Criminal charges on 2 pilots

Helipad is not an airport. Not even the FAA would suggest it is.

They do "suggest" it in their iOS app. It warns me that my location is within the 5 mile airport requirement. All "airports" listed are heliports.
 
They do "suggest" it in their iOS app. It warns me that my location is within the 5 mile airport requirement. All "airports" listed are heliports.

I saw that. B4UFLY is flawed. The FAA doesn't have guidance on heliports for drones. They need to. They're not the same and the FAA does not treat them the same in any other respect outside of B4UFLY. A 5 mile perimeter around a heliport is ridiculous.
 
I saw that. B4UFLY is flawed. The FAA doesn't have guidance on heliports for drones. They need to. They're not the same and the FAA does not treat them the same in any other respect outside of B4UFLY. A 5 mile perimeter around a heliport is ridiculous.

I totally agree, but my concern is that the LAPD considers them airports as noted in the topic of this thread. I'm not sure where they're getting that from.
 
LAPD didn't follow any FAA regulations to arrest these guys. They went by the local ordinance which also doesn't mention heliports. Bottom line is a heliport is not an airport. The FAA defines them differently. Trying to consider them the same would fail in court. It would be like saying a motorcycle is a car.

If you look at it closely, it is likely the two drone operators were cited with interfering with a manned aircraft. Either way, it makes for an interesting case as the LAPD and the City of Los Angeles don't have jurisdiction over the safety of the airspace.

I certainly would not take this incident as precedent for staying 5 miles from helipads. 1. Enforcement does not set precedent. 2. FAA has different rules for heliports than for airports. 3. No mention of heliports in any regulatory, state or local laws with respect to drones.
 
Without a doubt these types of charges will continue to crop up, setting the stage for the federal courts to be involved. I'm sure it's all going to take years to settle if it in the federal system. At least where I live, so far airspace is considered federal jurisdiction despite I'm not able to fly from any park in my area. Though I can fly over it from other places.

Unfortunately some of these charges site federal restrictions and if they are found guilty is going to be the problem for them on any appeal. I'm not sure what to think about the heliport stuff, my understanding is they are yellow advisory zones in the knowB4Ufly FAA app.
 
I suspect there's a misunderstanding here (at least I hope so) .... section 6(c)1 of Section 56.31 to Article 6 of Chapter V of the L.A. Muni Code says "No Person shall operate any Model Aircraft or Civil UAS with the City of Los Angeles in a manner that is prohibited by any federal statue or regulation governing aeronautics". If we can assume that Know Before You Fly (developed by FAA & AMA) Safety Guidelines rule here, they say "Fly no closer than two nautical miles from a heliport with a published instrument flight procedure".
I hope it was the NOT the intent of the LA City Attorney to effectively make every UAV flight in LA City illegal because there was a heliport within 2 miles.
For example; the guy accused of flying over 400 feet near Griffith Park was most likely cited for his flying too high and they decided to add the charge of flying too close to a Heliport (although the story announced by the City Attorney says he was flying less than 3 miles from the Children's Hospital Heliport which would seem okay if it was more than 2 miles). This is a guess: perhaps he was flying near the Hollywood sign (a popular place for new UAV pilots) and the local neighbors complained. I just don't see the LAPD going around and hassling every drone the see flying around unless the pilot is doing something very wrong.
 
I'll give you weather....

But those "beautiful women"? Careful....Most of them out there aren't what they appear to be it's said :D
 
I'm not a conspiracy theorist or the like, but I wouldn't put it past a Ghetto Bird pilot to lie about flight interference and get you busted. Just because he could do it.
 
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Read the article and is was about what's just happened . Yer he's been done for flying round a helli pad . But that's in the past . And may be the faa are going down the lines of .

A designated area for a air craft to hand would or could be classed as an airport . Governments do have ways of changing the rules to suit them


Liverpool - England

Neil Cee
 
I think we have been going about this the wrong way.....why can't we register our take-off point as a helipad and have the other BIG and MANNED aircraft have to use caution and look for US in these areas. After all they have a much better prospective of the airspace than we do.

I am at a loss about the double standard the FAA is using, UAS is considered an "aircraft", but we are not really "aircraft". If we were, we could certify our take-off spot as a legal helipad and be listed in the NAS.
 
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I think we have been going about this the wrong way.....why can't we register our take-off point as a helipad and have the other BIG and MANNED aircraft have to use caution and look for US in these areas. After all they have a much better prospective of the airspace than we do.

I am at a loss about the double standard the FAA is using, UAS is considered an "aircraft", but we are not really "aircraft". If we were, we could certify our take-off spot as a legal helipad and be listed in the NAS.
There is a huge difference. We are unmanned, they are manned. Unmanned aircraft will always be required to yield to manned aircraft - just as it should be.
 
I think we have been going about this the wrong way.....why can't we register our take-off point as a helipad and have the other BIG and MANNED aircraft have to use caution and look for US in these areas. After all they have a much better prospective of the airspace than we do.

I am at a loss about the double standard the FAA is using, UAS is considered an "aircraft", but we are not really "aircraft". If we were, we could certify our take-off spot as a legal helipad and be listed in the NAS.

I don't think I could possibly agree less. There is a vast difference between manned and unmanned aircraft. The big one being the risk of loss of life. The chances of you walking away from a UAV crash is pretty **** high. The chance of someone walking away from a manned aircraft crash is **** slim.

We (UAVs) should be staying out of their way. Its really that simple. Unfortunately some operators seem to be in the mental attitude that they are on the on-ramp of a freeway with the attitude that the cars on the freeway should be yielding to them. Apparently some UAV pilots and drivers apparently don't understand the concept of YIELD.

Seems that lately (past few decades) that common sense isn't so common anymore. And I don't mean that directly at UAV operators, its directed at society in general. Everyone involved, both the FAA and UAV operators are being stupid sometimes. I mean the FAA and DJI forcing NFZs down our throats where it has no business doing so (ie below tree lines and the like) and UAV ops flying around at 1k poking the FAA bear. Well, the bear is awake now. Good job people.
 
I'm going to respect the FAA app's definition that heliports are airports. And if I can't find a way to contact them, I won't fly in that area.
 
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night flights rule
 
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