New Pilot -- frustrated

[Bigbird48]

I live and Fly in AZ its a huge State with lots of cool places to fly. Bartlett Lake is a Great place, as well as The Tonto National, The road to Crown King, Sedona has some great spots to fly, It sounds like you don't want to drive anywhere. Hey Go out and explore.

 

[Underdog1964]

Sorry you feel the need to conform to all of the so called rules etc. If I spent as much time checking areas out as you have done and got the run around that you have received I would give up on trying to be legal and go fly my bird. I'm here in New York State and can fly all over with the exception of the city which is one big NFZ. Consider becoming an outlaw and fly and enjoy. Or sell your drown now and try rc cars or boats. Life is full of choices. Sounds like maybe your a little over cautious. Enjoy life and step out on the wild side.

I know I will be crucified for my last statement but come on. Arizona, how many cactus could you possible endanger if you crashed. Sounds like many pilots are going above and beyond trying to be legal.

It's not the cactus to worry about, it's the thousands of dollars in fines if you get busted!

 

[Bigbird48]

Sorry you feel the need to conform to all of the so called rules etc. If I spent as much time checking areas out as you have done and got the run around that you have received I would give up on trying to be legal and go fly my bird. I'm here in New York State and can fly all over with the exception of the city which is one big NFZ. Consider becoming an outlaw and fly and enjoy. Or sell your drown now and try rc cars or boats. Life is full of choices. Sounds like maybe your a little over cautious. Enjoy life and step out on the wild side.

I know I will be crucified for my last statement but come on. Arizona, how many cactus could you possible endanger if you crashed. Sounds like many pilots are going above and beyond trying to be legal.

Its the outlaws that cause all the problems for all of us that want to do it right. People that don't follow the rules cause more rules to be put in place. Pretty soon we won't have anyplace to fly.We have all ready lost the nost beautiful place's to fly and the biggest reason were idiots that just didn't follow the rules or did stupid things while flying.

 

[Cheech Wizard]

So like everyone else, I too am a new pilot in the Phoenix AZ area.

Finding it VERY difficult to fly legally and being a good hobby drone pilot. I even registered with the FAA even though I know it isn't required because I felt that it was a good idea, because I wanted to be in compliance with them, even though the courts might not agree.

Multiple sites trying to find out where in the area is legal to fly ... so understand can't fly in a National Park, state lands can't get straight answer, federal lands (BLM?) that are NOT wilderness areas are ok ... some cities have information on their website about Drone friendly parks ... others do not (including the one I live in) ...

Called my city park's department, and they were very nice on the phone ... they explained that there are no parks right now that are technically ok, but due to recent changes in state law, they are coming online with two parks in the near future. They also told me that I was the first phone call they have ever received asking this question.

An adjacent city has an approved park, but within 5 miles of an airport ... spent 30 minutes trying to find the tower's phone number to notify them ... gave up ... when I got home finally found the number after an hour of Google searching ... spoke to the tower direct about 11 pm in the evening while they were quiet ... they were very polite and helpful, told me what number to call in the future, and info I need ... and told me again that I was the first call they have received in months.

Was going to try and fly in another local city today ( that does post approved drone parks ) ... another control tower, can't find number ... found airport operations who would not give me the number ... took my number, called me back ... said they talk to the tower and since there was not a supervisor on duty they could not authorize me ... to call back between 8 and 3 Monday to Friday business hours. Really??? The operations guy was sympathetic, told me he told the tower that here was someone trying to do the right thing, and they had no procedures in place to authorize. And the city which has multiple "approved drone parks" within the 5 mile radius of a busy airport ( Scottsdale ... supposed to be one of the busiest single runway airports in the US).

Bottom line, I'm spending more time researching on legal places to fly, trying to notify towers etc, then I'm actual flying ...

I looked at some of the "map" apps and website, and they show me the same info I already know .. I'm within 5 miles of a tower, but the rest of the state / federal land, I'm taking a guess.

I spoke to several other drone pilots I have run into, and they basically thought I was crazy to doing all of this research ... they fly where ever they want ...

So what is a newbie to do?

I go by the FAA app B4UFLY... it's from the FAA so must be correct right? If it isn't, you can blame the app. It uses your location so can be used anywhere in the US I believe. I have shown police and "curious people" the app I have on a tablet I carry every time I fly. I also use UAV Forecast for my benefit and to show that conditions are safe to fly (also uses your location and tells you how many satellites are visible) and finally an app called "Flight Radar 24" which allows you to actually identify air craft in the area (no military aircraft are shown and not ALL aircraft use that protocol) and it is just a cool app. My grand monkey loves it "Hey Gramps, I hear a plane.. can I look it up?" Helicopters also show up.

So. take a look at these apps, you might like 1 or 2 of them just for your own piece of mind.

Make sure to check whether MAC or Android versions!

.B4UFLY Mobile App

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.uavforecast&hl=en_US

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.flightradar24free&hl=en_US

 

[Mossiback]

If it were me, I would take a short drive and walk up a wash to fly. As long as you are out of the 5 mile radius of an airport you should be okay. I would be more worried about flying in the heat. The MP batteries are not supposed to be used in temps over 104 F and there have been posts about batteries swollen due to the heat.

 

[ac0j]

If the dji go 4 app doesn’t restrict you from flying then you should be ok. All areas will show up yellow (use caution). or red on the map where you cannot fly at all.