Flying around the Bay Bridge in San Francisco.

[lilodrone]

Hello everyone,

I am fully aware that the Golden Gate Bridge is now a No Fly Zone.
I was wondering if any of you have flown around the bay bridge/treasure island area?

I was checking one of the UAV maps online and it showed the area around the Bay Bridge as a fly zone, meaning there are no restrictions.

Is this accurate?

 

[droneguy91]

Nope. Bay Bridge and Golden Gate are both no fly zones but are not locked/prohibited in the DJI Go App. I recently flew my Mavic last week and got way above the towers and had no issues except for some high winds. She was super well behaved and no issues at all.

DM and I'll show you some cool spots to take off to avoid the crowds. By the way, I flew about 200 feet away from a ranger who didn't seem to care.

Hello everyone,

I am fully aware that the Golden Gate Bridge is now a No Fly Zone.
I was wondering if any of you have flown around the bay bridge/treasure island area?

I was checking one of the UAV maps online and it showed the area around the Bay Bridge as a fly zone, meaning there are no restrictions.

Is this accurate?

 

[KyyoS24]

Why do you say the Bay bridge is a nfz? The dji app is pretty accurate with landmarsk, there's nothing special about the bridge. Treasure Island is a popular spot that separates the bay bridge and it's not a nfz. I'm curious where you're getting that information

 

[ElGuapo]

Bay Bridge is in Class C airspace, also parts of the Bay Bridge are in Class B airspace.

Part of the reason the Golden Gate bridge is a NFZ is because is in inside the ring of Class B Airspace. Class B & C are controlled airspace, prior authorization by ATC is required to fly in controlled airspace.

 

[ElGuapo]

View attachment 11892

 

[David Shick]

Correct me if I am wrong but the area around the Golden Gate Bridge is restricted above 3000 ft msl which would indicate that it is not restricted for a low altitude drone.

 

[Talley]

Correct me if I am wrong but the area around the Golden Gate Bridge is restricted above 3000 ft msl which would indicate that it is not restricted for a low altitude drone.

You would be correct, but you still "should" notify the tower because you are within 5 miles. This is actually called out in the FAA guidelines

I use the FAA UAS maps for ease of verification: ArcGIS Web Application

The golden gate is not within the restriction

 

[JethroXP]

I was at the Golden Gate Bridge last week, didn't have my drone, but I did take note of this sign.

IMG_3542

• JethroXP
• Sep 4, 2018

 

[JethroXP]

Actually, a casual reading of the sign seems to imply you can't fly a drone near the GG Bridge. However reading it closely, it doesn't actually say that. It says no launching, landing, or operating "near" (that vague FAA term again) the bridge. That means that if you launch, land, and operating "away" from the bridge you should be OK to fly near and around it. Correct?

 

[Tree_Top_Flyer]

You would be correct, but you still "should" notify the tower because you are within 5 miles. This is actually called out in the FAA guidelines

I use the FAA UAS maps for ease of verification: ArcGIS Web Application

The golden gate is not within the restriction

The Golden Gate Bridge is not within 5 miles of KSFO or KOAK.

The Class B Airspace over the Golden Gate Bridge is between 3000 and 10,000 feet.

 

[shotes]

I was at the Golden Gate Bridge last week, didn't have my drone, but I did take note of this sign.

IMG_3542

• JethroXP
• Sep 4, 2018

Municipalities can only regulate take off and landings AFAIK. Only the FAA regulates flight.

This does not mean that you won't be issued a ticket by police while legally flying in a city. Most big city coppers are suspicious of drones.