Flying on the pacific coast highway road trip ?

[networth]

Hi, im doing a road trip LA to SF this dec last week.
Im thinking to do a lot of stops and fly the mavic for the amazing footages of the PCH.

 

[Bayareafly]

This is a question I also have. It seems that Big Sur has a limitation due to a NOAA regulation for local wild animals but apparently there is a gap between the road and the ocean that is not forbidden. I'm wondering if here somebody knows. I spotted whales very cloys to the shores in the past and it would be nice to film them. Anybody knows what is possible what is not? Thanks

 

[RoarRoar]

I flew in Big Sur last year. Many quiet places to fly. I had no problems but obviously there was a bit of other drone traffic at the Bixby Bridge.

There is good marine life not far off from shore. I did catch a few blow hole spouts from the whales and dolphins off along the water. With the sea lions in the pic below I tried to stay really high up and not annoy them.

Here are a few pics I happened to have on my phone.

 

[Bayareafly]

I flew in Big Sur last year. Many quiet places to fly. I had no problems but obviously there was a bit of other drone traffic at the Bixby Bridge.

Thank you for your beautiful shots. I'm a bit concerned because if you check Airmap they claim that is not possible to fly over the sea, things that is almost impossible to do. The map has a gap with the land in some area but I don't know if that is a representation error or real OK spots. What do you think? (se the purple area)

 

[RoarRoar]

I think it’s a national animal sanctuary. I was there roughly a year ago and had no problems taking off or flying. That on the other hand was prior to AirMap and LAANC was really a thing.
I would check Facebook to see if there is a local group that flies in the Monterrey/Carmel area. Or check YouTube for recent videos from the area and ask them directly if they encountered any problems.

 

[Bayareafly]

It says that you have to fly above 1000 feet that obviously doesn't work with the drone. I wonder if is a limitation just for airplanes

 

[Thomas B]

It says that you have to fly above 1000 feet that obviously doesn't work with the drone. I wonder if is a limitation just for airplanes

No it is for all that flies.

 

[pelagic_one]

Having just started flying drones last month, I’m learning now that I’ve completely missed previously unfettered drone access to some of the most beautiful coastal scenery. It seems the entire coast from Monterey County north to Marin County is designated as NFZ now.

I took off and landed from certain spots between the Highway 1 and the coast (where there wasn’t a designated park), but I just went straight up, took some pics/vids then came straight down. Kinda boring.

Here‘s a local article from a few years ago, highlighting drone bans from nearly every park agency: Local Park Orders Prohibit Drones on California State Parks and Beaches in San Mateo County

And here‘s the actual Posted Order from California State Parks’ Santa Cruz directorate: https://www.coastsidestateparks.org/sites/default/files/715-001-17 Drone DSO.pdf

 

[Bayareafly]

Having just started flying drones last month, I’m learning now that I’ve completely missed previously unfettered drone access to some of the most beautiful coastal scenery. It seems the entire coast from Monterey County north to Marin County is designated as NFZ now.

Thank you for the info. It's terrible, it seems even worse than what I thought. But is this legal?

 

[pelagic_one]

If you’re into flying over water, I’m getting together Sunday morning with another guy from Hayward, over at Berkeley Marina. We’re flying our Minis around the park and the marina. We may head over to Point Molate, north of the Richmond Bridge, to fly over a pretty desolate beach. As long as there isn’t a major Cal sporting event, we can fly all around these spots.

 

[Bayareafly]

If you’re into flying over water, I’m getting together Sunday morning

I wrote you directly with my contacts. Thanks!

 

[pelagic_one]

I wrote you directly with my contacts. Thanks!

Awesome, the other guy joining us is from Hayward, too. We’re both still pretty new with our Mini’s, but we’ll both have new M2Ps by next weekend. Just getting warmed up in this hobby, I think.