing, and totally separate from Fed regulations. The city doesn't want any liability if a kid is hit by a drone. Drone people should congregate in one area, and not be flying all over a park full of people. The idea of "air space" is at question here, and you'd have to check with city hall to see where you stand. Of course "what they don't know can't hurt you" unless you're caught.

Ken

 

[AlaninAZ]

I have the mini 2 and I put on the orange skin. That orange color provides a great increase in visibility. I have also heard that some people put a reflective foil on the body of the uas and if they lose sight of it, just rotate it and look for the flash from the reflective material. So, how would you rate a strobe for daytime use compared to the orange skin and reflective material? I have not tried using a strobe for daytime flying. I know you must have a strobe visible for 3sm at night, but is it legal to use a strobe to increase daytime visibility?

 

[TigersFan]

Yes it is legal to use a strobe in daytime for increased visibility.

 

[Rick243]

I was wondering the same thing, I have a trip later in May to Gatlinburg, TN and Great Smokey Mountain National Park. I think both the town and the park are no-drone zones. There has to be somewhere I can legally stand and launch and get some nice photos of the mountains.

 

[BigAl07]

I'm thinking that I live near a restricted zone, but probably 1/2 mile to spare. I depend on the DJI Fly GPS map to show me where I've have to get permission to fly. The posted Drone signs are another thing. That is most likely a city thing, and totally separate from Fed regulations. The city doesn't want any liability if a kid is hit by a drone. Drone people should congregate in one area, and not be flying all over a park full of people. The idea of "air space" is at question here, and you'd have to check with city hall to see where you stand. Of course "what they don't know can't hurt you" unless you're caught.

Ken

If you're relying on a Chinese company (DJI) to tell you where you can legally fly or not, you're going down a VERY slippery slope. It's been proven MANY times that the DJI GeoFence has a TON of errors and does not align perfectly with FAA Flight Areas. Sometimes it's overly restrictive (denying flight where the FAA says you can fly) and other times grossly UNDER-restrictive allowing you to fly in areas that the FAA restricts or requires authorizations.

The ONLY way to know, within reason, which areas are LEGALLY able to be navigated is to use an FAA endorsed app which DJI most certainly is NOT!! B4UFLY is but one of many. I stress do NOT rely on DJI to tell you whether you can or can NOT fly because they are absolutely NOT an FAA Authority and their apps have no jurisdiction what-so-ever.

 

[BigAl07]

A question you might ask yourself, do regular aircraft fly over the spot. The answer is of course they do, not talking about any do not fly zones, military and the etc.

This is NOT a question about Airspace but about Land Use rules & regulations. I would imagine none of those "regular aircraft" are being flown FROM property within National Park land or taking off/landing on NPS. It's not an accurate comparison.

 

[MA2 317]

Can I launch my drone from a private residence (my friends place, with permission) adjacent to a state park and fly over the state park? While I maintain a line of sight from the private property.

The park has "no flying drone signs".

As long as the airspace above is not restricted by the FAA, you should be fine when flying VLOS and not disturbing people or wildlife.

I can launch / land off site to capture whatever over the park within VLOS.

The county parks in my area state,

• No person shall operate a drone below the altitude of four hundred (400) feet above the land surface of any park.

I fly in class G airspace with no restrictions from the FAA, which governs the airspace, not the county.

.

 

[HOG2K]

I would be very cautious about where you fly over a park, if your drone would get too close to an Eagles nest that has a baby in it, I'm sure the parents would be willing to show you how wrong you were to have chosen this path.

Then let's say one of the parents attacks your drone and gets critically injured and dies, I would think you would then be in a world of hurt.

Just something to think about...

 

[Xitor]

Another drawback, anywhere you post your footage your are likely to get tons of flack and people reporting you.

 

[Brojon]

I just had this conversation with a young arrogant ranger at a state park.
She asserted they would shoot the drone down.
I asked if that would be negligent discharge given the vagaries of aim and possibility of hitting a visitor.
Then I pointed out if she actually took the drone out it would be a felony and would she be willing to risk her career that way? She asserted that she knew the law and that wasn't true. I just said she might want to review that assertion.
Truth is - yes, you can take off even from a public road not within boundaries of park.
If you crash or inadvertently interact with the wildlife - you are facing some troubles I wouldn't care to bring upon myself.
My conversation actually started out asking if there were any nesting eagles to which the answer was no.
It was a cloudy day and I decided not worth the risk for mediocre footage.

 

[fgurnee01]

I have great trouble finding places to fly, just to practice and learn to use it. In California, the State Parks allow drones in general, but each park can set its own rules. Try to find one that lets you fly a drone. I haven't.

 

[samtex]

I have the mini 2 and I put on the orange skin. That orange color provides a great increase in visibility. I have also heard that some people put a reflective foil on the body of the uas and if they lose sight of it, just rotate it and look for the flash from the reflective material. So, how would you rate a strobe for daytime use compared to the orange skin and reflective material? I have not tried using a strobe for daytime flying. I know you must have a strobe visible for 3sm at night, but is it legal to use a strobe to increase daytime visibility?

Where do you find reflective material for a mini 2?