Wow, all of Md. is restricted air space

[Konablu]

Am in the Silver Spring are of Maryland to visit my daughter. I brought my Mini SE for her to see/fly. Come to find out all of the airspace in her sorrounding area is restricted. Holy crap I literally could not find a place to fly with her.

 

[mavic3usa]

You're near DC; surely you knew this?

 

[Phantomrain.org]

I remember when I was in DC and these Truckers were on there way to the Capital and they had Tanks on every Corner and there was no doubt in my mind that they would have blown a DJI drone out of the sky. DC is no joke after that last Riot.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain. Land on the Water, and fly as far away as you can from Washington .

 

[BobaFut]

Am in the Silver Spring are of Maryland to visit my daughter. I brought my Mini SE for her to see/fly. Come to find out all of the airspace in her sorrounding area is restricted. Holy crap I literally could not find a place to fly with her.

The FRZ only extends 15 miles from National Airport in Arlington, VA. You can drive 15 minutes north from downtown Silver Spring and fly to your heart‘s content.

 

[15PSI]

There are plenty of places to fly in northern and western Montgomery County. Also in Frederick County, I lived in Maryland for many years and thankfully there are many legal spots not close to airports. The FRZ for DCA and IAD were put in place on Sept 11, 2001 and do extend approx. 15 nautical miles (17 statute). I am also limited by my proximity to JYO in Leesburg. Good luck and safe flying.

 

[BobaFut]

There are plenty of places to fly in northern and western Montgomery County. Also in Frederick County, I lived in Maryland for many years and thankfully there are many legal spots not close to airports. The FRZ for DCA and IAD were put in place on Sept 11, 2001 and do extend approx. 15 nautical miles (17 statute). I am also limited by my proximity to JYO in Leesburg. Good luck and safe flying.

I'm partial to VA for a host of reasons, but I will say that the northern Virginia parks are generally much more accepting of drones than their MD counterparts. Basically, any non-State Park in northern Virginia is okay to fly (NOVA Parks explicitly allows drones), but a lot of county and regional parks in suburban MD, at least in MoCo, are no-launch zones (Howard County seems to allow drones in the sense that they are not explicitly forbidden).

 

[Smooth Rhythm]

There are plenty of places to fly in northern and western Montgomery County. Also in Frederick County, I lived in Maryland for many years and thankfully there are many legal spots not close to airports. The FRZ for DCA and IAD were put in place on Sept 11, 2001 and do extend approx. 15 nautical miles (17 statute). I am also limited by my proximity to JYO in Leesburg. Good luck and safe flying.

15PSI: I live in Laurel, Maryland, two miles outside of the inner 15 mile ring. I feel your frustration about the SFRA, but I have found plenty of areas close by in which I can fly.
The FAA website at https://www.faa.gov/uas/resources/community_engagement/no_drone_zone/dc says this about the SFRA: It is “divided into a 15-mile radius inner ring and a 30-mile radius outer ring. … Flying an unmanned aircraft within the 15-mile radius inner ring is prohibited without specific FAA authorization.”

I saw no notice on the website about any distinction about statute versus nautical miles. Where did you get that reference? Enjoy safe and happy flying!

 

[mavic3usa]

I think the poster said he couldn't find a place and not there doesn't exist a place. When you live in a wide-open area like me where there are almost no restrictions for hundreds of miles and therefore you are super picky about where you will plop down and start flying, finding a suitable location in the DC metro area might feel like a nightmare. Kinda doesn't matter how much free space is open if all the places you want to fly are restricted.

 

[Smooth Rhythm]

I think the poster said he couldn't find a place and not there doesn't exist a place. When you live in a wide-open area like me where there are almost no restrictions for hundreds of miles and therefore you are super picky about where you will plop down and start flying, finding a suitable location in the DC metro area might feel like a nightmare. Kinda doesn't matter how much free space is open if all the places you want to fly are restricted.

mavic3usa, I appreciate your comment, but unless I completely missed something or my writing is that bad, I don’t quite understand your comment. I never implied that “no flying areas exist.” I am aware that Konablu said “he could not find …,” hence, I replied using the same verb, “I have found …” I was simply trying to be helpful to a fellow Marylander, rather than throwing out a curt answer with no citations.

Actually, I want to let Konablu know he was correct with the nautical vs statute reference. The original FAA site I provided was dated August 7, 2019, but I found the correct site, dated March 10, 2021,
https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/restricted-airspace-0?newsId=24154
which states “the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area Special Flight Rules Area (DC SFRA) is roughly a circular area with a 30 nautical mile (about 33 statute miles) radius around Washington, D.C., and surrounds the Flight-Restricted Zone (FRZ).” Thanks for pointing that out, Konablu. Enjoy safe and happy flying!

 

[mavic3usa]

mavic3usa, I appreciate your comment, but unless I completely missed something or my writing is that bad, I don’t quite understand your comment. I never implied that “no flying areas exist.” I am aware that Konablu said “he could not find …,” hence, I replied using the same verb, “I have found …” I was simply trying to be helpful to a fellow Marylander, rather than throwing out a curt answer with no citations.

