FAA heliports

[skyhighdiver]

The new before you fly out fAA app is gone location crazy.
They consider every heliport a 5 mile radius airport which is totally ludicrous to have a 5 mile radius around every heliport and hospital for chrissakes 85% of Florida is a no fly zone by their rules this is got out of hand

 

[skyhighdiver]

Before the comments start I don't need to hear all you need to do is contact the airport and then you can fly.

I have tried this and a few locations now first thing they want is name and registration number then they say they are not allowing drones within the five-mile radius if I fly I will be in violation.

So as the FAA states all I have to do is advise the airport not ask for permission wondering what the outcome will be if I fly as I have advised them I'm going to fly in at what time and location and now they have my name and registration number.

Thinking I should've not registered and stayed as status quo fly where I want with safety and reason

 

[Richard W]

Just a plain dumb idea, and even dumber implementation ... duh!

 

[TrynFlyn]

Before the comments start I don't need to hear all you need to do is contact the airport and then you can fly.

I have tried this and a few locations now first thing they want is name and registration number then they say they are not allowing drones within the five-mile radius if I fly I will be in violation.

So as the FAA states all I have to do is advise the airport not ask for permission wondering what the outcome will be if I fly as I have advised them I'm going to fly in at what time and location and now they have my name and registration number.

Thinking I should've not registered and stayed as status quo fly where I want with safety and reason

You are correct, the FAA only requires notification not permission. You do not need to provide your registration number to anyone.

Only some areas do require permission,

"Model aircraft must not operate in Prohibited Areas, Special Flight Rule Areas or, the Washington National Capital Region Flight Restricted Zone, without specific authorization. Such areas are depicted on charts available at Aeronautical Information Services - AJV-5 "

 

[G.W. Hungerford]

Wouldn't it be nice if you could just put your flight location and time in the before you fly and it notified the airport / helipad for you. Instead you have to find the contact info, I get its easy for the larger airports but I have a few farm fields listed as airports and I think I will have to go knock on the door of the house to notify them.

 

[Stealth Tours]

Weren't we all told that "Airmap" in Santa Monica, Calif. was to be responsible for this? I tried to set up an account more than 2 weeks ago. Used their "contact" format, automatically sends an email verification email to click on then NOTHING HAPPENS. No one has ever answered my questions...This entire system is FLAWED.

 

[RocketBrew]

The FAA app shows that I am within 5 miles of an "Air Park" where residents fly in and taxi the plane to their house.
Looks like I will have to call every homeowner who lives there each time I fly!

 

[skyhighdiver]

You are correct, the FAA only requires notification not permission. You do not need to provide your registration number to anyone.

Only some areas do require permission,

"Model aircraft must not operate in Prohibited Areas, Special Flight Rule Areas or, the Washington National Capital Region Flight Restricted Zone, without specific authorization. Such areas are depicted on charts available at Aeronautical Information Services - AJV-5 "

Yes I realize this but when I call to advise them I will be flying they always ask for a name and registration number which the name was not really that issue I guess I can assume they're asking for the registration number as they are now required per the FAA and they're using that for a reference of who call themfor there must be a form they fill out or maybe they're filing a airmen Notam i'm not sure

 

[skyhighdiver]

Wouldn't it be nice if you could just put your flight location and time in the before you fly and it notified the airport / helipad for you. Instead you have to find the contact info, I get its easy for the larger airports but I have a few farm fields listed as airports and I think I will have to go knock on the door of the house to notify them.

For sure it pulls up the geographic information for the airport when you touch the information but there's no reason they couldn't have the airport and or tower phone numbers listed as well at the very least the hover app has some of thesephone numbers for main airport listed but not the stupid little heliports that are spread out every 5 miles when I want to fly at my house I need to advise one large airport two small airports and 4 helii pads just to take off from my house which is 4.97 miles from the main airport I have been flying phantoms out of my backyard for 3 1/2 years now I've never had an issue and never notified anybody now all of a sudden I have to call five people every time I want to fly I think not

 

[DaGunn]

I haven't found any reference to exactly what information I need to provide a heliport or airport manager when I call to notify them. I am 4.8 mi from a hospital.

