What to make of this NYC flight video?

WilliamDaugherty · Mar 11, 2023

Saw this on Reddit this morning. I can't see how this is legal, but if this guy got a waiver, maybe I can too?

shb · Mar 11, 2023

Probably illegal. Too bad he didn't get the freedom tower.

DoomMeister · Mar 11, 2023

WilliamDaugherty said:
but if this guy got a waiver, maybe I can too?

How much time and money would you be willing to spend? I sense deep pockets to accomplish this video.

HoozierDroneDaddy · Mar 11, 2023

The below was posted on his web page, so I believe it is a commercial group and they had obtained the proper clearances and obtained approval for the flights.

"You may have seen my work on: Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, CNBC, Fox News, CTV, CBC, National Geographic, Discovery & More."

anotherlab · Mar 11, 2023

shb said:
Probably illegal. Too bad he didn't get the freedom tower.

It's posted in the comments to the video, the operator had FAA approval.

LoudThunder · Mar 12, 2023

anotherlab said:
It's posted in the comments to the video, the operator had FAA approval.

A similar situation came up concerning my recent posting of the Air Dhow Dates for the Thunder Birds and Blue Angles. I suggested that Drone Clubs and Organizations contact the respective bases to see if they could participate and even fly demonstrations.

Here is the reference to fly in a TFR Zone…

The Thunderbirds and Blue Angels Official 2023 Air Show Schedule in the United States.

The Thunderbirds and Blue Angels Official 2023 Air Show Schedule in the United States. Not to worry, it's not Classified, nor for Official Use Only… I am Retired Air Force and although this information is freely available, it often does not get the disseminations it deserves. So here it is…...

mavicpilots.com

WilliamDaugherty · Mar 12, 2023

anotherlab said:
It's posted in the comments to the video, the operator had FAA approval.

He just responded to the question yesterday. Saying "I had FAA approval" doesn't explain much.

Deleted member 162835 · Mar 12, 2023

WilliamDaugherty said:
He just responded to the question yesterday. Saying "I had FAA approval" doesn't explain much.

What are you looking for him to explain?

WilliamDaugherty · Mar 12, 2023

dantegl36 said:
What are you looking for him to explain?

How do you get approval for BVLOS, >1000' AGL in busy rotary-wing airspace, flying over people, and most importantly, operating from the ground in Manhattan, which is prohibited entirely by NYC law except for first responders. NYPD says to call 911 if you see a drone flying in Manhattan. Also, the air currents in this space are such that I honestly can't imagine a Category 1 sUAS could produce the footage in this video.

Slawaw · Mar 12, 2023

I'm not interested in the legal side of this phenomenon. From a technical point of view, flying in such conditions is fantastic. I'm interested in the details. From the level of interference to the location of the operator in some episodes.

RoarRoar · Mar 12, 2023

WilliamDaugherty said:
How do you get approval for BVLOS, >1000' AGL in busy rotary-wing airspace, flying over people, and most importantly, operating from the ground in Manhattan, which is prohibited entirely by NYC law except for first responders. NYPD says to call 911 if you see a drone flying in Manhattan. Also, the air currents in this space are such that I honestly can't imagine a Category 1 sUAS could produce the footage in this video.

Believe it or not commercial drone work goes on everyday in Manhattan. Real Estate, Media Outlets, construction companies, and the trade unions are usually the main operators.

I would imagine some sort of permission from city hall and the police department is granted. The last thing they need is a million recreational flights and reports of crashed drones. This happened in lower Manhattan a few years ago. Everybody with a mini just can’t go to Manhattan for a look around.

Urban flying is not easy. It takes lots of awareness and skill. With that being said after giving a brief run down of where this person has had their content appear I’d assume everything is on the up and up.

Flying for outlets like that I’d assume you would acquire a bit of extra b Roll enough to put a reel together like this.

anotherlab · Mar 13, 2023

RoarRoar said:
Believe it or not commercial drone work goes on everyday in Manhattan. Real Estate, Media Outlets, construction companies, and the trade unions are usually the main operators.

I would imagine some sort of permission from city hall and the police department is granted. The last thing they need is a million recreational flights and reports of crashed drones. This happened in lower Manhattan a few years ago. Everybody with a mini just can’t go to Manhattan for a look around.

Urban flying is not easy. It takes lots of awareness and skill. With that being said after giving a brief run down of where this person has has their content appear I’d assume everything is on the up and up.

Flying for outlets like that I’d assume you would acquire a bit of extra b Roll enough to put a reel together like this.

