No Height restriction

[Droning on and on...]

When I fly my RC airplanes I must do so at an AMA designated Flying field. I cannot tell you as to what Law that actually is but in most places in the U.S. to Fly you will need to find one

I think you're mistaken.

 

[Torque]

When I fly my RC airplanes I must do so at an AMA designated Flying field. I cannot tell you as to what Law that actually is but in most places in the U.S. to Fly you will need to find one NOW all of these fields Must be AMA approved and you Must be an AMA member to fly there. Right now here in Bakersfield my FPV friends and I go to the AMA field so as not to be bothered.

Seattle FPV Flyers (AMA club) have a nice "FPV drone only" course outside of Seattle that is AMA sanctioned (Paino Ranch outside of Fall City for any PNWers here). Just flew there last week for the first time as a non member (but 2 decade AMA member). Nice to have a course like this.
I can fly my RC planes on my property, at many city parks, on BLM land, in National Forests, etc., I am not limited to an AMA flying field. Perhaps that is a California law?

 

[Cafguy]

I think you're mistaken.

Correct
just looking it up technically it is a safety rule not a law but I may fly my 35cc Smoothie xl there BUT not within the city limits ( Local ordinance I guess) but every place I have been to in the RC hobby its always the same you have to find the designated AMA airfield to fly ( we are only talking aircraft above the 250g limit.
I myself pay hundreds of dollars a year in AMA dues and Club fees at my AMA flying field (Non AMA flying fields for airplanes are not allowed Unless you are on Private property and you need A LOT of land for that to be legal). over a certain size aircraft, I wish I could find a place closer to home to fly but thats it. Now if you gather a bunch of people together flying in a park I would think the F.A.A. would want them to use the AMA guidelines just like they do at the flying field.

 

[umanbean]

Wait - you guys are derailing this thread

It's supposed to be about core to infinity property rights, Grandpa's '61 Patent, the feasibility of having a large drone height-flying competition on 7 3/4 acres in the middle of the desert, and how much money the OP could make by staging said competition. Y'all get back on track, would ya?

 

[mavic3usa]

If this drone park or drone port or drone destination turns into an ama event, I won't be going. That's what I was alluding to earlier in post about process "restrictions" etc. I'm AMA but I have no interest in going to one of these if it's just going to be a gloried AMA flying field. These are drones not rc aircraft, it's time we think big and think outside the box. No offense, but hopefully the OP creates something cool and interesting and brings us properly into the 21 century. For the same reason I won't go to an NRA sponsored event or an NRA shooting range. YMMV

 

[Cafguy]

Wait - you guys are derailing this thread

It's supposed to be about core to infinity property rights, Grandpa's '61 Patent, the feasibility of having a large drone height-flying competition on 7 3/4 acres in the middle of the desert, and how much money the OP could make by staging said competition. Y'all get back on track, would ya?

You are correct SIR!! We are all just milling about waiting to see the patent for his grandfather's invention I mainly was curious where one would store a device that requires infinite room to operate?

 

[Torque]

Correct
just looking it up technically it is a safety rule not a law but I may fly my 35cc Smoothie xl there BUT not within the city limits ( Local ordinance I guess) but every place I have been to in the RC hobby its always the same you have to find the designated AMA airfield to fly ( we are only talking aircraft above the 250g limit.
I myself pay hundreds of dollars a year in AMA dues and Club fees at my AMA flying field (Non AMA flying fields for airplanes are not allowed Unless you are on Private property and you need A LOT of land for that to be legal). over a certain size aircraft, I wish I could find a place closer to home to fly but thats it. Now if you gather a bunch of people together flying in a park I would think the F.A.A. would want them to use the AMA guidelines just like they do at the flying field.

We are supposed to follow the AMA guidelines no matter where we fly.
One of my flying clubs (Flaming Geyser Flyers) is actually within a state park here in WA. They have one area of the field just for Drone and Helicopter pilots. Pretty boring for a drone though, despite the fact that the field is within the park, if I fly outside of the AMA sanctioned field with my drone, the State Park can revoke my club membership.
Several city parks allow "Park Flyers" but drones are banned...go figure.

 

[3rdof5]

If this drone park or drone port or drone destination turns into an ama event, I won't be going. That's what I was alluding to earlier in post about process "restrictions" etc. I'm AMA but I have no interest in going to one of these if it's just going to be a gloried AMA flying field. These are drones not rc aircraft, it's time we think big and think outside the box. No offense, but hopefully the OP creates something cool and interesting and brings us properly into the 21 century. For the same reason I won't go to an NRA sponsored event or an NRA shooting range. YMMV

I like the OP's idea, we all love to fly. One question though, and not to be argumentative but you say "these are drones, not RC aircraft".
What does that mean???
These are definitely aircraft, and radio controlled. What is the distinction here?

 

[moldorf]

Also, DJI drones have a built-in hard limit of 500m/1640ft over takeoff location, and most drones that show up to your contest would likely be DJI, given their dominance of the industry.

it's not so hard for the Mavic 3

if you are more than 30 miles from the nearest airport, the ceiling increases to 1000M/1640 feet. You just have to increase the limit every time you boot up the fly app

 

[3rdof5]

it's not so hard for the Mavic 3

if you are more than 30 miles from the nearest airport, the ceiling increases to 1000M/1640 feet. You just have to increase the limit every time you boot up the fly app

Just to clarify, 500m is 1640 feet, 1000 meters is 3280 feet.

 

[mavic3usa]

I like the OP's idea, we all love to fly. One question though, and not to be argumentative but you say "these are drones, not RC aircraft".
What does that mean???
These are definitely aircraft, and radio controlled. What is the distinction here?