 

[Phantomfreak]

What a ridiculous joke this whole thing has become.. I will never advise any **** airport when I want to fly.. Why, so they can tell me it's "not allowed" in the area and I would be in violation? No thanks, I'll just say nothing and fly sensibly.. Obviously any airport isn't going to want you flying a drone around, even if you are not near them, so they are going to want your reg. and tell you it's a violation.

 

[BigAl07]

I haven't found any reference to exactly what information I need to provide a heliport or airport manager when I call to notify them. I am 4.8 mi from a hospital.

Does the hospital have the heli stationed there full time or is it stationed out of another area and just transports to/from the hospital near you? World of difference between those two but both should be addressed accordingly.

 

[alokbhargava]

Try to use Go App simulator for few minutes and see if it erases the cache on your RC and downloads the fresh NFZs. Try it, you won't lose anything.

 

[DaGunn]

Does the hospital have the heli stationed there full time or is it stationed out of another area and just transports to/from the hospital near you? World of difference between those two but both should be addressed accordingly.

Small town hospital, doubt if they can afford a helicopter let alone helicopter pilots. The Trauma center is located about 15 miles away. I downloaded the B4uFly app and noticed I was in a helipad zone.

 

[BigAl07]

Small town hospital, doubt if they can afford a helicopter let alone helicopter pilots. The Trauma center is located about 15 miles away. I downloaded the B4uFly app and noticed I was in a helipad zone.

If you go talk to their "Security" dept they can probably give you the name of the company that manages/schedules the MediVac. That's the same thing I have here. I live close to the hospital and they have a heliport but the aircraft is stationed 25 miles away. I got the right people and have a direct line of communication with the flight scheduling team so if I am close to hospital I let them know. They keep my # on hand just in case they are coming my way while I'm flying. It's worked great thus far.

 

[joe21]

You are correct, the FAA only requires notification not permission. You do not need to provide your registration number to anyone.

That's what I thought until recently.

According to dronelawjournal.com :

Providing "notice" alone is no longer enough. You must provide prior notice to ATC or Airport Operations whenever you fly within 5 miles of any airport, heliport, etc. However, ATC may say you may not fly in that location. It is arguable that this amounts to obtaining permission as opposed to simply providing notice.

(emphasis mine).

I don't know the answer (not sure anyone does because this is all up in the air - no pun intended). People may want to tread carefully if they are denied authorization to fly when notifying the "tower." Doing so results in providing your contact information and if they say "no" you can expect a knock on your door if they believe there is something in their airspace.

 

[DaGunn]

I must be the only person in central PA that doesn't have a heliport! They are everywhere.

 

[ianwood]

5 miles around heliports is crazy. I don't see any reference to it in the AC 91-57a or anywhere else.

 

[Mark The Droner]

A week ago the

Weren't we all told that "Airmap" in Santa Monica, Calif. was to be responsible for this? I tried to set up an account more than 2 weeks ago. Used their "contact" format, automatically sends an email verification email to click on then NOTHING HAPPENS. No one has ever answered my questions...This entire system is FLAWED.

A week ago, airmap was showing a yellow circle about 1.5 miles in diameter around a hospital 2 miles from me. Fine. Now it's not showing anything other than the hospital itself. The yellow circle stops at the edge of their parking lot.

It appears to me nobody knows what the hell is going on. And that includes the FAA.

Meanwhile I read this article this morning:

NTSB says ice on wings caused 2014 Gaithersburg plane crash that killed 6

Did you know there are over 1,000 small manned aircraft crashes each year? I didn't. That's THREE A DAY.

Maybe the FAA should worry more about why there are three small manned air crashes every day, and worry less about how wide a yellow circle they want to put around a hospital.

 

[BigAl07]

Of course the airport can deny your flight. Their #1 priority is safety and if your flight could in any way create a safety problem then it is their job and their authority to deny. If they deny you should get it in writing and make sure to get them to note why as well as what can be done in the future to avoid this.

The denial could be a one-time thing (temporary traffic pattern etc) or you could be asking to fly along an existing pattern and in that case I doubt you'll ever get the go ahead.