I was out around 7:15 pm today. Sunset today was 8:04 pm. I had just taken off, sending the Mavic straight up about 20 feet, when I heard a huge roar in the sky. A large plane had just taken off from the local airport (SBD) and was making a wide turn at a low altitude towards the mountains. It was less than half a mile from me and my Mavic. I pulled the Mavic back down to about 10 feet and let it hover as I watched the large plane fly towards the mountains. It was a very unusual sight since my local airport generally only flies small planes.
I flew the Mavic for about 5 minutes, but something didn't feel quite right so I packed up and started driving home. That's when I saw the fire in the San Bernardino mountains and the plane flying over it dropping bright red fire retardant. I stopped to snap a photo with the iPhone, but the plane was already out of sight (see below).
When I got home, I checked FAA website and found the TFR. It was released at 7:40 pm. I was flying 3-4 miles south of the TFR, so I wasn't in anyone's way.
FAA TFR: 7/1147 NOTAM Details
The map at Know Before You Fly site also shows the TFR on the map.
B4UFly app (official FAA app) shows nothing.
Does the B4UFly app never show TFR? Or am I not looking in the right place? In the meantime, i guess I'll be checking the FAA TFRs more frequently. There are a lot of fires in southern California, especially during the summers.
Photos from iPhone, zoomed in a lot. The red is the fire retardant, not flames. There were no visible flames from my vantage point.
I flew the Mavic for about 5 minutes, but something didn't feel quite right so I packed up and started driving home. That's when I saw the fire in the San Bernardino mountains and the plane flying over it dropping bright red fire retardant. I stopped to snap a photo with the iPhone, but the plane was already out of sight (see below).
When I got home, I checked FAA website and found the TFR. It was released at 7:40 pm. I was flying 3-4 miles south of the TFR, so I wasn't in anyone's way.
FAA TFR: 7/1147 NOTAM Details
The map at Know Before You Fly site also shows the TFR on the map.
B4UFly app (official FAA app) shows nothing.
Does the B4UFly app never show TFR? Or am I not looking in the right place? In the meantime, i guess I'll be checking the FAA TFRs more frequently. There are a lot of fires in southern California, especially during the summers.
Photos from iPhone, zoomed in a lot. The red is the fire retardant, not flames. There were no visible flames from my vantage point.
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