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KittyHawk & AirMap Color Codes - any documentation or help please?

apeel

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I am a newbie, and I have had my M2Z for a week now but have not yet taken it out to fly (I am a little nervous so I have been reading manuals, watching videos, etc). I live in San Antonio and so have a lot of airspace restrictions. I am having a hard time understanding what the different colors on the maps for KittyHawk and AirMap mean. I cannot seem to find any explanations in the Apps as to what the height restrictions are based on these colors. I intend to use LAANC authorization for rec users but don’t want to even ask for permission in an area that should not be flying. I see red (I assume this is no fly zone under any conditions), as well as yellow and blue areas, but do not know if the only difference between yellow and blue areas are height limits and if so what those limits are. I know that you can never go higher than 400 ft (legally anyway) but would like to know what the limits are for each color. Can anyone explain this to me or point me to some user documentation that I can refer to (I do read manuals!). I have also obtained a UAS Certification number and have that labeled on my quad.

Thanks in advance,
Allan
 
When you drop the pin on the map in either app, you can see a list of any restrictions at the bottom of the app.
 
I am a newbie, and I have had my M2Z for a week now but have not yet taken it out to fly (I am a little nervous so I have been reading manuals, watching videos, etc). I live in San Antonio and so have a lot of airspace restrictions. I am having a hard time understanding what the different colors on the maps for KittyHawk and AirMap mean. I cannot seem to find any explanations in the Apps as to what the height restrictions are based on these colors. I intend to use LAANC authorization for rec users but don’t want to even ask for permission in an area that should not be flying. I see red (I assume this is no fly zone under any conditions), as well as yellow and blue areas, but do not know if the only difference between yellow and blue areas are height limits and if so what those limits are. I know that you can never go higher than 400 ft (legally anyway) but would like to know what the limits are for each color. Can anyone explain this to me or point me to some user documentation that I can refer to (I do read manuals!). I have also obtained a UAS Certification number and have that labeled on my quad.

Thanks in advance,
Allan
Hi, as far as KittyHawk colors go for an airport grid; the darker green indicates that authorizations up to 400 ft are possible, lighter green-300ft, yellow-200ft, orange-100ft, red is 0ft.
Got the info from their tutorial:
 
Wow. That was quick! Thanks.

Ok. Just tried it for the location that I will do my first trial flight. I will report here what I see and then say what I think it all means. Please let me know if I am interpreting all this correctly.

In KittyHawk it shows a green grid line and below that a Lat & Long reading and below that a BLUE oval button that reads “2 KSAT | Class C”. When I click that blue button it shows “UAS Facility Map - permissible altitude for authorization: 400 ft.” Clicking on “more” it shows LAANC Auto approval available up to 400-ft”

Under this there is another Yellow Class C Airport KSAT and it says “Level: Low Altitude Only”. So am I correct in assuming that this 2nd Yellow warning is also referring to the 400 ft limit stated in the 1st Blue warning? Also I guess this means that if I use KittyHawk and state that I will not not fly higher than 400-ft then I would automatically get approval via KittyHawk?

As for AirMap now I realize that I have to touch the icon of a Globe and it then it shows the height limit (marked by orange line with 400 under it) right there on the map. I never noticed it before because I had to zoom in more to see it. Duh!
 
Hi, as far as KittyHawk colors go for an airport grid; the darker green indicates that authorizations up to 400 ft are possible, lighter green-300ft, yellow-200ft, orange-100ft, red is 0ft.
Got the info from their tutorial:
Absolutely correct and that is why I prefer Kittyhawk over AirMap. I’ve found B4UFLY to be less helpful. ??
 
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I am a newbie, and I have had my M2Z for a week now but have not yet taken it out to fly (I am a little nervous so I have been reading manuals, watching videos, etc)...
Welcome to the world of DJI Mavic. I did a LOT of reading manuals, watching videos, etc. even before I bought my Mavic Air in March of 2018, so I know your feeling. I happen to think that this forum is one of the best for Mavic, with many knowledgeable and helpful people.

