What is an airport?

[barrybcar]

I have my first non toy drone and now am looking into the rules of flying. I have the M2P. Where I live there is a real airport about 3.5 miles from me. That is a given. I downloaded the B4UFLY app and it seems that every hospital is an "airport" and there is a helicopter sales and repair "listed" that is less than a mile from me....another "airport". So, I understand the hospitals, but the helicopter sales and repair? There is literally never any copter flights taking off or landing .81 miles from me.

Don't get me wrong I'm not trying to cheat and fly from home, but when I go out to fly, what constitutes an "airport"?

 

[sar104]

I have my first non toy drone and now am looking into the rules of flying. I have the M2P. Where I live there is a real airport about 3.5 miles from me. That is a given. I downloaded the B4UFLY app and it seems that every hospital is an "airport" and there is a helicopter sales and repair "listed" that is less than a mile from me....another "airport". So, I understand the hospitals, but the helicopter sales and repair? There is literally never any copter flights taking off or landing .81 miles from me.

Don't get me wrong I'm not trying to cheat and fly from home, but when I go out to fly, what constitutes an "airport"?

Under the new rules it really doesn't matter what constitutes an airport, since now all that matters from a simple regulatory perspective is the class or airspace. Of course you are still required to avoid conflict with air traffic approaching and departing any facility, whether airport, heliport or whatever, but that's a different issue.

 

[zzxrox]

Maybe this will help.

Airport Categories – Airports

Explains how the FAA classifies airports and defines commercial service, cargo service, reliever, and general aviation.

www.faa.gov

 

[kensteele]

I have my first non toy drone and now am looking into the rules of flying. I have the M2P. Where I live there is a real airport about 3.5 miles from me. That is a given. I downloaded the B4UFLY app and it seems that every hospital is an "airport" and there is a helicopter sales and repair "listed" that is less than a mile from me....another "airport". So, I understand the hospitals, but the helicopter sales and repair? There is literally never any copter flights taking off or landing .81 miles from me.

Don't get me wrong I'm not trying to cheat and fly from home, but when I go out to fly, what constitutes an "airport"?

sure, imagine what it used to be like earlier this year when you couldn't fly within 5 miles of these "airports." i live in a medium size town and therefore "airports" were practically everywhere and you could fly exactly nowhere. now that the rule has changed, as long as you get authorization thru LAANC, you're good to fly. you should see those restrictions only apply to real airports.

 

[dronerdave]

I just look at youtube stuff. Here are some basic videos from the FAA but there are a lot of other good videos out there.

 

[kadras]

I have my first non toy drone and now am looking into the rules of flying. I have the M2P. Where I live there is a real airport about 3.5 miles from me. That is a given. I downloaded the B4UFLY app and it seems that every hospital is an "airport" and there is a helicopter sales and repair "listed" that is less than a mile from me....another "airport". So, I understand the hospitals, but the helicopter sales and repair? There is literally never any copter flights taking off or landing .81 miles from me.

Don't get me wrong I'm not trying to cheat and fly from home, but when I go out to fly, what constitutes an "airport"?

For future reference, from the FAA Remote Pilot - Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Study Guide, page 65:

The definition for airports refers to any area of land or water used or intended for landing or takeoff of aircraft. This includes, within the five categories of airports listed below, special types of facilities including seaplane bases, heliports, and facilities to accommodate tilt rotor aircraft.
*******************
From the FAA Pilot/Controller Glossary:
Heliport - An area of land, water, or structure used or intended to be used for the landing and takeoff of helicopters and includes its buildings and facilities if any.

Helipad -A small, designated area, usually with a prepared surface, on a heliport, airport, landing/takeoff area, apron/ramp, or movement area used for takeoff, landing, or parking of helicopters.

 

[tcope]

sure, imagine what it used to be like earlier this year when you couldn't fly within 5 miles of these "airports." i live in a medium size town and therefore "airports" were practically everywhere and you could fly exactly nowhere. now that the rule has changed, as long as you get authorization thru LAANC, you're good to fly. you should see those restrictions only apply to real airports.

Huh? How it use to be was that you simply needed to call and let them know you were going to fly within 5 miles. How is is right now (as no LAANC)... you cannot fly at all within 5 miles (hobby flight).

When the FAA wants to make LAANC available... who knows. At the earliest is 4 months from now. So the OP _could_ fly... now he/she cannot.

