New to Drones

[kenm]

Hi, All. 54 year old in Birmingham, Alabama here; aviation enthusiast with a little RC planes in my background. I bought a Mavic Air for my 17 year old son for Christmas this year (fly as hobby). He loves photography, and I thought this would be a great way to expand his passion for it.

While we fully intend to fly safely and adhere to the rules, I honestly feel a little overwhelmed with the idea of him contacting one or more of the local airports that would be within the 5 mile radius.

I searched for local drone clubs but didn’t really find any. I downloaded the B4UFLY app and found an airport phone number directory. Is there anyone in the area we might ‘shadow’ a time or two to see how it should be done?

I’d love to see if we could fly from Oak Mountain State Park, and get a feel for other scenic areas to fly from and get good practice.

Thanks in Advance.
Ken

 

[dirkclod]

Welcome to Mavic Pilots .
I hope you will find our site helpful and look forward to any input , photo's/video's you might post .
Don't be shy and ask anything if you can't find it by searching .

 

[BD0G]

I have 2 Heliports within 5 miles of my home. I just sent them a certified letter informing them that I will be flying in the area from time to time and that I am not requesting permission , but instead informing them. I kept a copy of the letter, picture of the envelope mailed in and the date of notification.

Received a call back within 3 days from one of the Heliports thanking me and asking for a phone number to be texted at if they had a Lifeflight Helicopter that was going to be flying into the airspace.
The other Heliport
You / your son is just altering them and thats what you MUST do. Its super easy to comply and the penalties for not complying could really harsh your drone buzz.

Oh, Welcome!

 

[TR Ganey]

Ken,

I am a novice myself and thank God I don't live in close proximity to any air ports or helicopter pads. I wish you good luck with the new toy. Just watch all the youtube videos that you can and continue to study about the new hobby. There is a ton of stuff to learn even without considering the camera portion.

 

[kenm]

Thanks for the replies and the welcomes. I really like the certified letter idea to the multiple heliports that surround us (one emergency room, one hospital, and one tv news station). I see nothing in the regs that should prevent this approach. Great idea.

 

[BD0G]

Wish I could take full credit for it , but it was posted here on the forum in the distant past as a way to cover ones butt.

Here is a default template that you can modify to suit your needs. Its the exact one that I used and it was helpful.

 

[kenm]

Thank you, BDOG.

Does anyone know of a written template for what to state on phone calls with airports / ATC? I’m curious if one call format is more efficient than another. I know you want to be succinct and direct in the information you are providing. Seems that a common approach is to state your intentions, rather than ask for permission.

So far, I’ve only found one YouTube call, but it was questionable as to whether that recording was even legal to make.

Thanks!

 

[BD0G]

The information in the provided template seemed to work well for me in written form. I imagine if one summarized just the important details from that form they could provide them verbally.

 

[Former Member]

Welcome to Mavicpilots.com. If you ever need advice or repair questions, feel free to reach out to the forum.

Best regards and good luck,

Rob

 

[kenm]

Rob - thank you for the welcome!

We had a good day yesterday, out in a large field, just outside of the nearest heliport radius. Surprisingly easy to maneuver for me, having never flown a four-rotor before. Fun doing figure 8’s, as well as ‘sliding’ it sideways from full forward speed. My fixed wing RC glider instincts had no value here! We did stay out of Sport Mode for now!

My son took to it right away, and is all about the video capabilities. We plan on reviewing the top 20 potential Alabama flight spots / state parks and creating the list of adjacent airports / heliports that we will need to contact (most likely by letter, with a periodic flight / indefinite timeline approach, which seems to meet the requirements). Also considering my son going ahead with the 107 cert if that might be more appropriate long term for him. It’s a good test for him to acknowledge compliance with the federal laws.

He’s going back out again today, before the rains set in. All in all, I think the Mavic Air was a good selection.

 

[msinger]

Welcome to the forum!