Where are people in the Twin Cities area flying if you want to stay local and not have to notify?
- Thread starter Eslader
- Start date
@NorWiscPilot , Sometime in May or June I'd like to invite some folks to Nickerson MN for a meet. It's two hours north of the twin cities but you'd swear you pulled into rural Louisiana or Alabama,,, but for the nor-hoosker accents of my friends and family. Lots of swamps but they'er all gator and poisonous snake free. Most importantly,,, no yellow circles of helli-pads or airports, etc within 20 miles. We do have copious numbers of wood ticks. My folks live on 200 acres that boarders the Nemadji State Forrest. I have yet to look up restrictions for flying on state land...
I'd like to plan one sooner but,,, As winter is ending, the frost will soon heave from the sand ridges that make up the roads out there. There is no getting down the driveway without FWD for about 2 or three weeks depending on how much snow we've had. This year was among the snowiest we've seen for a while.
When I plan this I'm going to have to limit it to perhaps 10 fliers, knowhatimean. If anyone here in YuneecPilots land would like to be informed about this meet, please drop me a personal note and I will start a list. For a first meet, I'd like to keep it more on the private side and perhaps plan a more public one later.
cc @Eslader , @Steve Carr , @Good time Charlie , @thoneter
I'd like to plan one sooner but,,, As winter is ending, the frost will soon heave from the sand ridges that make up the roads out there. There is no getting down the driveway without FWD for about 2 or three weeks depending on how much snow we've had. This year was among the snowiest we've seen for a while.
When I plan this I'm going to have to limit it to perhaps 10 fliers, knowhatimean. If anyone here in YuneecPilots land would like to be informed about this meet, please drop me a personal note and I will start a list. For a first meet, I'd like to keep it more on the private side and perhaps plan a more public one later.
cc @Eslader , @Steve Carr , @Good time Charlie , @thoneter
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State forests, then, appear to be the most drone-friendly public lands in Minnesota. Still, officials discourage buzzing campgrounds in state forests, which also may contain private or government property within their boundaries.
More drones roam Minnesota sky, raising questions about their use. Here are some answers.
State parks OK? State forests? The BWCA? Answers about their safe and legal use in the outdoors.
www.startribune.com
Hmm... Being a cantankerous sort I'd argue some technicality....but also being a rather frugal sort who doesn't like fines, I'll be taking the Port Authority site off my fly list. Thank you for the correction.
The Port Authority lies in the river corridor between Brooklyn Park and MPLS airspace. I can't imagine a drone impacting a recreational corridor more than an industrial waste dump or the barges that have been docking at those sites for decades..... but hey, who am I to argue with yellow squiggly lines representing Fed Authority over a protected river area?
Good News Folks ! ! 
! !
I have the answer to a question I posted earlier in this thread. I came up empty handed trying to find UAV rules on the MNRRA website:
Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (U.S. National Park Service)
So I clicked on the "Contact Us" tab and asked my question:
Subject: Recreational flying of UAV or Drone within the boundaries of the MNRRA
Thank you for taking my questions. There is some debate as to where you can and can not fly a UAV within the boundaries of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. There is an abandoned industrial sight soon to be managed by the Minneapolis Park system on the old Port Authority location in North Minneapolis. This location is within the boundaries of the MNRRA. Is it ok to fly a drone here? Is it ok to fly a drone anywhere within the boundaries of the MNRRA assuming one has permission form any airport within a 5 mile radius and following all rules set forth by the FAA 336 or 107 regulations governing UAVs. Thanks in advance David Tousley
Here is the reply:
Re: From NPS.gov:
Recreational flying of UAV or Drone within the boundaries of the MNRRA
Stierler, Rory <[email protected]>
Mar 28, 2019, 11:26 AM (19 hours ago)
to me, Kyle
Hello David, I am pretty sure you are talking about Upper Harbor Terminal. You do not need permission from the NPS/MNRRA to fly a drone there.
It is a blanket federal policy for every National Park unit to not allow launching, landing, and operation of unmanned aircraft on lands and waters administered by the NPS. Luckily for us though, we only administer a small landbase at Coldwater Spring and 9 river islands. So, just don't operate at Coldwater Spring, which I don't think should be an issue.
Coldwater Spring - Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (U.S. National Park Service)
www.nps.gov
-Rory
cc @Good time Charlie @Eslader @AH-1G
! ! I have the answer to a question I posted earlier in this thread. I came up empty handed trying to find UAV rules on the MNRRA website:
Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (U.S. National Park Service)
So I clicked on the "Contact Us" tab and asked my question:
Subject: Recreational flying of UAV or Drone within the boundaries of the MNRRA
Thank you for taking my questions. There is some debate as to where you can and can not fly a UAV within the boundaries of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. There is an abandoned industrial sight soon to be managed by the Minneapolis Park system on the old Port Authority location in North Minneapolis. This location is within the boundaries of the MNRRA. Is it ok to fly a drone here? Is it ok to fly a drone anywhere within the boundaries of the MNRRA assuming one has permission form any airport within a 5 mile radius and following all rules set forth by the FAA 336 or 107 regulations governing UAVs. Thanks in advance David Tousley
Here is the reply:
Re: From NPS.gov:
Recreational flying of UAV or Drone within the boundaries of the MNRRA
Stierler, Rory <[email protected]>
Mar 28, 2019, 11:26 AM (19 hours ago)
to me, Kyle
Hello David, I am pretty sure you are talking about Upper Harbor Terminal. You do not need permission from the NPS/MNRRA to fly a drone there.
It is a blanket federal policy for every National Park unit to not allow launching, landing, and operation of unmanned aircraft on lands and waters administered by the NPS. Luckily for us though, we only administer a small landbase at Coldwater Spring and 9 river islands. So, just don't operate at Coldwater Spring, which I don't think should be an issue.
Coldwater Spring - Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (U.S. National Park Service)
Unmanned Aircraft in the National Parks (U.S. National Park Service)
Information about unmanned aircraft (or drone) use in national parks.
www.nps.gov
cc @Good time Charlie @Eslader @AH-1G
That's excellent news! Really opens up possibilities around here. Thanks for doing the legwork on that.
Indeed! I plan to print this letter and keep it in my log book for the day someone tells me I cant fly in the MNRRA.
Thank you. Really nice piece of legwork. I'm going to do the same with the letter. Felt like I was pushing it at the Port Authority site. Then after posting and having a few corrections pointed out I was getting a little nervous. This news cheers me up greatly.
Coldwater is down by Ft. Snelling right under MSP airport. I've seen a couple vids of people flying there and at Minnehaha Falls (which is close by). No thanks. I think they're nuts.
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Flew at Northwoods Park in Brooklyn Park this weekend. I only had to notify Mercy Hospital in Anoka. Did about half an hour of setup including the initial GPS almanac, then flew it for about an hour using 3 batteries down to storage voltage.
Good open place to test-fly as long as there aren't sporting events going on. Near the end of my flight, the baseball team that had been practicing several hundred yards away on the baseball diamonds decided they just *had* to come practice on the soccer field where I was flying. That was kind of obnoxious, but by the time they got too close I was finished with the third battery anyway.
Good open place to test-fly as long as there aren't sporting events going on. Near the end of my flight, the baseball team that had been practicing several hundred yards away on the baseball diamonds decided they just *had* to come practice on the soccer field where I was flying. That was kind of obnoxious, but by the time they got too close I was finished with the third battery anyway.
