Trouble with FAA and Police

[texasgrape]

To those interested: When I first got into drones/quads YouTube was full of information from people: You can't do this; you can't do that; you can do this only when blah blah; yes you can; no you can't; and more blah blah--it was VERY confusing for new UAV pilots and even confusing for seasoned UAV pilots as to what the regs were for Part 107 pilots and for recreational pilots--

Then I came across a video from Drone Valley (Rick is his name and I'm sure if you are on this mavic forum you have seen his videos!)--like many of us he ALWAYS follows the rules; he suggested in the video to go get your Part 107 license and gave a few reasons why! One of which was so you could understand the regs hence know what you can and cannot do as a UAV pilot--so I did! But very reluctant at first until I saw Tony and Chelsea Northrup's video on Part 107 Certification--after watching it I made up my mind to do it--their video was free and was the stepping stone for me to learn even more using all the different publications from FAA and others on the internet!

I do not know everything; but I know what I don't know; I am not a manned pilot and don't want to be; and I learn new UAV stuff all the time--but I know how to fly a drone and have learned the regs well enough to call BS from folks who pretend to know and some who have just been misinformed; I read through these forums for ages before joining! LOL

And for those those who are wondering: I have no idea who Rick is or Tony and Chelsea are; I just learned one heck of a lot watching their videos on certification/etc! Happy flying!

PS I am more interested right now in FPV racing than I am in flying the DJIs--guess I don't mind crashing them as much!

 

[BillyBoot]

If I was as worried and scared about where I flew my drone as you people are I would not bother with even buying a drone... You are supposed to fly and enjoy..

Its almost the same thing with buying a motorcycle...People are afraid they might crash soo they dress like they are getting ready to downhill ski in -0 temperature when its 90 degrees out side.. I ride my motorcycle according to the weather.

If your always going to worry then whats the sense in purchasing... Enjoy yourselves.

 

[dbrockman2]

Yep--but all FAA says to do is to 'notify'--it would be up to FAA to prove he didn't call--OP has a phone log so he's good which is what has generated the discussions;

Our airport manager says to just email him with flight times and location--said he doesn't want phone calls LOL! And the one I fly near (inside 5 mile radius) is Class F but Class G from 0-699 feet

Okay ‘Tex’.

First off, no such thing as Class F airspace. Check the FAA diagram regarding airspace.

Second, is a side by side comparison of OP’s posted flight path and the Airmap image of the airport. His home point, signified by the H, was almost as close to the runway as he could get.

So start digging........

Now, in hindsight, the OP knows this was a bad idea. Depending on how far the local ATC facility sends this up the food chain will dictate if or how hard the hammer will fall. With media highlighting recents events such as the near miss from a Bell helicopter on a Florida beach, the in-flight footage of a departing EK A380, and the F9 A320 into LAS, the FAA will be on people who endanger manned operations.

IF the FAA calls OP, fall on your sword. Claim bad judgement and a mistake. After decades of dealing with the FAA, the last thing you want to is get in a pissing match with them. You WILL lose. If they threaten certificate action or a fine, try to negotiate for a 30-day suspension.

They may not even come down on you. It was probably a guy departing IFR who told ZNY or SWF about you when he checked in.

 

[texasgrape]

If I was as worried and scared about where I flew my drone as you people are I would not bother with even buying a drone... You are supposed to fly and enjoy..

Its almost the same thing with buying a motorcycle...People are afraid they might crash soo they dress like they are getting ready to downhill ski in -0 temperature when its 90 degrees out side.. I ride my motorcycle according to the weather.

If your always going to worry then whats the sense in purchasing... Enjoy yourselves.

I ride too! Seems riding a motorcycle is much less stressful than drove flying! LOL

 

[ac0j]

View attachment 46027View attachment 46028

Okay ‘Tex’.

First off, no such thing as Class F airspace. Check the FAA diagram regarding airspace.

Second, is a side by side comparison of OP’s posted flight path and the Airmap image of the airport. His home point, signified by the H, was almost as close to the runway as he could get.

So start digging........

Now, in hindsight, the OP knows this was a bad idea. Depending on how far the local ATC facility sends this up the food chain will dictate if or how hard the hammer will fall. With media highlighting recents events such as the near miss from a Bell helicopter on a Florida beach, the in-flight footage of a departing EK A380, and the F9 A320 into LAS, the FAA will be on people who endanger manned operations.

IF the FAA calls OP, fall on your sword. Claim bad judgement and a mistake. After decades of dealing with the FAA, the last thing you want to is get in a pissing match with them. You WILL lose. If they threaten certificate action or a fine, try to negotiate for a 30-day suspension.

They may not even come down on you. It was probably a guy departing IFR who told ZNY or SWF about you when he checked in.

There has to be a class F, he learned from youtube. You must be mistaken.
Anyone else having issue with the parade thing? Weird place to have a parade that far outside of town and away from everything and everyone but the airport I would think. Where would people park cars? Unless they walked all the way there from that town.
PLUS the OP said PLANE'S taking off while he flew, so there was more than one. Hardly a small private airport. He went back and forth all along that corner of the airfield. I dont see a spot where you could get any closer to air traffic. Something smells.

 

[texasgrape]

View attachment 46027View attachment 46028

Okay ‘Tex’.

First off, no such thing as Class F airspace. Check the FAA diagram regarding airspace.

Second, is a side by side comparison of OP’s posted flight path and the Airmap image of the airport. His home point, signified by the H, was almost as close to the runway as he could get.

So start digging........