There is no way the pilot would have posted this on YouTube if he didn't have the necessary waivers from the City and the FAA. I would imagine that he's flying something larger than Mavic, maybe an Inspire 2 or something at that weight range.

HoozierDroneDaddy · Mar 13, 2023

anotherlab said:
There is no way the pilot would have posted this on YouTube if he didn't have the necessary waivers from the City and the FAA. I would imagine that he's flying something larger than Mavic, maybe an Inspire 2 or something at that weight range.

Although I agree with this in theory, there are many cases of people flying outside legal boundaries and posting their videos on social media. I have no doubt the above video is legal, but there is the slimmest of chances I could be wrong.

Deleted member 162835 · Mar 13, 2023

anotherlab said:
There is no way the pilot would have posted this on YouTube if he didn't have the necessary waivers from the City and the FAA. I would imagine that he's flying something larger than Mavic, maybe an Inspire 2 or something at that weight range.

I concur. Posting something like this on YouTube advertising yourself without having cleared the proper channels would be an easy pick for the FAA or New York law enforcement to come after you. Whomever they are figured out how to navigate the system and pull this off. Kudos to them.

Hermey · Mar 14, 2023

The wealthy folks in the big leagues can probably easily get "exceptions" made for them.

anotherlab · Mar 14, 2023

Hermey said:
The wealthy folks in the big leagues can probably easily get "exceptions" made for them.

I am curious to see what it would take to get approval to fly in Manhattan. I'm guessing that you would need to be a well-established video company, have liability insurance, and documented flight/filming plans, so being in the big leagues is probably a requirement.

LoudThunder · Mar 14, 2023

I am not going to get into this "dog-fight" but I think we can all agree, a Recreational Pilot is not going to get an authorization to fly in any of this Controlled Airspace, but the "nay-sayers" Part 107 Licensed Pilots should give it a try, it can't hurt and the worse that can happen is a Denial...

As they say, "Inquiring Minds Want to Know..."

DoomMeister · Mar 14, 2023

Hermey said:
The wealthy folks in the big leagues can probably easily get "exceptions" made for them.

It not so much ‘exceptions’ as it is waivers. Waivers are only granted when you comply with the extra safety precautions required. Along with that I can imagine a pretty hefty liability insurance requirement too.

As another post suggested recreational flights in this area are not going to cut it. Besides the NYC ban on operating a drone without city approval, there are numerous overlapping controlled airspaces, §93 SFRA, DOJ NSUFR, NPS and State Park restrictions, etc. Most recreational fliers are not equipped to deal with all the issues that need to be addressed to fly in this environment.

Yaros · Mar 14, 2023

Slawaw said:
I'm interested in the details. From the level of interference to the location of the operator in some episodes.

Same, I noticed that when flying in large cities, buildings can easily block signal, very easily, especially with Ocusync 2. With the Mavic 3 and RC Pro you get significantly better range in such environments.

The only large city I flew in was Kyiv, and with my Mavic Air 2 I couldn't fly further than about 1.2 Km in the center, however when flying along the Dnipro river, away from buildings, I could fly about 3 km without losing signal. And considering 5.8Ghz is blocked in Ukraine (or at least was at the time I was there), that's a noticeable difference in range, which is very dependent on the surrounding environment.

Of course in the US there is FCC, that would boost the range almost twice. I know that FCC hacks exist, but I don't use them as I live in an area where I can fly about 4 km without losing any signal. I only use FCC hack on Air 1 which has very poor range without it, and with Wi-Fi having FCC makes a world of difference, which is not as noticeable with Ocusync drones.

Slawaw · Mar 15, 2023

In the city (in a real big city with tall buildings) it is very difficult to fly. It all depends on the choice of the pilot's seat. You can successfully fly 2 km in the morning, and two hours later fly 300 meters at the same place. The radio environment is changing a lot. In New York, I would choose the roof of a tall building as a starting point (theoretically). My city Kharkov is smaller than Kyiv and standing on the pavement (not on the building) in the city center I could fly only 3560 meters. It was a Mavic Air 1 with Wi-Fi, a modified antenna, 2 Watt, 5.8 GHz, FCC amplifier.
From the roof of a 9-storey building, a completely different level. 3-4 km on the same drone flew more calmly. The modified battery made it possible to stay in flight for 20 minutes and devote more time to video filming. Kharkiv is not New York, maybe I would refuse to fly in New York - I doubt my qualifications. New York is the highest level of aerobatics