Flying in St. Lucia?

Hawkwind · Jan 7, 2023

Anyone have experience and lessons learned with flying in St. Lucia? I received permission to fly, but it requires contacting ATC for each flight, coordinating with Air Traffic Services, and having a working mobile phone during the flight.

I'm looking into possibly purchasing a SIM card for my phone there to contact ATC, possibly purchasing prior to travel but don't know if the information is from a trustworthy site.

GFields · Jan 8, 2023

Read here

Hawkwind · Jan 8, 2023

GFields said:
Read here

Thanks. This list seems reasonable. Yes, that is a partial list of requirements, but no by no means complete. In addition to this information, one must contact ATC prior to and subsequent to each flight. Operator must have a working mobile phone for ATC to contact.

GFields · Jan 8, 2023

Hawkwind said:
Thanks. This list seems reasonable. Yes, that is a partial list of requirements, but no by no means complete. In addition to this information, one must contact ATC prior to and subsequent to each flight. Operator must have a working mobile phone for ATC to contact.

I would suggest contacting local official websites for more information.

Aerophile · Jan 9, 2023

Be careful. Every single website I've seen that claims to compile foreign drone regulations (and I believe I've looked at just about all of them), are incomplete, poorly maintained (or not maintained at all), full of old, outdated information and contradictory comments from confused users who are trying (with little success) to figure out the actual, complete, current regulations. Including the one linked above.

Simply finding and understanding the actual regulations governing a visitor operating a drone in a single foreign country is a difficult task (how many languages do you speak?); hoping to assemble all the correct, complete, relevant regulations for dozens or hundreds of countries would be a very daunting task; keeping all that up-to-date is essentially impossible, unless you have Google-esque resources to throw at it.

None of the sites that cheerfully purport to present that information to you do a passable job of it (it looks to me like every one of them had the same experience: it seemed like a great idea, they built out a template, started to fill it in for a few countries, then quickly realized it was an impossible task, and just gave up). So we are all left to go down the rabbit holes of foreign government websites (if you can find them), with all the bureaucratic language (hopefully a language you can understand). Heck, as a native English speaker who has spent decades dealing with the FAA and other federal bureaucracies, it's hard enough to find, keep up with, and understand the regulations at home. Good luck with the equivalents in Turkish or Thai or some other foreign language.

kodiak · Jan 9, 2023

I flew there quite a bit over the course of several days working on a tourism campaign. Very interesting place and geography. Many beautiful areas of jungle, mountains, beaches and stunning blue water. The twin peaks are iconic. I was there in 2018 and never contacted any ATC. Those requirements, if valid, are relatively new I would imagine. I can’t offer any insights there other than to say any kind of enforcement would be extremely lax. But more importantly be aware you must be careful around certain areas of the island. Our crew had a fixer and armed guards that accompanied us to several areas. Especially at night, be very aware of where you are and who is around you, especially in the town/city areas. If you’re just staying at a resort, no problem. But other areas are crime ridden and dangerous.

Hawkwind · Jan 9, 2023

kodiak said:
I flew there quite a bit over the course of several days working on a tourism campaign. Very interesting place and geography. Many beautiful areas of jungle, mountains, beaches and stunning blue water. The twin peaks are iconic. I was there in 2018 and never contacted any ATC. Those requirements, if valid, are relatively new I would imagine. I can’t offer any insights there other than to say any kind of enforcement would be extremely lax. But more importantly be aware you must be careful around certain areas of the island. Our crew had a fixer and armed guards that accompanied us to several areas. Especially at night, be very aware of where you are and who is around you, especially in the town/city areas. If you’re just staying at a resort, no problem. But other areas are crime ridden and dangerous.

Thanks for the feedback @kodiak

Appreciated.

kodiak · Jan 10, 2023

You're welcome. Sorry I don't have any info about the ATC requirements. If you find out anything please do post back. And be sure to get some chocolate while you're there. Many excellent cacao plantations there that produce amazing chocolate!

