Does anyone know exactly what the law is regarding flying near airports? Specifically does the 5 mile rule apply at any altitude? Much of what I am using my drone for is dolly moves at very low altitude (4'-10') Is this still prohibited within 5 miles of an airport? I have a small airport about 10 miles from my home and recently noticed that one site I had flown at is about 4.9 miles from that airport. I flew 2 full battery flights there, never more than 10' off the ground. Did I break the law?
FAA, airports, altitude
- Thread starter JonW
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If you didn't get 10 foot off the ground and you were basically 5 miles away then no one is going to come after you. HOWEVER you have to be careful. There was a guy the other day that after doing the update (he had flown the Solo successfully many times previously before the update) he started it up and it started climbing and it climbed out of sight. He tried RTL to no avail. I don't know if he ever found it or not... just checked and he hasn't found it yet.
The moral of this story is whenever doing an update you will want to test it out away from people, buildings and airports.
I would like to mention that 3DR did step up to the plate and is going to reimburse him for not only the Solo but for his GoPro as well. They looked at his logs and provided GPS coordinates as to where it was at the last GPS log but they have looked for several days and still haven't found it.
Sounds like you are doing the the right thing and being proactive which we all need to be. These things are not toys and can hurt someone if not flown responsibly. There are a few idiots out there that are giving the majority of responsible pilots a bad name.
The moral of this story is whenever doing an update you will want to test it out away from people, buildings and airports.
I would like to mention that 3DR did step up to the plate and is going to reimburse him for not only the Solo but for his GoPro as well. They looked at his logs and provided GPS coordinates as to where it was at the last GPS log but they have looked for several days and still haven't found it.
Sounds like you are doing the the right thing and being proactive which we all need to be. These things are not toys and can hurt someone if not flown responsibly. There are a few idiots out there that are giving the majority of responsible pilots a bad name.
It's funny that you mention that specific flyaway because I read that post and was thinking exactly that about where I flew. Even though I wasn't in the flight path for the airport that is the one scenario I could think of where one could get into trouble.
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Yes and no. By the FAA guidelines, yes, because it is within 5 miles at any height. No, because it is not a law - yet. Unless I'm missing something (wouldn't be the first time). Practically, it is pretty safe, but as mentioned in the other posts, something could go wrong.
ALSO, it depends on the airport class. The 5 mile rule generally refers to airports with a tower. The actual rules are very complex, but I the experience where I was visiting a small airport in Oregon and the president of the Oregon Pilots Association (who knows every rule there is to know about piloted aircraft and drones) invited me to fly. I told her I couldn't because we were at an airport, and she said that does not apply to airports of that size (she cited the class, but I don't remember what that was).
Hope that's helpful!
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JonW.
You should have no problems at those low altitudes, if you exceed the highest point around and near approach or departure of the airport then you might have problems. Common sense says no airplanes will be flying at your altitude or below the highest obstetrical. My rule is: Hope for the best and plan for the worse. Have the abort procedure down when flying and you will have no worries.
You can always call the tower or airport if this would give you a peace of mind.
You should have no problems at those low altitudes, if you exceed the highest point around and near approach or departure of the airport then you might have problems. Common sense says no airplanes will be flying at your altitude or below the highest obstetrical. My rule is: Hope for the best and plan for the worse. Have the abort procedure down when flying and you will have no worries.
You can always call the tower or airport if this would give you a peace of mind.
Thanks for the input guys. Pretty much confirms that we think alike on this. The airport in question is one that services mostly corporate jets so it's not a huge airport but not tiny either. And as far as my altitude, my reasoning is that if an aircraft is going to have a near miss with my drone at 10' altitude, my drone is not currently the biggest problem 
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