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Interesting experience flying in Kitty Hawk, NC. People that should know, don't know?

PropSpin

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I recently returned from the Outer Banks and made use of both Air Map and B4UFly. I was in Kill Devil Hills, and the closest open, hassle free airspace for me was Kitty Hawk.

As it turned out though, there were two heliports in the area within five miles of where I wanted to fly, one is for the hospital down in Nags Head, one is privately owned. Neither has ATC, however, I thought I'd would check with someone about the hospital pad to try and get a number to call to inform them when I wanted to fly. I first spoke to someone in Kitty Hawk who referred me to the folks who dispatches the helicopter. I explained why I was calling, and they referred me to the hospital. The hospital then referred me back to the dispatch folks who I decided to go ahead and call back. I explained again to the dispatch folks the reason I was calling and that I had been referred back to them. The lady put me on hold, then came back and told me that she would have someone from the Kitty Hawk police department call me back. I missed his call, but he left a message saying that yes, I could fly a drone in Kitty Hawk, but if my drone came down on private property I needed the property owners permission to retrieve it.

So I figured I did my due diligence and finally just flew. Point being, I was a bit surprised that the dispatch organization for the hospital helipad had nothing in place for handling information about drone flights in the area.
 
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Thanks for this write up. I live not too far from the Outer Banks and was wanting to fly my M2Z sometime this summer. Will lookup on B4UFly as well.
 
Keep in mind that 5/17/2019 the laws (they were guidelines) will change and you're required to get authorization (not just NOTIFY) to fly in Controlled Airspace. You'll want to check a sectional chart to know if you're in Controlled Airspace or not.

We set up an agreement with our local Medi-Vac through their dispatch back in 2015. They gave me a direct # to call and we agreed upon the procedure of what to tell them and how we would interact. It's worked great and we've notified them on literally hundreds of flights since that time. What's important to note is they've called us back a number of times to let us know Life-Flight was coming through and asked us to land until she was clear of the area. Works like a charm.

Good luck and SAFE FLiGHTS!!
Allen
 
Keep in mind that 5/17/2019 the laws (they were guidelines) will change and you're required to get authorization (not just NOTIFY) to fly in Controlled Airspace. You'll want to check a sectional chart to know if you're in Controlled Airspace or not.

We set up an agreement with our local Medi-Vac through their dispatch back in 2015. They gave me a direct # to call and we agreed upon the procedure of what to tell them and how we would interact. It's worked great and we've notified them on literally hundreds of flights since that time. What's important to note is they've called us back a number of times to let us know Life-Flight was coming through and asked us to land until she was clear of the area. Works like a charm.

Good luck and SAFE FLiGHTS!!
Allen
This is so cool to hear. I’m a newbie and have set up a system with one of two private helicopter companies and want to make contact with the medi-vac guys if I find I’m out there a lot, saying that because my drone investment is for property photography. One helicopter came into my area when I was flying recently, I hit come home but it was high and quite far away. Will continue to contact the other locals too
 
This is so cool to hear. I’m a newbie and have set up a system with one of two private helicopter companies and want to make contact with the medi-vac guys if I find I’m out there a lot, saying that because my drone investment is for property photography. One helicopter came into my area when I was flying recently, I hit come home but it was high and quite far away.


Wendy, I commend you for being Proactive and trying to make the proper notifications. Sometimes it's tough but you've gotta try.

Now on the flip side, if I'm reading this correctly (and correct me if I'm wrong) when you heard/saw the manned aircraft you initiated a RTH? This took control of the sUAS out of your hands and potentially put it in direct path to the manned aircraft at a higher altitude than it already was.

The reason I ask is because doing an "automated" mode with a known manned aircraft in the area is a recipe for disaster. The only "Official" drone to manned aircraft incident (that I'm aware of and that's in the US) was when a P4 operator flew out of VLOS and his aircraft did a RTH. In the process it flew into a UH-60 Blackhawk helo carrying people.

I say this because we are all in this fishbowl together and we've got to look out for each other.

If I misunderstood you please excuse me and I apologize in advance.

Allen
 
Wendy, I commend you for being Proactive and trying to make the proper notifications. Sometimes it's tough but you've gotta try.

Now on the flip side, if I'm reading this correctly (and correct me if I'm wrong) when you heard/saw the manned aircraft you initiated a RTH? This took control of the sUAS out of your hands and potentially put it in direct path to the manned aircraft at a higher altitude than it already was.

The reason I ask is because doing an "automated" mode with a known manned aircraft in the area is a recipe for disaster. The only "Official" drone to manned aircraft incident (that I'm aware of and that's in the US) was when a P4 operator flew out of VLOS and his aircraft did a RTH. In the process it flew into a UH-60 Blackhawk helo carrying people.

I say this because we are all in this fishbowl together and we've got to look out for each other.

If I misunderstood you please excuse me and I apologize in advance.