Hawkwind · Jan 17, 2023

Here are the general guidelines, from the Government of St. Lucia:

GUIDELINES FOR THE USE OF DRONES

1. Drones should not be flown:
a. within a radius of 3.10 miles (5 km) of any airport or helicopter landing site without
explicit or written approval from the Ministry;
b. at a height greater than 400 feet (120 m) above ground level (AGL);
c. neither over nor closer than 100 feet to vehicles, boats, residential or commercial
properties that are not on the operator’s private property unless with explicit
permission from the private property owner;
d. near moving vehicles, highways, bridges, busy streets or anywhere that could endanger
or distract drivers;
e. in populated areas or large groups of people, including the city of Castries, towns,
villages, sports events, concerts, stadiums, beaches, festivals and other people's
backyards;
f. neither close to nor over restricted areas, for example airports, seaports and marinas,
prisons and antennas or relay masts.

2. In addition:
g. drones must not be flown whilst under the influence of drugs or alcohol;
h. drones should only be operated during the day and in good weather; and
i. drone users should keep their drone within communication and visual-line-of-sight
(VLOS) at all times.

Persons using drones for recreational purposes are further cautioned to, as far as practicable, confine
use of the drone to their backyards. All drone users should familiarize themselves with the
manufacturer’s instructions and safety guide.

Hawkwind · Jan 17, 2023

And from my Drone Authorization letter:

Given local helicopter operations around island, other safety, security and privacy considerations, and subject to the drone policies of any applicable hotel or other vacation or private property, the operation will be subject to the following conditions:
1. The drone operation must be coordinated with the Air Traffic Services (ATS) Division of the Saint
Lucia Air and Sea Ports Authority (SLASPA);
2. Suitable times for conduct of the operation and flight duration must be determined following
consultation with the ATS Division;
3. Operations must be during the hours of daylight and in clear weather (no rain);
4. The drone must be operated at a height not to exceed 400 feet (120 m) above ground level
(AGL);
5. No drone flights should be operated within a 2.5-mile radius of the Hewanorra International
and George F. L. Charles Airports and 1-mile radius of heliport in Soufriere;
6. The drone pilot must ensure that measures are put in place to effectively look out for other aircraft,
manned or unmanned;
7. The ATS Division must be provided with a working local mobile telephone number of the person who will be on site for the duration of the drone operation, example the drone pilot and/or staff members or other personnel who may be accompanying him/her;
8. The Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower must always be contacted for clearance to launch and notified of
any landings and termination of the operation;
9. The drone pilot must comply with all ATC instructions; and
10. The ultimate responsibility for the safety of flight and liability remains with the applicant.

A copy of the general guidelines for the use of drones, as well as a map depicting the no-drone zones, is attached for your information and guidance. Please notify the Ministry immediately should there be any changes to the referenced request or if the specific requirements contained herein cannot be met

Hawkwind · Jan 19, 2023

I may just leave my drone at home, sadly, since St Lucia does not appear to be drone friendly.

kodiak · Jan 25, 2023

I would bring it. The island is very beautiful with some amazing topography and incredible blue water. Many areas are very rural and would be easy to fly at. And while I would never advocate for breaking any laws, a place like St. Lucia is on true island time. No one is in any real hurry to do anything- inlcuding the police... LOL Hence the concern about crime and keeping aware of your surroundings. But I'd still bring it. Then spend a day looking around and get a gut feeling if you think it's practical to fly. Especially something as small as a mavic- better to bring it and not use it then not bring it and wish you did.

Hawkwind · Feb 4, 2023

You were right, @kodiak . I'm glad that I brought my Mini2. Got to get some photos and video one day while away from the airports- with permission from the authorities. I learned that they weren't concerned about contacting ATC when I was not near the airfields, which makes sense. Sharing a photo of Rodney Bay for everyone... I plan to post some more on my instagram account later, @john.p.cagle

St. Lucia was beautiful, perfect 70º-80ºs weather.