 

[kensteele]

Huh? How it use to be was that you simply needed to call and let them know you were going to fly within 5 miles. How is is right now (as no LAANC)... you cannot fly at all within 5 miles (hobby flight).

When the FAA wants to make LAANC available... who knows. At the earliest is 4 months from now. So the OP _could_ fly... now he/she cannot.

i guess i was speaking for me because when the 5 mile rule was in effect and that included a bunch of tiny places, none of those tiny places could be reached so i couldn't fly. today, i can fly because the restriction is no longer and i don't have to figure out how to make contact.

i understand for the ordinary airports, you can't fly hobby right now but that's entirely temporary. my statement stands, as long as you get LAANC authorization you can fly. it is true, for hobby flyers are unable to obtain that LAANC authorization but since i understand the availability date to be within the next 30-45 days, i'm not going to count that against the faa as some sort of lockdown on flying. because if we're being honest here, most flyers will fly anyway.

still, i understand on paper we are worse off today than yesterday. i don't like it anymore than you do. but i'm willing to wait for a short period of time.

 

[tcope]

i guess i was speaking for me because when the 5 mile rule was in effect and that included a bunch of tiny places, none of those tiny places could be reached so i couldn't fly. today, i can fly because the restriction is no longer and i don't have to figure out how to make contact.

It is debatable at best that you could not fly before. The law required that you only notify the airport and owner. If they don't provide a means to do this, have you met your side of the law? I'd say yes. However, I suspect there was still a way to inform those locations.

How are you able to fly today, that you could not before? Under hobby flight you can _only_ fly in Class G airspace. So you cannot fly within 5 miles of _any_ airport right now.

i understand for the ordinary airports, you can't fly hobby right now but that's entirely temporary. my statement stands, as long as you get LAANC authorization you can fly.

You say as long as you can get to LAANC you can fly in those areas. However, you say you can also fly today. Since LAANC is not available today, tomorrow, next week... at the _earliest_ October... I'm not clear how you can fly today.

it is true, for hobby flyers are unable to obtain that LAANC authorization but since i understand the availability date to be within the next 30-45 days, i'm not going to count that against the faa as some sort of lockdown on flying. because if we're being honest here, most flyers will fly anyway.

Not sure where you are getting this info from. Also, has the FAA _ever_ met a deadline where it affected them?

BTW, the FAA gives a link to their site where you can apply manually for the ability to fly in non-Class G airspace. Here is the webpage:

FAADroneZone

Good luck. Would you expect anything less from the FAA?

Right now this whole thing is 100% screwed up. I'm not sure it could be worse or that the FAA could be doing a worse job. Someone who simply wants to fly their drone 2' in the air needs to spend hours on the Internet each week to figure out what is legal and what is not.

Edit: On a brighter side... could it be worse? Yes. We could live in Canada.

 

[Casper52]

“Edit: On a brighter side... could it be worse? Yes. We could live in Canada.”

Eh, I resemble that remark.

 

[dylanthecat]

How are you able to fly today, that you could not before? Under hobby flight you can _only_ fly in Class G airspace. So you cannot fly within 5 miles of _any_ airport right now.


The statement above is half wrong. Most non tower airports have class g airspace from the surface to at least 700’. The 5 mile rule no longer exists.

 

[dronerdave]

At least Airmap a few weeks ago showed 5 mile restricted airspace around a few airports in my area. I always assumed it was up to me to call those airports and tell them where I was operating. Now those circles no longer exist. Looking at a sectional chart it shows all those airports in my area are all in class G airspace from the ground to 700 feet and class E after that so according to that app all but the larger airports no longer have that 5 mile restriction.

 

[BigAl07]

Huh? How it use to be was that you simply needed to call and let them know you were going to fly within 5 miles. How is is right now (as no LAANC)... you cannot fly at all within 5 miles (hobby flight).

How are you able to fly today, that you could not before? Under hobby flight you can _only_ fly in Class G airspace. So you cannot fly within 5 miles of _any_ airport right now.

Easy there @tcope .You're mixing old terminology/regs with new. With the new rules there is no 5 mile rule/allowance what so ever. You fly (or not) strictly by the airspace you're in and not distance from the airport.

