LAANC adds to the confusion

[Drone on]

So LAANC is finally beginning to expand...Yeah! Sort of...

Using Airmap, my home address has two advisories

Advisory 1) Class D airspace with Automated authorization available at or below 400 ft....Yeah!

Advisory 2) Class E2 requiring FAA authorization. Included is a link FAA Part 107 waiver portal. From the FAA... E2 – Class E airspace areas designated as a surface area for an airport

Both advisories are for the exact same airport

The airport in question is chiefly used by corporate jets that NEVER fly over my home. Otherwise, hobby pilots with Cesnas etc... will occasionally fly over head.

Looking at the sectionals, even though my home address is approximately 3 miles from the airport and not in the path of the runway, I am clearly in the class E2 airspace (surface to 3900), so E2 is in effect.

For the heck of it, I was attempting to submit a flight plan through Airmap, when before I could submit the plan a warning appeared stating the request would be rejected upon submission, which it should be.

So yay LAANC, and nay LAANC

 

[brett8883]

So LAANC is finally beginning to expand...Yeah! Sort of...

Using Airmap, my home address has two advisories

Advisory 1) Class D airspace with Automated authorization available at or below 400 ft....Yeah!

Advisory 2) Class E2 requiring FAA authorization. Included is a link FAA Part 107 waiver portal. From the FAA... E2 – Class E airspace areas designated as a surface area for an airport

Both advisories are for the exact same airport

The airport in question is chiefly used by corporate jets that NEVER fly over my home. Otherwise, hobby pilots with Cesnas etc... will occasionally fly over head.

Looking at the sectionals, even though my home address is approximately 3 miles from the airport and not in the path of the runway, I am clearly in the class E2 airspace (surface to 3900), so E2 is in effect.

For the heck of it, I was attempting to submit a flight plan through Airmap, when before I could submit the plan a warning appeared stating the request would be rejected upon submission, which it should be.

So yay LAANC, and nay LAANC

You’ll really have to give us the location of the airspace for us to be able to help you.

If your flight plan was rejected for what should have been an automatic authorization it must have been you answered one of the questions incorrectly. What was the reason given for the rejection?

 

[Thomas B]

You’ll really have to give us the location of the airspace for us to be able to help you.

If your flight plan was rejected for what should have been an automatic authorization it must have been you answered one of the questions incorrectly. What was the reason given for the rejection?

Agree with brett8883.
If not that, I’d recommend checking the size of the area you set when requesting approval. It might have included a zero height area or you set the height above the limit for the lowest altitude allowed in your requested area.

 

[Drone on]

You’ll really have to give us the location of the airspace for us to be able to help you.

If your flight plan was rejected for what should have been an automatic authorization it must have been you answered one of the questions incorrectly. What was the reason given for the rejection?

The location is near aiport ROG, which is Rogers, Ar. My address is about 3 miles southeast of the runway

All of the questions were answered correctly, and even though Airmap shows altitude of 400, I entered 100. I have used the Airmap app before. I used it for LAANC, and was approved. At that time, the flight plan was for the then sole LAANC accessible area.
My license number, etc... is all in the app. None of the questions were answered incorrectly.

The rejection message was/is (did it again to get the message):

Rejected Upon Submission
Do not fly in Class E controlled airspace
without ATC authorization

I hadn't even submitted the flight plan, and received that warning - White lettering against a solid red background.

 

[brett8883]

The location is near aiport ROG, which is Rogers, Ar. My address is about 3 miles southeast of the runway

All of the questions were answered correctly, and even though Airmap shows altitude of 400, I entered 100. I have used the Airmap app before. I used it for LAANC, and was approved. At that time, the flight plan was for the sole LAANC accessible area.
My license number, etc... is all in the app. None of the questions were answered incorrectly.

The rejection message was/is (did it again to get the message):

Rejected Upon Submission
Do not fly in Class E controlled airspace
without ATC authorization

I hadn't even submitted the flight plan, and received that warning - White lettering against a solid red background.

Yea that’s weird I had the same experience when I tried to do it.

I’d call ATC and tell them it won’t allow you to submit through LAANC. Even when I hit submit nothing happened.

