Visiting California (Santa Monica)

[L3thalB3ard]

Hey guys.. I can't figure this out, I'm going to Santa Monica beach (nears the third street promenade) can I fly there? Please give me some advice...

 

[Peter Hartmann]

Hey guys.. I can't figure this out, I'm going to Santa Monica beach (nears the third street promenade) can I fly there? Please give me some advice...

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Calif. Gov. Brown recently vetoed state-wide regulation of drones in that state. There are obviously "hard-noses" in any law enforcement entity that just plain don't like the freedom that drone photography gives us, and may get ugly if they see you.

You may not have a problem at all, because it is possible that the "program" inside your drone will prevent it from operating that close to KSMO ( Santa Monica Airport ).

Try it and let us know what happens.

 

[GMack]

Someone on here or another forum posted a while back that they asked some woman in some kiosk near the Santa Monica Beach and she signed some card to show officers or lifeguards who showed up to tell him "He can't fly there." They did show up to curtail his flying, but when he showed them the card she signed they allowed him to continue. Guess the policy is to ask first for permission and be able to fly without getting harassed later.

More recently is that much of the Santa Monica mountains and coastal area area has been made into a National Recreation Area/Park (Which also encompasses some CA State Parks) which is a NFZ so it could be more of an issue now. It winds along Mulholland Drive all the way east to the Hollywood 101 freeway, and along the coast from Point Mugu all the way down to Venice, CA (Through Santa Monica too.). Check Airmap and zoom in in it where you plan to fly for more info on the area in red and good luck.

 

[BigL]

Drone spots in Bay Area, Marin County and LA/Santa Monica
I posted this from last August

 

[bitcointips]

I just stayed in Santa Monica and wanted to fly the P3S at the beach and pier. I went into the police station on the pier and talked to an officer about flying on the beach and he said that the police on the beach can ask you to land but can NOT force you to land or leave. He did say that the Santa Monica airport is very close to the beach and I should call the radio control to get permission to fly at the beach. The next morning I called the tower and told them what i would be doing. They asked when i would be flying(time of day), how high i would be flying, where i would be flying, how long i would be flying, and to call them back when i was done. They did ask for some other information if they needed to contact me for any reason. Once i did this i was setting up at the beach and a cop approached me telling me that i was not allowed to fly there and i told him that i talked to and officer about it and that i have contacted radio control at the Santa Monica air port and he said that was okay and i was fine to fly. I am pretty sure he call the tower to check if i actually talk to them but he never came back. So if you are planning to fly around Santa Monica i would call the air port first, they were very nice and told me that they can not say no to me flying unless it was over the run ways and that i had done what i needed to by contacting them first. so if you are going to be flying around Santa Monica just call the radio control tower first and have fun!

 

[BluVūzAerials]

According to the VFR sectional charts, Santa Monica is a Class D airport so it is controlled airspace from the surface to 2700ft MSL. It is also right next to LAX. LAX is a class B airport so it is controlled airspace from surface to 10000ft MSL. So that means you would need prior authorization from the control tower to fly in Santa Monica and Venice as well. If you're unlicensed/hobbyist you can get away with not asking. If they catch you they'll just ask you to land your drone and not fly anymore.

 

[dontflyaway]

I wouldn't fly my Phantom in Santa Monica since the police officers frequently drive by. It's too easily seen and heard. Even with prior authorization from the Santa Monica ATCT, some cops just want to be jerks.

For these locations, I usually take the DJI Spark to avoid all of this.
Why the DJI Spark is ideal for travel

Here's a few more tips for flying on Santa Monica Beach:

• Have a spotter to watch for cops, lifeguards, seagulls and your drone
• Don't be super obvious
• Fly while sitting down and surrounded by beach bags. Don't make it look like you've intentionally built a fort. DON'T BE OBVIOUS!

These may seem like a bit much but I'd rather fly in peace. A police officer can't force a landing but they could hassle you to do so. A second option is to takeoff from private property and fly over the beach instead.