Re-activating the San Diego drone meetup discussion. I have a Mavic Air 2. Happy to get together with people - on a socially distant level.
Flying areas in North County San Diego
- Thread starter niantic
- Start date
I would be up for joining you for a flight if you are ever in the North County area. I have a mini but would love to see how your drone flys.
Definitely. I'm retired and I don't even do the grocery shopping. My wife is a lot younger and way less at risk than I am, so she's been doing that since March on her way home from work. We have a 1-acre property so I'll be learning on my own property for awhile.
1 acre in PQ sounds like fun. I once tried flying in the open reserve on Black Mountain Road but they banned drones there for some reason.
tw1zt3d
Member
OnlyMavic
Well-Known Member
I know I'm a few years slow on this reply. But, related to this suggestion, I have a story for ya.
I had a pleasant chat with an SDRP Ranger this afternoon, when he drove down the trail in his truck from the Del Dios trailhead to meet me just below the dam. He was very interested in the MA2 I was about to launch from a point just to the side of the trail, and asked me several questions about its make and model. "Awesome tech," he exclaimed. He then proceeded to tell me that drone flight is prohibited within park boundaries. I told him that I had done my research, and that there was absolutely NOTHING on the park's official website (sdrp.org) that noted the prohibition of drones, and said that I would leave right away. He said, "Well, hold on... before you pack up. I'll just pretend I didn't see you..." That's when I stopped him and said that I won't be flying. I told the Ranger that I was a new drone pilot, and I didn't want to do anything in violation of restrictions or regulations, because I didn't want to spoil it for myself by having my ability to fly stripped away from me. I said to him, "Thank you for the offer to look the other way, but no way. I'll just head back home." I explained that if I was to get up into the air, and someone else in authority came along, they might not be so forgiving. "Not gonna chance it," I concluded. He thanked me for that, and then put his educational outreach cap on, and taught me why no drones in the park (potential for crash and fire from ruptured LiPo batteries, disturbing of wildlife, etc.) He pulled a brochure from his truck, and went over it with me. He was a nice guy. Very friendly and informative. SOOO... I told him to send a message over the park's web peeps that it would be a great idea—in light of the fact that recreational drone flying is becoming so popular—to add a note about the NO DRONES rule to the General Park Rules page at www.sdrp.org/wordpress/trails/rules/. If the Rangers would rather not have to deal with more and more people entering the park to fly their drones, it should be clear from the park's website that it's not allowed. I wasted an afternoon researching if it was OK to do so, and then driving all the way out there... just to be told that I couldn't.
You can't. So don't.
Me and my MA2 are here in San Marcos, BTW.
Hi all, new to the forums, flying quite a long time. I plan to visit family in SD here in a week's time and just wanted to reach out to those who know the know about places that even if the "apps" say your good, have run into fuss or such about flying. My home town, Austin is pretty lax on drone laws however I am trying to make sure I don't run into an issue in a state I haven't flown in. I've reached out to the city of SD but still waiting on a reply.
Places I plan to fly are La Joya, possibly Blacks Beach though there seems to be a gray area if the beach is part of the reserve, maybe OB as some areas it seems you can get LAANC for 50ft. Any other areas that I should steer clear of beyond the obvious (airport, bases, etc.)?
Lastly, here in Austin, we have one plane and pilot who flies (confirmed) lower than 500ft agl pretty often around some major look out points. These are "safe" areas to fly our drones but that said, are there by all accounts safe to fly areas, but should watch out for "that one guy flying his plane"?
Thank in advance for any advice!
Places I plan to fly are La Joya, possibly Blacks Beach though there seems to be a gray area if the beach is part of the reserve, maybe OB as some areas it seems you can get LAANC for 50ft. Any other areas that I should steer clear of beyond the obvious (airport, bases, etc.)?
Lastly, here in Austin, we have one plane and pilot who flies (confirmed) lower than 500ft agl pretty often around some major look out points. These are "safe" areas to fly our drones but that said, are there by all accounts safe to fly areas, but should watch out for "that one guy flying his plane"?
Thank in advance for any advice!
Juice2288
New Member
To answer the original question, I like to fly La Jolla Shores, Carlsbad (near Turn-Arounds) and east of Lake Hodges/I-15. I always check-in with Mc Clellan Palomar airport control tower and they have never refused me the privilege of flying near the coast. I just assure them that I won't exceed 200 feet AGL.
Hi, looking to fly my Mavic2 Zoom on Friday, October 23rd if anyone wants to get together. I haven't flown in a long time. I'm willing to meet anyone anywhere, I'm in North Park, so I'm used to driving for a while to go fly. I'll of course wear a mask. Feel free to send me a message. Thanks
Hi, looking to fly my Mavic2 Zoom on Friday, October 23rd if anyone wants to get together. I haven't flown in a long time. I'm willing to meet anyone anywhere, I'm in North Park, so I'm used to driving for a while to go fly. I'll of course wear a mask. Feel free to send me a message. Thanks
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Auggie
Active Member
Have you found any areas that are drone-friendly?
MM is a Class B zone, within 3 miles of MCAS Miramar.
I AGREE 100%! The perfect place to fly.Personally I think it's a BS restriction. Out in the middle of the desert has got to be the safest places in the world to fly.
I have pretty good availability. I don't know the areas were I can practice as a neubie. No problem traveling east.
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