Drone friendly areas

[klattu]

Passing this information on...
Dead Horse State Park in Moab, Utah lets you fly with a $10 permit.
A few rules to follow, all normal as you would expect.
we really lucked out as it was a clear day with no wind !

Not know how to add images yet.

 

[BobW55]

I so wish more parks would do this.
Good for the enthusiast that want to film a scenic area, and good for some income for the park.

 

[Atomic08]

Bob...
For the last year plus a friend and I have approached many state parks in upstate NY to get drone permits and permissions to fly stating free publicity for the parks with a negative response. Seems like they don't want to be bothered with the hassle of a new job to do. The younger rangers don't mind and have been enthusiastic and enjoy any flights we have done with them, but the elders are set in their ways and don't want to be bothered, and don't want to talk with us. The most common response we have been told is they don't want to give permits and then have to go into the gorges and retrieve crashed drones. They also state eagle nest as a problem as they don't want them disturbed. In addition they state that hikers don't want to be disturbed with the tranquility of the parks. I can see their conerns but their unwillingness to listen bothers us.
I have been in connect with a local Elks Club to have a Drone Day at a local reservoir in the Fall but it has been slow going.
No real input here, but just letting everyone know what I have found out and have been trying !
Any suggestions or help would be helpful !

 

[rdonson]

Atomic08, have you tried some of the local smaller parks? Maybe Whitney Point, Dorchester or Chenango State Park? Not as exciting as Watkins Glen or others with gorges or such but it might be a way to create some good will and meet park rangers who might have contacts to help you at the other parks.

BTW, I grew up in Binghamton

 

[Rubik]

Klattu, you got better response than I did.

I recently requested permission to fly recreationally over a state park in eastern Washington State. I got a friendly response stating that I needed to submit an application for a permit. The application must be submitted at least 2 weeks before the flight and accompanied by a $25 check. The application process also requires that I submit proof of $1M insurance with the State Parks named as an additional insured. Finally, I would need to obtain permission from the specific park staff.

That seems like a lot of red tape for a recreational flight. It's as though the process is designed to discourage people like me.

 

[FlushVision]

I'm fortunate in having an ongoing consent to fly over some conservation moorland not too far from me on the Pennine Moors. In return I do some free flights for the conservation group that oversees the area. A small price to pay for the privilege of being the only pilot legally allowed to fly such a stunning area (I have no doubt that others fly it but without permission). The only restriction is that I can't fly during nesting season...March - July.

 

[Santa]

Has anyone in Southern Nevada had any experience flying at Red Rock or the Valley of Fire state parks? Thinking about going there to video but wonder if there is any advice first.

On a related subject, how does the H perform when you are above it rather than it above you? In other words, if you are standing on a peak and fly the H into a valley or gorge, will it respond appropriately when it's elevation is below where you are standing?

 

[FlushVision]

Has anyone in Southern Nevada had any experience flying at Red Rock or the Valley of Fire state parks? Thinking about going there to video but wonder if there is any advice first.

On a related subject, how does the H perform when you are above it rather than it above you? In other words, if you are standing on a peak and fly the H into a valley or gorge, will it respond appropriately when it's elevation is below where you are standing?

Can't say anything about Red Rock or the Valley of Fire state parks. I live in England. However, regarding flying the aircraft at height below your take off point look at this thread:
Flying off a cliff

 

[Atomic08]

Atomic08, have you tried some of the local smaller parks? Maybe Whitney Point, Dorchester or Chenango State Park? Not as exciting as Watkins Glen or others with gorges or such but it might be a way to create some good will and meet park rangers who might have contacts to help you at the other parks.

BTW, I grew up in Binghamton

rdonson...We have flown a lot at Dorchester over and around the ***. Fall is the best time to fly there. That is where we are trying to have a drone day.
Flown over the college and around Goudy Station. (now closed)
Best place I like to fly is the south hills of Vestal by the Pa border.
Been kicked out of Cannonsville and Downsville reservoirs ! ( found out they are patroled by the NYC Water Department ! )
I have a friend I fly with and he puts a lot of short videos on Youtube.( he has more time than I do ! )
If you have been a way for a while, check out some of his videos

He is also a diver and travels the world and posts dive videos of some of the strange sea creatures he finds!
Nice meeting someone from home !

 

[Rubik]

rdonson...We have flown a lot at Dorchester over and around the ***. Fall is the best time to fly there. That is where we are trying to have a drone day.
Flown over the college and around Goudy Station. (now closed)
Best place I like to fly is the south hills of Vestal by the Pa border.
Been kicked out of Cannonsville and Downsville reservoirs ! ( found out they are patroled by the NYC Water Department ! )
I have a friend I fly with and he puts a lot of short videos on Youtube.( he has more time than I do ! )
If you have been a way for a while, check out some of his videos

He is also a diver and travels the world and posts dive videos of some of the strange sea creatures he finds!
Nice meeting someone from home !

Judging from this video, he does nice work!