If you're flying near a smaller non-towered field and it's in class G (Good to Go) then you just, by the rules, need to fly safe and See&Avoid. While I think notification should be mandatory it's not required but flight is allowed even critically near an active runway so long as you are allowed to fly in the CLASS airspace you're in.

 

[tcope]

Easy there @tcope .You're mixing old terminology/regs with new. With the new rules there is no 5 mile rule/allowance what so ever. You fly (or not) strictly by the airspace you're in and not distance from the airport.

If you're flying near a smaller non-towered field and it's in class G (Good to Go) then you just, by the rules, need to fly safe and See&Avoid. While I think notification should be mandatory it's not required but flight is allowed even critically near an active runway so long as you are allowed to fly in the CLASS airspace you're in.

Everything was correct but what I was not clear on is "airports" that are still in Class G airspace. The poster was able to fly in more areas and can fly in fewer areas currently. Well, until the FAA feels like creating the means for us to follow the law. Until then, we are restricted even more than the law states.

 

[BigAl07]

Everything was correct but what I was not clear on is "airports" that are still in Class G airspace. The poster was able to fly in more areas and can fly in fewer areas currently. Well, until the FAA feels like creating the means for us to follow the law. Until then, we are restricted even more than the law states.

No sir you stated "5 miles from an airport" ( actually quoted your exact words). I simply corrected your error. No need to dig into it any further bud.

 

[dronerdave]

Here are a few Airmap images where I fly.
A couple of months ago with a lot of restricted space.



And today:

 

[hazy081258]

It is debatable at best that you could not fly before. The law required that you only notify the airport and owner. If they don't provide a means to do this, have you met your side of the law? I'd say yes. However, I suspect there was still a way to inform those locations.

How are you able to fly today, that you could not before? Under hobby flight you can _only_ fly in Class G airspace. So you cannot fly within 5 miles of _any_ airport right now.

You say as long as you can get to LAANC you can fly in those areas. However, you say you can also fly today. Since LAANC is not available today, tomorrow, next week... at the _earliest_ October... I'm not clear how you can fly today.



Not sure where you are getting this info from. Also, has the FAA _ever_ met a deadline where it affected them?

BTW, the FAA gives a link to their site where you can apply manually for the ability to fly in non-Class G airspace. Here is the webpage:

FAADroneZone

Good luck. Would you expect anything less from the FAA?

Right now this whole thing is 100% screwed up. I'm not sure it could be worse or that the FAA could be doing a worse job. Someone who simply wants to fly their drone 2' in the air needs to spend hours on the Internet each week to figure out what is legal and what is not.

Edit: On a brighter side... could it be worse? Yes. We could live in Canada.

Being within 5 miles of an airport (heliport) is no longer relevant. You just need to worry about the class of airspace. If you are in airspace where Class E starts at 700', the airspace below that is Class G. That means you can fly w/o notification or authorization. Of course, you will need to be very careful flying in Class G if you are near an airport.

 

[tcope]

Being within 5 miles of an airport (heliport) is no longer relevant. You just need to worry about the class of airspace. If you are in airspace where Class E starts at 700', the airspace below that is Class G. That means you can fly w/o notification or authorization. Of course, you will need to be very careful flying in Class G if you are near an airport.

It is revelent in my post as I was replying to KenSteele comment as follows:

"

sure, imagine what it used to be like earlier this year when you couldn't fly within 5 miles of these "airports." "

So there was a comparison between the old rules and the new rules. ​

 

[hazy081258]

It is revelent in my post as I was replying to KenSteele comment as follows:

"
sure, imagine what it used to be like earlier this year when you couldn't fly within 5 miles of these "airports." "

So there was a comparison between the old rules and the new rules.

Agreed. I was referring to subsequent discussions where your correct statement was seemingly ignored. I, for one, am much happier with the new rules. There are many heliports in my area and I never wanted to contact them because it was such a hassle. So I just looked for places to fly where I didn't have to. So my options are greatly improved under the new rules.

 

[Twon]

I downloaded the B4UFLY app

Do yourself a favor and give “AirMap” a try. Much more user friendly.

At least Airmap a few weeks ago showed 5 mile restricted airspace.... ....Now those circles no longer exist.

I thought they were removed too, upon looking closer, AirMap just changed the shading. The blue dashed lines are still present. At least at my neighboring airport. I do hate the charge though, I am colorblind, so I can’t see the shading well now.