Allen
Hi Allen, thanks for that, you are quite correct. My RTH height is set at 50 meters I think so yes, it does ascend. However in this case the heli was miles away in the distance, and wayyyyyyy higher than me. I will note that RTH is not the best way and actually have been forcing myself not to be lazy and use it unless I have lost sight of the drone, am still gettting used to finding the tiny dot if I look away for a second or two.
 
Hi Allen, thanks for that, you are quite correct. My RTH height is set at 50 meters I think so yes, it does ascend. However in this case the heli was miles away in the distance, and wayyyyyyy higher than me. I will note that RTH is not the best way and actually have been forcing myself not to be lazy and use it unless I have lost sight of the drone, am still gettting used to finding the tiny dot if I look away for a second or two.

Well done Wendy.
 
Keep in mind that 5/17/2019 the laws (they were guidelines) will change and you're required to get authorization (not just NOTIFY) to fly in Controlled Airspace. You'll want to check a sectional chart to know if you're in Controlled Airspace or not.

We set up an agreement with our local Medi-Vac through their dispatch back in 2015. They gave me a direct # to call and we agreed upon the procedure of what to tell them and how we would interact. It's worked great and we've notified them on literally hundreds of flights since that time. What's important to note is they've called us back a number of times to let us know Life-Flight was coming through and asked us to land until she was clear of the area. Works like a charm.

Good luck and SAFE FLiGHTS!!
Allen
Doesn't AirMap show controlled airspace, or is it not reliable enough?
 
Doesn't AirMap show controlled airspace, or is it not reliable enough?

Yes it does but for Hobby flights it's not authorized to give approval until the system is revamped which is expected to take up to 180days.
 
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Yes it does but for Hobby flights it's not authorized to give approval until the system is revamped which is expected to take up to 180days.
Okay, so it's good enough to at least check to make sure you're not in controlled airspace which is all I need for now. Thanks.
 
Okay, so it's good enough to at least check to make sure you're not in controlled airspace which is all I need for now. Thanks.

It's "Close" but there have been a few discrepanices for areas on the outter fringes but they error on the side of caution.
 
Hi all, we are going to Kitty Hawk in 2 weeks and I see on the Raster Charts that the area that we will be at is considered Class E airspace with Manteo and Wright Monument being right there. When I use the Kitty Hawk app it does not show that area as controlled airspace but will not allow me to request a LAANC authorization because of the private helicopter base within the area. Am I missing something? I emailed the local police and asked if there are any town ordnances and was told "no" and to follow FAA regulations. Who do I need to notify to legally fly there?
 

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Class E doesn’t start until 700’ AGL in the area you mentioned.

Matteo, and the magenta airports are in class G, and therefore not a problem for you to fly there. (Although having a radio scanner to listen to inbound or outbound aircrafts makes sense)

Wright Brothers national memorial is part of the National Park system, and therefore, off limits to UAS.

Taking off from outside the park and then flying over the monument doesn’t get you a “get out of jail” card.
 
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Class E doesn’t start until 700’ AGL in the area you mentioned.

Matteo, and the magenta airports are in class G, and therefore not a problem for you to fly there.

Wright Brothers national memorial is part of the National Park system, and therefore, off limits to UAS.

Taking off from outside the park and then flying over the monument doesn’t get you a “get out of jail” card.



Thank you for your reply. I do not plan on going anywhere near the monument with my drone, I was just looking to fly it from the house we are staying at and maybe on the beach. I appreciate your time in helping me out.
 
Taking off from outside the park and then flying over the monument doesn’t get you a “get out of jail” card.

This is legally incorrect. The NPS only can regulate the takeoff and landing of UAS from their property. They do not control the airspace above (that's the FAA's jurisdiction) and thus their regulations don't impact mere overflights. (of course, you need to maintain Visual Line of Sight at all times, so you would need to launch and operate from an area where you could do that)
 
Legally, yes. You could possibly fly over the NPS system if you didn’t launch there.

Fine.

But because of LOS, what it is going to accomplish? In my opinion, it is just easier to stay away from any NPS areas.

PS: I just hate reading about launching from outside boundaries and fly over is OK. That doesn’t make sense to me, as it’s not the intent of the rule in the first place. I would just treat it like refuge or wilderness areas...
 
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Legally, yes. You could possibly fly over the NPS system if you didn’t launch there.

Fine.

But because of LOS, what it is going to accomplish? In my opinion, it is just easier to stay away from any NPS areas.

PS: I just hate reading about launching from outside boundaries and fly over is OK. That doesn’t make sense to me, as it’s not the intent of the rule in the first place. I would just treat it like refuge or wilderness areas...

I only felt the need to respond because you specifically mentioned that it wasn't a "get out of jail" card, when legally it is exactly that. The NPS doesn't have the legal power to regulate activity that takes place outside their lands. If you want to argue that people shouldn't fly over parks due to other concerns (for example, maybe you consider it impolite, dangerous, etc), thats a different discussion.

As far as maintaing VLOS, it really would depend on the nature of the specific park and the availbility of suitable launching and observation points that are adjacent to them. For some parks its going to be practically impossible to launch and fly from outside and be able to obtain any decent footage. For other parks, it might be doable.
 
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