In my neck of the woods, AirMAP is a way off. This is what I lose sleep over when I think about all the leg work the DJI GEO system is going to make me do.
In Toms River, NJ, there are three airports to contend with, Lakehurst (military, towered), Lakewood (civil, non-towered), and Miller (civil, non towered). To those three add two seaplane bases, Allen's and Hummel's. On top of all this, just to my west is military alert area A-220, from the surface to 4500 feet, with high density military traffic surrounding McGuire Air Force Base.
So far, the alert area is no issue, just something to be aware of. Lakehurst refuses entry into their Class D airspace without two way communication, so any flights within 5 miles, recreational or commercial, are grounded without it. I have a handheld VHF backup for my plane, but from the ground its only good for about 2 miles. Lakewood has been very kind and always approve requests. I even gave a "Letter of Agreement" to the airport manager, which he is reviewing, and will allow me to fly commercially anywhere in their airspace without a special COA. Same for Miller, though I don't usually go into their airspace.
AirMap moves the center point around for different airports, and when selecting "commercial", it deletes Lakewood all together. Allen's doesn't have a seaplane docked and no one answers the number or returns calls. Hummel's isn't on any current sectional maps, and Allen's, though it appears on the sectional, it is not listed in the FAA airport and facility directory! What's the point of a commercial product like AirMap if its wrong? What other areas are wrong?
For my own piece of mind, I created a map using "freemaptools.com" and "google/maps" with a 3 and a 5nm radius around each active airport in NJ listed in the AFD (airport facility directory). It really let me see where I could go legally without picking up the phone. I uploaded that to my iPad
Air 2, along with digital downloads of current New York and Washington sectional maps and an AFD (airport facility directory).
This whole process of gaining a Section 333 exemption, and trying to stay legal has been brutal. And I've had a private pilot license for 15 years! How the hell is a guy with no aviation experience supposed to figure all this out, let alone some 15 year old that just got one?
I think the whole thing would be a lot easier if drones (excuse me, small UAS) were restricted to a 400 foot ceiling, clear of clouds, and outside of 3 miles of any airport. No IFR approaches for manned aircraft are below 600 feet at 1.7 miles, so UAS and manned aircraft should never exchange paint. Manned aircraft should be restricted to a 500 foot floor outside of airport traffic patterns or within one half mile of heliports. No one should be flying manned aircraft any lower, with the exception of medical/emergency/military helicopters, which should perform a half mile circle at 500 feet before executing a landing. At this point, drones outnumber manned aircraft anyway. Wow! I solved the whole problem in a paragraph!
