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No fly zones...

Joined
Dec 28, 2017
Messages
272
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Age
72
Location
Westinster, CO
Here’s my story. My kids got me a drone for Christmas (yep, nice kids). It was a Holy Stone HS100 (Amazon had great reviews of this drone, which they read before buying, but turns out HS gives you a FREE battery if you post a review on Amazon - so while lot's of good reviews, some are misleading). It's a decent GPS drone ($275ish). As I’ve been flying RC planes and helicopters for 30 years, this seemed to be an extension to this hobby - which I had not ever considered. I was pretty excited. There were a few issues I did not like about the HS100, the main one being the charge time, 300+ minutes! I decided to send it back to Amazon and started doing research on drones. Lots to chose from. I decided to use a bit extra money and get the DJI Spark. Every review indicated great features - as well as many I personally spoke with about the Spark. The “fly more” kit brought the total up to the $600 mark, but “ok” I was clearly into RC anyway. During the 'send-back-time' over Christmas I continued to do research. I was very disappointed in what I found. All those neat videos you see promoting drones of all types were somewhat misleading! Looking at the web sites that show locations “where you can legally fly a drone”, 90% of the nice places were crossed off! Can’t fly there!! Very discouraging. So, I decided, just before ordering a $600 DJI Spark, I’d test the waters a bit and got the Breeze. I have no regrets (after 2 days). It’s a great little drone that charges fast, and I have 3 batteries with the controller. I like it so far (the past 2 days).

So, what are you all doing about all the no-fly zones and nice places (scenic) to take video? I’d like to head to Estes Park (Colorado) and shoot neat video, but can't - National Park, can't fly within 5 miles of Any airport, Heli port, and they are all over the place. Can't fly most anywhere. Sure, I can fly at my R/C club, but that's not fun, not much to see.

Interested in your comments.

Thanks
 
can't fly within 5 miles of Any airport, Heli port, and they are all over the place. Can't fly most anywhere.
There is a huge difference between flying DJI products and Yuneec. The only place you will encounter a problem with airports is near the major ones in the US. There are only 166 listed in the Yuneec database. Yuneec places the responsibility on the pilot to know where they can fly safely. This map is being constantly updated by the FAA so that you can determine what is a safe altitude to fly in a particular area. ArcGIS Web Application

It does not include places where there are local restrictions. Also, flying over open bodies of water requires special attention by the pilot. Manned aircraft have no low altitude limit in most cases. Locations where helicopters may be operating are important as well. While I live in a remote area, the pipeline next to me is often inspected by low flying copters.

There are lots of great locations you can fly without restrictions. The best video is always below 200' anyway and lower than 100' in most locations.

List of airports in the Yuneec database. Remove the .txt file extension so you can open this in a spreadsheet.
 

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Here are two screen shots of Denver Colorado area where 107's and recreational drone pilots are restricted both red and yellow. Notice recreational drone pilot have more restricted areas in yellow.
All the more reason to be 107 certified.
 

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  • Denver Colorado Area Comercial Recreational Pilot.png
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Thanks for your comments. While there are differences between DJI and Yuneec products not many ‘authorities’ will know this as they will view any drone as ‘the same’. Trying to educate these people will be useless as they have ‘their orders’.

I see the replies as supporting the statement ‘flight areas are very limited’. This is unfortunate for all of us. I do plan to use my Breeze while kayaking/ fishing at the lake I visit at least 3x per week in the summer months. I’ll attach floats just in case but plan to launch from the kayak, a 12’ large kayak, with hand catch landing or landing on the lake near me for quick retrieval. In the mean time I have a lot of practice to do. I’m hoping all the pre programmed sequences work! I’ll be trying these out in the next days in a large open field.
 
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Most likely the second pic, those extra yellow shaded areas you can get away with flying the drone.
Just keep an eye on for extra helicopters and private airfields.
The 1st pic, with out permission that's a no no
 
I would download the B4UFLY App, it's available on Playstore, not sure about Apple. The App tells you about any restriction on your location. This is a must have to keep you complient.
 
I would download the B4UFLY App, it's available on Playstore, not sure about Apple. The App tells you about any restriction on your location. This is a must have to keep you complient.
Actually I would stay with something like UAVforecast. The B4UFLY app listed every abandoned airstrip in the US. It was commissioned by the FAA and almost appears to discourage flying anywhere. I promptly deleted it as most other pilots have done.
 
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Actually I would stay with something like UAVforecast. The B4UFLY app listed every abandoned airstrip in the US. It was commissioned by the FAA and almost appears to discourage flying anywhere. I promptly deleted it as most other pilots have done.
Thanks, I will check it out.
 
Steve’s assessment of B4UFly is correct. It’s the map DJI used for their no fly data base, and grossly inaccurate.
 
UAVforcast is cool; thanks. Okay, where can I learn more about flying within the small airport and heliport zones. Height or distance limits?
 
I use both UAVforcast and AirMap. The before you fly app had the local airport 5 mile radius way past my subdivision down the road from me. The UAVforcast and AirMap have the airport about a mile north of my subdivision. The before you fly probably had it a mile or more south of my subdivision. I was really surprised at the number of Heliports and private airstrips around my area in Georgia. I get the main airport and helicopter pads at the hospitals and police stations but I see a lot of Heliports around me and hardly ever see a helicopter flying during the years I have lived here.
 

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