 

[Drone on]

Yea that’s weird I had the same experience when I tried to do it.

I’d call ATC and tell them it won’t allow you to submit through LAANC. Even when I hit submit nothing happened.

I dont think ATC is the right call anymore

The first time I tried for instant authorization with the warning described above, the flight plan was 'submitted'. I wasn't granted authorization. It just let anyone who wanted to know, that I submitted a flight plan for that location, but it was an unauthorized flight plan without waiver. That is what happens in all areas that LAANC is not available.

It seems conflicting to have the very same area be available for authorization via LAANC also be denied at the outset because of the area being E2 airspace also.

I guess there are bugs to be worked out.

The very first time I tried LAANC, in a completely different area of town, it worked very well. So, there's hope for the future, but there are bugs in the present.

 

[Drone on]

Agree with brett8883.
If not that, I’d recommend checking the size of the area you set when requesting approval. It might have included a zero height area or you set the height above the limit for the lowest altitude allowed in your requested area.

No. The request was for 100 feet of altitude in area 'approved' for 400

 

[brett8883]

I dont think ATC is the right call anymore

The first time I tried for instant authorization with the warning described above, the flight plan was 'submitted'. I wasn't granted authorization. It just let anyone who wanted to know, that I submitted a flight plan for that location, but it was an unauthorized flight plan without waiver. That is what happens in all areas that LAANC is not available.

It seems conflicting to have the very same area be available for authorization via LAANC also be denied at the outset because of the area being E2 airspace also.

I guess there are bugs to be worked out.

The very first time I tried LAANC, in a completely different area of town, it worked very well. So, there's hope for the future, but there are bugs in the present.

Well LAANC says to notify ATC so what else you gonna do?

 

[BigAl07]

Keep in mind that a flight can be "denied" even though it meets the "Grid Altitudes". If there is something in the area that would make that particular flight a safety hazard then it gets denied. Military activity, runway closure/repairs etc could cause a deviation to be needed and could make a normally approved area become a restricted zone.

Just because a request is denied doesn't mean the system isn't working as designed.

 

[brett8883]

Keep in mind that a flight can be "denied" even though it meets the "Grid Altitudes". If there is something in the area that would make that particular flight a safety hazard then it gets denied. Military activity, runway closure/repairs etc could cause a deviation to be needed and could make a normally approved area become a restricted zone.

Just because a request is denied doesn't mean the system isn't working as designed.

This isn’t even getting submitted though. It’s automatically being denied by AirMap and not going through. I just tried to request one for the same location at the end of June and same thing

 

[Drone on]

This isn’t even getting submitted though. It’s automatically being denied by AirMap and not going through. I just tried to request one for the same location at the end of June and same thing View attachment 73500
View attachment 73501

Yep. That's the one.

 

[Montana John]

Yep. That's the one.

My solution is to use Skyward. It authorizes and sends a pdf which you can print and carry. I am in a class D with class E overlaps. The class E's are farmers runways with no ATC to contact. Go 4 gives me a warning about the È space, but that's all. My story is that the FAA gives me clearance through LAANC, I don't ask any questions.

 

[Drone on]

My solution is to use Skyward. It authorizes and sends a pdf which you can print and carry. I am in a class D with class E overlaps. The class E's are farmers runways with no ATC to contact. Go 4 gives me a warning about the È space, but that's all. My story is that the FAA gives me clearance through LAANC, I don't ask any questions.

Thank you for the idea. I'll check out Skyward

Is it named Skyward InFlight? If not, what is it called? Skyward as just Skyward does not return a LAANC app

 

[Montana John]

Thank you for the idea. I'll check out Skyward

Is it named Skyward InFlight? If not, what is it called? Skyward as just Skyward does not return a LAANC app

Sorry. Skywardio., or maybe skyward.io

 

[Thomas B]

It is skyward.io
The full list of currently FAA approved LAANC clearance providers can be seen on this page:

UAS Data Exchange (LAANC)

www.faa.gov

 

[Montana John]

It is skyward.io
The full list of currently FAA approved LAANC clearance providers can be seen on this page:

UAS Data Exchange (LAANC)

www.faa.gov

Thanks for checking, Thomas B.