Sure, when I think of RC aircraft I think of everything related to the traditional hobby of flying an "rc plane" which is neither good nor bad but quite different when you think about flying more modern "recreational drones." Our drones are controlled by a radio but you likely cannot fly them at a RC field, for example. I'm ready to move the hobby forward and take an additional step and I would welcome our RC co-hobbyists to make that journey with us. We fly at night, we flying at super great distances, we fly over neighborhoods, we record [our government officials], we take off and land from public property, we don't necessarily need permits and training and checklists and permissions, etc. It's time to adopt a new way of thinking else we'll never advance the hobby to anything beyond what it has been for the last few decades.

 

[3rdof5]

Sure, when I think of RC aircraft I think of everything related to the traditional hobby of flying an "rc plane" which is neither good nor bad but quite different when you think about flying more modern "recreational drones." Our drones are controlled by a radio but you likely cannot fly them at a RC field, for example. I'm ready to move the hobby forward and take an additional step and I would welcome our RC co-hobbyists to make that journey with us. We fly at night, we flying at super great distances, we fly over neighborhoods, we record [our government officials], we take off and land from public property, we don't necessarily need permits and training and checklists and permissions, etc. It's time to adopt a new way of thinking else we'll never advance the hobby to anything beyond what it has been for the last few decades.

I'm not sure what you mean when you say "

Our drones are controlled by a radio but you likely cannot fly them at a RC field, for example. "

Why wouldn't that be allowed?
While I agree a new way of thinking is needed, I would say that new thinking should be that anyone piloting any aircraft in any airspace needs to respect and understand the responsibilities of all pilots to fly safely. If we all did then this point would be moot.

 

[mavic3usa]

I'm not sure what you mean when you say "

Why wouldn't that be allowed?
While I agree a new way of thinking is needed, I would say that new thinking should be that anyone piloting any aircraft in any airspace needs to respect and understand the responsibilities of all pilots to fly safely. If we all did then this point would be moot.

I cannot speak for the RC crowd so I'll let them answer just in case I am way off base here. I should have said "I cannot fly my drone at an RC field the way I want to fly my drone" but this was years ago and maybe things have changed.

 

[3rdof5]

I cannot speak for the RC crowd so I'll let them answer just in case I am way off base here. I should have said "I cannot fly my drone at an RC field the way I want to fly my drone" but this was years ago and maybe things have changed.

My apologies if I sound argumentative, truly I'm only trying to gain clarity here. Maybe when you say the "RC crowd" you mean the fixed wing crowd. Yes, flight capabilities have changed significantly from the fixed wing days where VLOS was critical, it isn't now with our new quads. So your point is well taken.
However, that being said, it is more important than ever now that pilot attitude is even more focused on safety and a dedicated flight area with relaxed restrictions is not a bad idea.

 

[Cafguy]

I cannot speak for the RC crowd so I'll let them answer just in case I am way off base here. I should have said "I cannot fly my drone at an RC field the way I want to fly my drone" but this was years ago and maybe things have changed.

They have Areas now for Drone pilots to operate from Well away from any fixed wing operators we are relegated with the Helicopter guys lol

 

[mavic3usa]

My apologies if I sound argumentative, truly I'm only trying to gain clarity here. Maybe when you say the "RC crowd" you mean the fixed wing crowd. Yes, flight capabilities have changed significantly from the fixed wing days where VLOS was critical, it isn't now with our new quads. So your point is well taken.
However, that being said, it is more important than ever now that pilot attitude is even more focused on safety and a dedicated flight area with relaxed restrictions is not a bad idea.

No worries. Yes, the fixed wing crowd, they would be the ones. I know we are ultimately all on teh same side and I hope the relationship has improved; perhaps I should revisit this. Years ago I invited a friend out with my Mavic 2...and he got unhinged. He absolutely would not support anything having to do with vlos and he acted as if it were "criminal." LOL

 

[3rdof5]

No worries. Yes, the fixed wing crowd, they would be the ones. I know we are ultimately all on teh same side and I hope the relationship has improved; perhaps I should revisit this. Years ago I invited a friend out with my Mavic 2...and he got unhinged. He absolutely would not support anything having to do with vlos and he acted as if it were "criminal." LOL

Lol that makes perfect sense.

 

[Vic Moss]

I believe if I can show a specific use My Grandfather's Patent from 1961 does give Me the ability, since technically I own from the center of the earth to infinite of space. I believe I could get a 5 mile no fly zone awarded.

That would be a huge NO!

Ownership of airspace is dependent on what state you live in. However, control is a completely different story.

The 1946 SCOTUS ruling in Causby v. US determined that "est solum ejus est usque and coelum" (To whomsoever it belongs, it is his all the way to the heavens) has "no place in the modern world".

And according to the Federal Aviation Act of 1958, the FAA has sole authority to control navigable airspace. And with the advent of drones, that's literally from the ground up.

So no, you cannot arbitrarily declare you land a free for all when it comes to how high you can fly.

If you don't want to take my word for it (you really shouldn't), ask [email protected].

 

[KB9Radio]

You can't open a drone port in the US (and most countries) with no height limit. 400 feet is the limit, provided your not in some type of restricted area due to an airport, military zone, or other reasons. The land owner doesn't own the airspace.

 

[kalimah]

Of course we would be interested. But you know this already, you would have to get everything sanctioned which would mean lots of planning and approval from the FAA to open up the heavenly skies above. None of our drones can reach 30k feet so it should not be a problem setting up a TFR for a day. I'm assuming these federal lands next to you are open for drones since we cannot keep everyone within 7 acres. I don't speak for all drone pilots but we are mostly interested in the ability to fly freely without a bunch of restrictions, etc...you get the point. Let us know what you come up with!

BTW, I'm not sure many of us are totally enamored with height, probably more so with distance.

Distance and open space.