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Imbecile Heliport operator

Cutaway

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Guys, I've tried and tried to follow the FAA to notify this Heliport. It's our local Santa Clara Valley Medical ER (CA33). My calls get routed here and there. It ends up eventually to the back room facilities ops crew. They sound briefed about drones...but their answers are one of the following:

1) No. We own everything within 5 miles so you can't fly your drones at all.

2) We dunno. Call the FAA and do what they say.

3) No we will not write down anything.

I've reached out to the FAA about them. No answer.

I've talked to the local FAA FSDO. The agent called the CA33 and told them what they should do. No change.

I've left voicemails with the "manager." No call back.

I cannot keep calling each time and feel stupid myself. And it doesn't feel legit for me to fly anyway after "logging" that I called them.

Thoughts? Advice?

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You tell them that per FAA regulations, you are providing notice that you are flying within the 5 mile radius. Whether or not they choose to write that information down is on them. When they tell you that you can't fly, you say that the FAA controls the airspace and not them and that all you are required is to notify them before you fly.
 
Within 5 miles of an Airport requires notification. You only need to notify San Jose International.
Airmap will give you the number for San Jose Int. if you click on the Medical Center
 
Within 5 miles of an Airport requires notification. You only need to notify San Jose International.
Airmap will give you the number for San Jose Int. if you click on the Medical Center
Thanks Deadeye for the suggestion. Read the FAA rules for hobby flights carefully. We need to notify the heliports too.

Good news is that I've had "pleasurable" experiences with the San Jose Int'l, Reid Hillview, Moffett, and the Santa Clara Towers (heliport for rich executives). They are glad that I called. They take my info down. And they tell me to fly safe and have fun! Voila!
 
I made my first phone calls today as i wanted to fly in the city and there were 5 heliports and one sea port within 5 miles.

phone numbers for two of the heliports listed with the FAA on airnav were no longer in service. One old guy answered and indicated that his helicopter needs engine work and will likely never fly again. Another nice old lady indicated that nobody has used the sea port in years, and nobody is expected to use it in the future. The hospital helipad number had a guy on the other end who acted like this is the first call he's ever received. Nobody asked for my name or my call back number.

Granted, none of these were actual airports, in the traditional sense of the word.
 
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I made my first phone calls today as i wanted to fly in the city and there were 5 heliports and one sea port within 5 miles.

phone numbers for two of the heliports listed with the FAA on airnav were no longer in service. One old guy answered and indicated that his helicopter needs engine work and will likely never fly again. Another nice old lady indicated that nobody has used the sea port in years, and nobody is expected to use it in the future. The hospital helipad number had a guy on the other end who acted like this is the first call he's ever received. Nobody asked for my name or my call back number.

Granted, none of these were actual airports, in the traditional sense of the word.
LOL. Soooooo...do you plan to call them again on subsequent flights? Over and over and get the same story for each flight?
 
Thanks Deadeye for the suggestion. Read the FAA rules for hobby flights carefully. We need to notify the heliports too.

Good news is that I've had "pleasurable" experiences with the San Jose Int'l, Reid Hillview, Moffett, and the Santa Clara Towers (heliport for rich executives). They are glad that I called. They take my info down. And they tell me to fly safe and have fun! Voila!
Part 101 does n
Thanks Deadeye for the suggestion. Read the FAA rules for hobby flights carefully. We need to notify the heliports too.

Good news is that I've had "pleasurable" experiences with the San Jose Int'l, Reid Hillview, Moffett, and the Santa Clara Towers (heliport for rich executives). They are glad that I called. They take my info down. And they tell me to fly safe and have fun! Voila!
What section of the regulations did you find that information?
 
Here is Part 101:

I see no mention of Heliport

Subpart E—Special Rule for Model Aircraft
Source: Docket FAA-2015-0150, Amdt. 101-9, 81 FR 42208, June 28, 2016, unless otherwise noted.