 

[Drone on]

I tried Skyward.io, and found it to be excessive for my needs, as they provide a complete enterprise service for serious drone pilot companies. Skyward points to a free LAANC version aimed at me, but because it is an offshoot of their primary product. I found it challenging to access.

So, using the list of approved LAANC providers, I signed up for Kittyhawk.

I submitted a flight plan equal to that submitted through Airmap discussed above. Through Kittyhawk access of LAANC the request was approved; instantly.

It may be that Airmap has bugs at the time being, or other. I don't know.

One feature that I found particularly helpful with Kittyhawk, is that via geo location identification, a multi-color grid is superimposed, and I could see my location was in the green zone.
Also, when I submitted the flight plan, I entered an altitude of 200 feet, and the app informed me that 400 was available. I knew that, but kept the altitude at 200 for the heck of it.

There is other valuable information easily accessible in the pre-flight telemetry, and other in app links. Most of it appears to be correct, but their evaluation of the wind is WAAAAAAY off. I'll likely continue to use UAV Forecast for conditions, and Kittyhawk for approval.

New to the app, I found 'drawing' the flight area challenging as each time I touched the screen the 'map' moved, and I could not get away from their predefined flight area. I wonder if the predefined flight area is representative of VLOS; purely conjecture.

Anyway, that's an update.

New update: drawing the flight area is easy. The app lays down an initial square with four active corner thigamajiggies (tech talk). Just touch one at a time, wait for the phone thump, then drag. Easy
An interesting aspect of the drawing the flight plan is that if you make it too large, the app will 'deny' participating in the approval submission because it is an area believed to be too large for VLOS.

 

[Slade]

The location is near aiport ROG, which is Rogers, Ar. My address is about 3 miles southeast of the runway

All of the questions were answered correctly, and even though Airmap shows altitude of 400, I entered 100. I have used the Airmap app before. I used it for LAANC, and was approved. At that time, the flight plan was for the then sole LAANC accessible area.
My license number, etc... is all in the app. None of the questions were answered incorrectly.

The rejection message was/is (did it again to get the message):

Rejected Upon Submission
Do not fly in Class E controlled airspace
without ATC authorization

I hadn't even submitted the flight plan, and received that warning - White lettering against a solid red background.

White lettering on Red means, “Hell, yes! Fly!”??

 

[Drone on]

White lettering on Red means, “****, yes! Fly!”??

I'm good with that

 

[sar104]

I tried Skyward.io, and found it to be excessive for my needs, as they provide a complete enterprise service for serious drone pilot companies. Skyward points to a free LAANC version aimed at me, but because it is an offshoot of their primary product. I found it challenging to access.

So, using the list of approved LAANC providers, I signed up for Kittyhawk.

I submitted a flight plan equal to that submitted through Airmap discussed above. Through Kittyhawk access of LAANC the request was approved; instantly.

It may be that Airmap has bugs at the time being, or other. I don't know.

One feature that I found particularly helpful with Kittyhawk, is that via geo location identification, a multi-color grid is superimposed, and I could see my location was in the green zone.
Also, when I submitted the flight plan, I entered an altitude of 200 feet, and the app informed me that 400 was available. I knew that, but kept the altitude at 200 for the heck of it.

There is other valuable information easily accessible in the pre-flight telemetry, and other in app links. Most of it appears to be correct, but their evaluation of the wind is WAAAAAAY off. I'll likely continue to use UAV Forecast for conditions, and Kittyhawk for approval.

New to the app, I found 'drawing' the flight area challenging as each time I touched the screen the 'map' moved, and I could not get away from their predefined flight area. I wonder if the predefined flight area is representative of VLOS; purely conjecture.

Anyway, that's an update.

New update: drawing the flight area is easy. The app lays down an initial square with four active corner thigamajiggies (tech talk). Just touch one at a time, wait for the phone thump, then drag. Easy
An interesting aspect of the drawing the flight plan is that if you make it too large, the app will 'deny' participating in the approval submission because it is an area believed to be too large for VLOS.

The issue appears to be an AirMap problem. KROG has no Class E2 airspace - it's a Class D airport.