Airport/Tower Notification

[theonlyjuan98]

Hi everyone, I was just curious as to what information must one provide an airport/tower for flying in their zones? I'm trying to write up a basic template for new drone pilots and I could use your input! That way, calls to airports/permission-only zones would be streamlined, only take a few minutes, and encourage pilots to call before flights.

If you've notified an airport before, what was your experience like?

Thanks for your help!

 

[msinger]

I was just curious as to what information must one provide an airport/tower for flying in their zones?

Check out this article:
Best Practices for Flying your Drone within Five Miles of an Airport

 

[Tafische]

Good question. The above article from theonlyjuan98 is great.

You will get very mixed results. Some have tried to be respectful and contacted even the smallest airport or heliport and received "drones are unsafe, I will never approve them"....while others get a very nice guy that says "hey no problem, as long as you are under x feet no problem".

The law is somewhat vague. Technically a voicemail or email may be sufficient as notification depending on how you interpret the law. Others look at the hours of operation and decide to fly when the tower or operations is not open so they are "legal"

Unfortunately it is not a cut and dry experience and your mileage will vary. Error on the side of caution and make smart choices and you will likely be OK. I flew within 5 miles of a small airport the other day when ops was closed, but it was around a river and I kept it below the tree line where an aircraft would never go. Again - smart choices.

Enjoy your flight....

 

[Soarmax]

I contacted my local airport (I'm about 3 miles away) and was told to just TEXT them my Name, Location, Start Time, Duration, and Altitude. Just those five items. I think they are assuming that I would be flying a Quad. I'm sure they would return my Text or call me if there was any problems.

 

[cozzykim]

There's no general practice that will cover all airfields and all countries, so seems to be a waste of time to me, sorry.

 

[pmshop]

Here is what works - and it will under all conditions in the USA:
Just like mentioned before, tell the airport your name, time, distance & direction from, altitude and duration
Remember, you are NOT asking permission.
As a hobbyist under section 336, you are informing them of the flight.
Use that line as last resort if you receive flack.
They have zero authority to refuse a flight UNLESS there is a TFR or some other restriction you are not aware of.
Know where you want to fly.
For class B & C, know the NFZ core around the airport as applies and altitude restrictions as you move away from the core.
Some instances you can only fly up to 100ft in class B airspace.
The more you know, the more you can demonstrate you know what you are doing.

And I actually say in the case "drones are unsafe, I will never approve them" operator...
...go up anyway and if there is trouble "I tried to inform him of the flight but he seemed to think he had authority to deny the flight for no just cause".

Knowledge is key!