Is this Legal? I mean FAA Approved Legal?

[alex covo]

I don't care what drone they are flying, but just really interest whether the FAA approves this type of flight...OR...do the rules not apply because it's an indoor venue? I plan on doing indoor stuff eventually but wanted to know if you need an exemption and FAA approval for such a thing. Please keep this thread about the legal and business aspects of such drone usage. I own a Solo and plan on using it in similar fashion. I think that's a Yuneec they are flying. Really would like to hear from those already working commercially, especially venue related events. Thanks!!!

 

[alex covo]

Ps this picture is not mine, I found on Instagram.

 

[Michael Stevenson]

The FAA does not control the air space inside buildings!

 

[alex covo]

The FAA does not control the air space inside buildings!

Another question...
What commercial insurance company would cover this type of drone usage? Mine won't even touch drone coverage. Liability from a drone? Not even a thought in their book.

AMA insurance covers some things but flying over a crowd is not one of them. Any thoughts on that?

 

[alexfarrington]

View attachment 1125

I don't care what drone they are flying, but just really interest whether the FAA approves this type of flight...OR...do the rules not apply because it's an indoor venue? I plan on doing indoor stuff eventually but wanted to know if you need an exemption and FAA approval for such a thing. Please keep this thread about the legal and business aspects of such drone usage. I own a Solo and plan on using it in similar fashion. I think that's a Yuneec they are flying. Really would like to hear from those already working commercially, especially venue related events. Thanks!!!

Flying indoors over -- or even near -- people with a quadcopter in a commercial venture is probably gonna be hard to cover with insurance. I can't see it being inexpensive even if you can get a policy to cover it.

It's not a coincidence that 3DR flew the Solo in a cage at NAB. I'd think that at a bare minimum you'd want the props protected and a tether that'd keep it from making a beeline into some poor runway model's face in the event of any control issues...

 

[1264_Solo]

Looks like a yuneec q500, buddy of mine has one and it flies very smoothly.
Not as much as the solo but I still wouldn't dream flying this in doors.

As someone else stated, flying indoors near people is definitely a sketchy situation.
It's legal for now.

 

[TonyZink]

The first time you lose control and hurt someone... you will be in a heap of trouble. Just because someone else does it and is lucky enough to get away with it, that doesn't mean that you should.

 

[Maddog]

If you want to charge money for your work, you need a 333 exemption from the FAA for outdoor work.

I have read some of the granted exemptions on FAA.GOV, and they generally do not allow indoor use on movie shoots. One guy did request and receive permission to film indoor movie shoots.

I don't know how motion picture use differs from other things in the eyes of the FAA.

I don't know of anybody doing indoor work. Most people use them outdoors to film real estate for sale, etc.

I would check with the FAA for the most accurate information- of course they are still confused about how to deal with drones.

 

[Raybro]

Since when does the FAA have authority over flying a quad indoors?

 

[Mike Lanzetta]

View attachment 1125

I don't care what drone they are flying, but just really interest whether the FAA approves this type of flight...OR...do the rules not apply because it's an indoor venue? I plan on doing indoor stuff eventually but wanted to know if you need an exemption and FAA approval for such a thing. Please keep this thread about the legal and business aspects of such drone usage. I own a Solo and plan on using it in similar fashion. I think that's a Yuneec they are flying. Really would like to hear from those already working commercially, especially venue related events. Thanks!!!

I love taking chances and risks with RC and quads, but this seems really really dumb. It only takes moments for things to go very bad very quickly. There is zero room for error, and the likelihood of injury is very high.

 

[Projeffrey11]

View attachment 1125

I don't care what drone they are flying, but just really interest whether the FAA approves this type of flight...OR...do the rules not apply because it's an indoor venue? I plan on doing indoor stuff eventually but wanted to know if you need an exemption and FAA approval for such a thing. Please keep this thread about the legal and business aspects of such drone usage. I own a Solo and plan on using it in similar fashion. I think that's a Yuneec they are flying. Really would like to hear from those already working commercially, especially venue related events. Thanks!!!

I don't think you want to use a Solo indoors, poor GPS locks and the controller easily loses signal to Solo, it's a recipe for disaster.

 

[UAVenthusiast]

I thought I read while looking at various policies that flying indoors voids the coverage.... I could be wrong though!

For indoor flying aren't optical sensors recommended? Thought that 3DR had those on their future list of options? I know, I know - low confidence on that happening perhaps. For now, manual flight....but I'm not interested in the liability risk....

 

[dcal]

Optical sensors while flying indoors can be problematic. When you fly over an object/ furniture, etc your altitude will automatically increase.

 

[erikgraham]

Thought that 3DR had those on their future list of options?

Yes they are coming. In fact all the Solo's flying at NAB 2015 already had optical sensors installed.

Optical flow, sonar, etc is already in the ardupilot code. You can buy various sensors now on 3DRs website, but you'd have to install them yourself - which takes a little doing. There is plenty of documentation on how to do it for the previous version of PixHawk, but haven't seen any for the Solo's PixHawk2.