Heliports

DSR · Jul 10, 2019

According to Know Before You Fly (Frequently Asked Questions | Know Before You Fly), the following are required before flying near a heliport: "

if you are within five miles of it, you can fly only if it is safe to do so, you do not interfere with manned aircraft, you see and avoid manned aircraft at all times, and you have notified the operator of the heliport and resolved any safety concerns." At Piedmont Park in downtown Atlanta, there are 11 heliports within 5 miles!
I'm sure the same situation exists in almost all major cities, and it is likely that some will be unmanned. Can anybody suggest a way to automate this process or a way to avoid it? What to do about an unmanned heliport?

razoraerial · Jul 10, 2019

DSR said:
According to Know Before You Fly (Frequently Asked Questions | Know Before You Fly), the following are required before flying near a heliport: "
if you are within five miles of it, you can fly only if it is safe to do so, you do not interfere with manned aircraft, you see and avoid manned aircraft at all times, and you have notified the operator of the heliport and resolved any safety concerns." At Piedmont Park in downtown Atlanta, there are 11 heliports within 5 miles!
I'm sure the same situation exists in almost all major cities, and it is likely that some will be unmanned. Can anybody suggest a way to automate this process or a way to avoid it? What to do about an unmanned heliport?

I have found they all report to the main tower I also , before this new change used to call tower , to fly and they “tower” would let me know if one heliport was activated.

sar104 · Jul 10, 2019

Under the recent rules change, there is no 5-mile rule. Recreational flight is entirely governed by the airspace requirements:

AC 91-57B

DSR · Jul 11, 2019

razoraerial said:
I have found they all report to the main tower I also , before this new change used to call tower , to fly and they “tower” would let me know if one heliport was activated.

Thanks for the info razoraerial, sar104!

ron77584 · Jul 11, 2019

It is my understanding that you no longer ever notify an airport or heliport but request clearance through laanc if it is controlled airspace. If it is not controlled airspace you are ok to fly. B4Ufly is useless for now, check ArcGIS Web Application
LAANC is available july 23 for recreational pilots

DSR · Jul 12, 2019

ron77584 said:
It is my understanding that you no longer ever notify an airport or heliport but request clearance through laanc if it is controlled airspace. If it is not controlled airspace you are ok to fly. B4Ufly is useless for now, check ArcGIS Web Application
LAANC is available july 23 for recreational pilots

Thanks for the info ron77584.