These drones are are much more capable that those of a few years ago, but don't let that overwhelm you. Start with the basics and get comfortable with them before exploring the more advanced, automated capabilities.

Two specific suggestions that should help you:

1. Do screen recording on your mobile device, from motor start to shutdown. If you have an iOS device, the capability is already there. This is in addition to any recording you are doing on your Mavic. The reason I suggest this is that it allows you to review the flight afterwards. You've got a lot of things going on in the air, and may not notice everything, or understand what happened. The post flight review is a great way to learn.

2. Take a look at the flight log file that is recorded on your mobile device. It contains a lot of data, but it's not directly readable - must be decoded. Take a look at Drone Data Management and Flight Analysis | Airdata UAV where you can set up a free account - getting more analysis and storage space cost some $. Also, you can upload your flight log file to DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help or [TOOL][WIN] Offline TXT FlightRecord to CSV Converter

Good luck, and if you have any questions, feel free to ask.
 
Thanks for posting your questions. I've yet to purchase my Mavic drone (Most likely the Mavic 2), but want to make sure I have enough background information to understand how to fly safely and know what resources are available (Thankful for this forum!). I have Kittyhawk on my iPhone already and used it from my location which is rather close to a major airport. Appreciate to input here from other members regarding flight logs.
 
You no longer have to worry about all air facilities around you. It's all now taken care of with controlled airspace classification, FAA facilities map grid simplifying that, and LAANC. I believe LAANC lets ATC know of your intentions as well.
 
Absolutely correct and that is why I prefer Kittyhawk over AirMap. I’ve found B4UFLY to be less helpful. ??

Interestingly enough, the new version of B4UFLY that was just released in the last week or so is actually just a modified version of Kittyhawk that doesn't include the ability to get LAANC authorizations.
 
I am a newbie, and I have had my M2Z for a week now but have not yet taken it out to fly (I am a little nervous so I have been reading manuals, watching videos, etc). I live in San Antonio and so have a lot of airspace restrictions. I am having a hard time understanding what the different colors on the maps for KittyHawk and AirMap mean. I cannot seem to find any explanations in the Apps as to what the height restrictions are based on these colors. I intend to use LAANC authorization for rec users but don’t want to even ask for permission in an area that should not be flying. I see red (I assume this is no fly zone under any conditions), as well as yellow and blue areas, but do not know if the only difference between yellow and blue areas are height limits and if so what those limits are. I know that you can never go higher than 400 ft (legally anyway) but would like to know what the limits are for each color. Can anyone explain this to me or point me to some user documentation that I can refer to (I do read manuals!). I have also obtained a UAS Certification number and have that labeled on my quad.

Thanks in advance,
Allan
These YouTube videos are ok BUT the people in the clips talk so fast and zip through the info it’s hard to follow or understand. JUST SLOW DOWN
 
Welcome to the world of DJI Mavic. I did a LOT of reading manuals, watching videos, etc. even before I bought my Mavic Air in March of 2018, so I know your feeling. I happen to think that this forum is one of the best for Mavic, with many knowledgeable and helpful people.

These drones are are much more capable that those of a few years ago, but don't let that overwhelm you. Start with the basics and get comfortable with them before exploring the more advanced, automated capabilities.

Two specific suggestions that should help you:

1. Do screen recording on your mobile device, from motor start to shutdown. If you have an iOS device, the capability is already there. This is in addition to any recording you are doing on your Mavic. The reason I suggest this is that it allows you to review the flight afterwards. You've got a lot of things going on in the air, and may not notice everything, or understand what happened. The post flight review is a great way to learn.

2. Take a look at the flight log file that is recorded on your mobile device. It contains a lot of data, but it's not directly readable - must be decoded. Take a look at Drone Data Management and Flight Analysis | Airdata UAV where you can set up a free account - getting more analysis and storage space cost some $. Also, you can upload your flight log file to DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help or [TOOL][WIN] Offline TXT FlightRecord to CSV Converter

Good luck, and if you have any questions, feel free to ask.
I am also a new pilot. Your suggestion concerning recording the flight is a fantastic idea! Thank you!
 
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