Back to Top

§101.41 Applicability.
This subpart prescribes rules governing the operation of a model aircraft (or an aircraft being developed as a model aircraft) that meets all of the following conditions as set forth in section 336 of Public Law 112-95:

(a) The aircraft is flown strictly for hobby or recreational use;

(b) The aircraft is operated in accordance with a community-based set of safety guidelines and within the programming of a nationwide community-based organization;

(c) The aircraft is limited to not more than 55 pounds unless otherwise certified through a design, construction, inspection, flight test, and operational safety program administered by a community-based organization;

(d) The aircraft is operated in a manner that does not interfere with and gives way to any manned aircraft; and

(e) When flown within 5 miles of an airport, the operator of the aircraft provides the airport operator and the airport air traffic control tower (when an air traffic facility is located at the airport) with prior notice of the operation.
 
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"Contact the airport and control tower before flying within five miles of an airport or heliport. (Read about best practices here)" can be found here http://knowbeforeyoufly.org/for-recreational-users/

Those sites only summarize or paraphrase the actual text, so I'm always a bit skeptical of them. A little more direct is:
Fact Sheet – Small Unmanned Aircraft Regulations (Part 107)

Also, try looking at 107.41 of the CFR...
eCFR — Code of Federal Regulations

I gotta wonder if the heliports you are dealing with are not class A-D. If they aren't, then you don't need to do anything.
 
I feel your pain. I live a block from a hospital with a helipad that gets a flight about once every two days. Trying to get answers from anyone at the hospital is like talking to a brick wall.
 
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I feel your pain. I live a block from a hospital with a helipad that gets a flight about once every two days. Trying to get answers from anyone at the hospital is like talking to a brick wall.
So what do you do when you can't contact anybody? Do you leave a message, consider that your notice and assume authorization then fly?
 
The faa considers an airport to be anywhere a manned aircraft lands including heliports and seaplane bases.
Where do you get that information from? I've looked all over for better information, and but it mostly seems contradictory, or the source of the information isn't stated.
 
So what do you do when you can't contact anybody? Do you leave a message, consider that your notice and assume authorization then fly?
Honestly, I just leave a message and go fly. To be clear though, my backyard flights only go up about fifteen feet and hover. I just use them to test/learn camera controls. To hit my Mavic, the helicopter would've already hit my house or garage.

I only call them to make a point that I want to play nice.
 
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Airport means an area of land or water that is used or intended to be used for the landing and takeoff of aircraft, and includes its buildings and facilities, if any.

14 CFR 1.1 - General definitions.

14 CFR 1.1 - General definitions.

I'm not a lawyer. I don't know if these general definitions actually apply to the law that hobbyist fly under....but my understanding is that they do.
 
the law in it's current form is stupid and overly burdensome. This just makes people less likely to comply. Why not just create an online portal to submit the notification?

How many people are going to contact all 6 or 10 or 20 helipads within the 5 mile radius they are planning to fly? What do you do when the phone numbers listed for these helipads are no longer in service? How many helipads or small airstrips are inactive and no longer used. Why do these still show up on airnav or beforeufly?

it's frustrating.

the good news is, that as of a year ago, the faa has apparently fined exactly zero UAS pilots for not notifying airports.
 
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So what do you do when you can't contact anybody? Do you leave a message, consider that your notice and assume authorization then fly?
That is my dilemma! Does my call with some random dude constitute a notification? I've been doing my best to call and no matter the response I logged the call. Then I fly. But I just fear the worst if anything happens....ugh.
 
Why not just create an online portal to submit the notification?

You seriously underestimate the complexity of providing this system. This isn't just some PC under someone's desk, it has a lot of inter-agency communications involved. It has to stay up at all times, be responsive at all times, be accurate with latest information, supply the notification to all these locations who can't even be bothered to answer a telephone... all under tax dollars that nobody wants to spend.
 
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