Now, in hindsight, the OP knows this was a bad idea. Depending on how far the local ATC facility sends this up the food chain will dictate if or how hard the hammer will fall. With media highlighting recents events such as the near miss from a Bell helicopter on a Florida beach, the in-flight footage of a departing EK A380, and the F9 A320 into LAS, the FAA will be on people who endanger manned operations.

IF the FAA calls OP, fall on your sword. Claim bad judgement and a mistake. After decades of dealing with the FAA, the last thing you want to is get in a pissing match with them. You WILL lose. If they threaten certificate action or a fine, try to negotiate for a 30-day suspension.

They may not even come down on you. It was probably a guy departing IFR who told ZNY or SWF about you when he checked in.

You are correct--I misspoke! I meant Class E--my airport is Class E with a magenta vignette don't know why I have been saying F Guess F is on my mind; LOL And I agree with you on many points! Thanks for correcting my F up--or was it my E up! Happy flying!

 

[texasgrape]

There has to be a class F, he learned from youtube. You must be mistaken.
Anyone else having issue with the parade thing? Weird place to have a parade that far outside of town and away from everything and everyone but the airport I would think. Where would people park cars? Unless they walked all the way there from that town.
PLUS the OP said PLANE'S taking off while he flew, so there was more than one. Hardly a small private airport. He went back and forth all along that corner of the airfield. I dont see a spot where you could get any closer to air traffic. Something smells.

First sentence is priceless--That was a good one! LOL

 

[ac0j]

First sentence is priceless--That was a good one! LOL

Thanks for having a sense of humor!

 

[RayOZ]

Wow. I think when OP called ATC, and they gave the OK, they had not expected he was going to fly at the edge of the runway. Would've freaked them out if they did see where OP's drone was flying and scrambling to work out what to do. Of all the places you can fly, including near an airport, choosing end of runway where planes are landing or taking off, was a really really really really really bad idea. If you were flying parallel to the runway, I guess below 200" wouldn't pose too much of a danger to aircrafts.
It would've scared any pilot trying to take off or land too. They wouldn't have known what you were doing or going to do. Most accidents occur during take off and landing, so pilots already have a lot on their mind while piloting their aircraft during these 2 critical phase. A drone at the end of the runway is not something they want to see. Imagine the shock they might've felt seeing a drone in front of them, tried to take evasive action and crash.

 

[Bmroche]

Yeah this seems like you could be in hot water. I live within class D airspace and within 2 miles of airport there is 0 flying allowed (recreation, and 107 would require waiver from FAA).

Within the 3-5 mile range I can fly but I do have to contact the ATC tower and let them know the details.

 

[Wilbur&Garth]

Check it out! Apparently Class F is real?? Or used to be?

 

[Bigbird48]

I ride too! Seems riding a motorcycle is much less stressful than drove flying! LOL

What is drove flying???

 

[Bigbird48]

29 down vote accepted


ICAO Class F airspace is a bit of an odd duck (and the US FAA is apparently not the only agency that thinks so - from a quick check on Wikipedia it seems more jurisdictions ignore class F than implement it. They only mention Class F as being in use in Germany and the UK).

From a functional/regulatory standpoint Class F is a sort of hybrid between "Class E" controlled airspace and "Class G" (fully) uncontrolled airspace:
Class F airspace is designated as "uncontrolled", but you can get ATC clearances in Class F airspace just like in controlled airspace. The catch is they're "advisory only" (so you don't have to comply with them, and all the weight is on the pilot's shoulders ). Similarly ATC will provide separation services to IFR flights in Class F airspace, but they do so "where possible", which means they might tell you they can't provide that service and you're on your own with see-and-avoid.

The general use case for Class F airspace seems to be allowing IFR flights to operate in "uncontrolled airspace".

 

[Classic flyer]

So you simultaneously flew the drone, monitored the airport for departing aircraft, monitored the airspace for arriving aircraft, and safely operated near non-participants at a parade while flying over the road.

Good at multi-tasking I reckon

 

[ac0j]

Check it out! Apparently Class F is real?? Or used to be?

Weird! Type F is where they drop parachutist into helicopter rotors according to that graph. I would love some drone footage of that if anyone is willing!

 

[Sprocket]

Weird! Type F is where they drop parachutist into helicopter rotors according to that graph. I would love some drone footage of that if anyone is willing!

I think that is a printers' error. Class F is "all other air pockets".

 

[DanMan32]

Wow. I think when OP called ATC, and they gave the OK, they had not expected he was going to fly at the edge of the runway. Would've freaked them out if they did see where OP's drone was flying and scrambling to work out what to do. Of all the places you can fly, including near an airport, choosing end of runway where planes are landing or taking off, was a really really really really really bad idea. If you were flying parallel to the runway, I guess below 200" wouldn't pose too much of a danger to aircrafts.
It would've scared any pilot trying to take off or land too. They wouldn't have known what you were doing or going to do. Most accidents occur during take off and landing, so pilots already have a lot on their mind while piloting their aircraft during these 2 critical phase. A drone at the end of the runway is not something they want to see. Imagine the shock they might've felt seeing a drone in front of them, tried to take evasive action and crash.

What ATC could do if they realized what he was doing after they effectively approved him is call him.

 

[ac0j]

I want to see the footage of the "parade". Post it please!

 

[gnirtS]

I think generally, regardless of the law, if something appears a dumb idea you probably shouldn't do it.
And flying on the extended centre line of an active runway knowing aircraft are using it strikes me as a fairly dumb idea.

 

[ac0j]

I think generally, regardless of the law, if something appears a dumb idea you probably shouldn't do it.
And flying on the extended centre line of an active runway knowing aircraft are using it strikes me as a fairly dumb idea.

I know right? Also a questionable site for a parade wouldnt you think?