Actually, I want to let Konablu know he was correct with the nautical vs statute reference. The original FAA site I provided was dated August 7, 2019, but I found the correct site, dated March 10, 2021,
https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/restricted-airspace-0?newsId=24154
which states “the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area Special Flight Rules Area (DC SFRA) is roughly a circular area with a 30 nautical mile (about 33 statute miles) radius around Washington, D.C., and surrounds the Flight-Restricted Zone (FRZ).” Thanks for pointing that out, Konablu. Enjoy safe and happy flying!

Hey, actually I'm not even sure I saw your comment when I posted; no worries. I've been to places before where I get frustrated because it's not so easy to fly but when people come to where I live and say it's difficult, I feel the opposite probably because I live here. Same thing probably; you know the MD area better than most of us.

I see in your sig you mentioned a "Lost Aircraft Alarm." What is that? Right now, I'm using a ViFly Beacon/Finder.

 

[Smooth Rhythm]

Hey, actually I'm not even sure I saw your comment when I posted; no worries. I've been to places before where I get frustrated because it's not so easy to fly but when people come to where I live and say it's difficult, I feel the opposite probably because I live here. Same thing probably; you know the MD area better than most of us.

I see in your sig you mentioned a "Lost Aircraft Alarm." What is that? Right now, I'm using a ViFly Beacon/Finder.

No problem, mavic3usa. To possibly help if my drone goes down, say, in the brush or a where where vision is compromised, I use the Arc XL with Built in Lost Aircraft Alarm. It is a Drone Strobe Anti Collision Light. You can review it here:
dji drone strobe light anti collision light
Enjoy safe and happy flying!

 

[Konablu]

You're near DC; surely you knew this?

Nope I live in Ct was just visiting Md…

 

[JD1964]

Im in central Maryland and I can fly in my neighborhood. My house is directly under the Approach to BWI Airport runway 33. Over me, they are most often on the approach to land (heading NW) rather than departing on take off. The approaching planes of the major carriers are at roughly 2000’ altitude when the pass over my house. I get a fly with caution message but no other restriction beyond my default 400’ limit. The caution limits are 492’ on the message from my yard.

I went to Lowes for some hardware this morning at 6:15 am. That store is also on the same approach to runway 33 as my house although its much closer to the airport. Planes are under 1000’ at that point. I had my MM1 with me and out of curiosity I thought I would give it a try at that location. I went way over to the farthest vacant part of the lot and paired up the drone. No go, restricted. Motors would not start. Its what I expected.

 

[lookout]

15PSI: I live in Laurel, Maryland, two miles outside of the inner 15 mile ring. I feel your frustration about the SFRA, but I have found plenty of areas close by in which I can fly.
The FAA website at https://www.faa.gov/uas/resources/community_engagement/no_drone_zone/dc says this about the SFRA: It is “divided into a 15-mile radius inner ring and a 30-mile radius outer ring. … Flying an unmanned aircraft within the 15-mile radius inner ring is prohibited without specific FAA authorization.”

I saw no notice on the website about any distinction about statute versus nautical miles. Where did you get that reference? Enjoy safe and happy flying!

In aviation and marine, you usually assume nautical miles, not statute like in an automobile.

 

[thearborist]

I live in northern Delaware. Every few weeks the usual restrictions (5-mile for local airport) are superseded by the FRZ when #46 is home for the weekend. Surpised me the first time I couldn't fly from my backyard, but now its routine to just check B4UFLY.

 

[BobaFut]

I live in northern Delaware. Every few weeks the usual restrictions (5-mile for local airport) are superseded by the FRZ when #46 is home for the weekend. Surpised me the first time I couldn't fly from my backyard, but now its routine to just check B4UFLY.

I get emails from the FAA *constantly* about flight restrictions from POTUS movements. Not sure where I signed up for that, but it’s an option somewhere in DroneZone.

 

[BobaFut]

I get emails from the FAA *constantly* about flight restrictions from POTUS movements. Not sure where I signed up for that, but it’s an option somewhere in DroneZone.

Aaaaaaand literally got one 10 seconds after I submitted this reply.

 

[JD1964]

I get emails from the FAA *constantly* about flight restrictions from POTUS movements. Not sure where I signed up for that, but it’s an option somewhere in DroneZone.

Maybe it’s your proximity to the White House since Marine One would be active frequently from that location.

 

[BobaFut]

Maybe it’s your proximity to the White House since Marine One would be active frequently from that location.

They're actually VIP movements outside the DC area where TFRs will be in place. So I get them for places in Delaware almost once a week, as well as other various places across the US. This week I've gotten alerts for Hartford and Greenwich, CT and Philly. Marine One notifications would be moot since DC is permanently restricted airspace.

 

[TopDownDrones]

I live in northern Delaware. Every few weeks the usual restrictions (5-mile for local airport) are superseded by the FRZ when #46 is home for the weekend. Surpised me the first time I couldn't fly from my backyard, but now its routine to just check B4UFLY.

I know. It's frustrating to plan on flying, only to be grounded when he is home. Luckily there are still good places to fly outside of the usual TFR zone.