 

[klattu]

Found another drone friendly area...
Goosenecks State Park just north of Mexican Hat, Utah...in the Monument Valley vacinty. Can fly November to April without permit.
It was very beautiful flying from there. The river makes 3 U turns right off the viewing area.
Typhoon does fly below your elevation...and regain altitude.
Used 'Home' first time today...lost it in the Sun...retured to where i could see it again...it lowers landing gear itself...I took over after that.

 

[rdonson]

rdonson...We have flown a lot at Dorchester over and around the ***. Fall is the best time to fly there. That is where we are trying to have a drone day.
Flown over the college and around Goudy Station. (now closed)
Best place I like to fly is the south hills of Vestal by the Pa border.
Been kicked out of Cannonsville and Downsville reservoirs ! ( found out they are patroled by the NYC Water Department ! )
I have a friend I fly with and he puts a lot of short videos on Youtube.( he has more time than I do ! )
If you have been a way for a while, check out some of his videos

He is also a diver and travels the world and posts dive videos of some of the strange sea creatures he finds!
Nice meeting someone from home !

Thanks so much for sharing! Binghamton never looked so good! Your friend did a great job on the video.

I moved to NC in 1979 thanks to IBM. I haven't visited all that much over the years and not since my parents passed a few years ago. I still keep in touch with my cousin via Skype. He lives on 26 South near the PA border. I toured Goudy Station in high school. It was a trip to see in action but nobody misses the soot it used to dump on the fresh snow around there.

Yeah, NYC finally figured out all the clean, free water it gets from upstate needs to be protected so they got tight on the reservoirs less the upstaters pee in their water too much.

 

[klattu]

Photos from Goosenecks

 

[Rubik]

Moderator, this might be a good thread to make sticky. Hopefully, many people will share their drone-friendly areas.
Happy New Year! Thanks for moderating this excellent forum.

 

[AH-1G]

Good idea for sticky drone friendly areas Rubik

 

[klattu]

Federal Parks...across the board...NO DRONES
State Parks...sure...follow these rules and flight dates.

 

[AH-1G]

Federal Parks...across the board...NO DRONES
State Parks...sure...follow these rules and flight dates.

Here in Florida drones are off limits in some State Parks. Orange County Fl, and other county parks are off limits also.

 

[ChadSteele]

Drone friendly area is anywhere where there isn't anyone around and no laws against it
Anytime you fly and there is another person not known to you there will be the possibility of problems.
I head out into the wilderness to fly, if I see another person I won't fly there, and if I see anyone approaching I land and leave.
Its just not worth the hassle of dealing with the mentally inept, the chance of actually meeting someone nowadays who isn't a problem is rare.

 

[Rubik]

Drone friendly area is anywhere where there isn't anyone around and no laws against it
Anytime you fly and there is another person not known to you there will be the possibility of problems.
I head out into the wilderness to fly, if I see another person I won't fly there, and if I see anyone approaching I land and leave.
Its just not worth the hassle of dealing with the mentally inept, the chance of actually meeting someone nowadays who isn't a problem is rare.

Actually, I've had pretty good luck with public encounters. Even one fella who approached me with the intent of stopping my activity went away with acceptance that the drone did not pose a safety or security risk after all. Generally people are quite excited to see the screen showing a bird's eye view of their surroundings.
That said, I agree that we need to follow the rules for public safety and privacy.

 

[FlushVision]

Drone friendly area is anywhere where there isn't anyone around and no laws against it
Anytime you fly and there is another person not known to you there will be the possibility of problems.
I head out into the wilderness to fly, if I see another person I won't fly there, and if I see anyone approaching I land and leave.
Its just not worth the hassle of dealing with the mentally inept, the chance of actually meeting someone nowadays who isn't a problem is rare.

I agree. Whenever I'm doing a recreational flight I try to choose a place with as few people around as possible...non would be ideal for me. In England, though, such places with no-one else around are few and far between. Often is the time I've taken off at a place when there's been no-one else in sight only to have someone appear out of what seems no-where walking straight towards me. Indeed, I remember one time having a flight in a place called Hague Gutter on the Pennine moors flying a P2V+. No-one in sight at take-off but about 10 minutes in I was surrounded by a group of walkers advising me not to fly it over a prison...the nearest prison being about 20 miles away!

With so few places in England that one can fly without the risk of someone turning up out of no-where it would be difficult to get any flights in at all if I were to pack up and leave every time someone turns up. All one can do, then, is fly away from them and hope that they don't come close.

I've had a few negative encounters, but not many. Usually flying safely and responsibly does the trick. However, there are always those around that are prepared for a confrontation, no matter how safely or legally you are flying...their only mission in life being trying to stop others from having a bit of fun. Having said that, I've also had some very positive encounters. Some folk are genuinely interested in what you are doing. OK, I don't like it when they stand next to me while i'm controlling the aircraft, and I tend to land when they do so (nothing worse than being distracted even if the person is being positive).

On the other hand, a commercial operation is quite another beast. You have to fly where the client directs (within the law and safety limits), so there is a lot less scope for picking and choosing a field of operations to avoid human contact. That's where erecting a cordon can come in handy.