Taking off from building

[tracer]

I may soon have an opportunity to shoot video of a car show in a small town. The show covers most of the downtown area. Most buildings are small, under 5 stories. To shoot the video, I will have to fly over the roofs since I cannot, by law, fly directly over the crowd on the street below. Unlike most of my opportunities, I won't get to practice beforehand except on the day of the show. A couple of my concerns are:

- taking off from the roof of a 4-story building - Would the drone be ok starting off so high and RTH?

- flying along the rooftops is great, but I will have to pass over some cross-streets. I hate to disrupt my video, so to keep in line with the "no flying over people" rule, I will have to station someone on the street to clear out the humans before the drone passes overhead. Any better suggestions?

thanks!!

 

[mihamil]

I can't say from experience, but I would imagine the drone should be able to take off from a 4 story building okay. Atmospheric pressure isn't the same in every city, and I can't imagine you being 60 feet up to begin with is going to impact it that much. Also, people fly from hilltops and cliffs, buildings aren't really any different.

 

[just_bruce]

I may soon have an opportunity to shoot video of a car show in a small town. The show covers most of the downtown area. Most buildings are small, under 5 stories. To shoot the video, I will have to fly over the roofs since I cannot, by law, fly directly over the crowd on the street below. Unlike most of my opportunities, I won't get to practice beforehand except on the day of the show. A couple of my concerns are:

- taking off from the roof of a 4-story building - Would the drone be ok starting off so high and RTH?

- flying along the rooftops is great, but I will have to pass over some cross-streets. I hate to disrupt my video, so to keep in line with the "no flying over people" rule, I will have to station someone on the street to clear out the humans before the drone passes overhead. Any better suggestions?

thanks!!

I work for an event services company, and I can tell you that one person will *not* reliably be able to clear folks. I'd suggest french or police barricade on either side to form at least an 8' wide corridor. This width means even if people lean over from both sides there will still be a 2.5' corridor down the center.

Or, if someone has some pull, have tents/canopies set up to cover your flight path.

Basically, people are like cats at an event. Unless you make it VERY obvious they shouldn't go somewhere, they will. I'd be SUPER nervous about a personnel-only solution to flight path clearance. All it takes is one moment of inattention and someone with a cell phone camera and you could lose your license and be fined for pt. 107 violations.

 

[EZL]

I would not trust flying from a building the reason, there are reinforcing rods in the concrete and wiring that is not visible. I would ask you the
question, would you take-off from a sidewalk that has reinforcing rods buried in the concrete? You don't won't to take-off around anything
magnetic or anything that emits RF. I would trust it Casey Neistat tried this from a building with a DJI and lost it and I wouldn't risk it.

 

[andrew.baker.142]

No issues flying off the top of a building. Remember, Solo will set home altitude to zero when it is armed for takeoff, so all reported altitudes will reference the height of the building you took off from.
Make sure you set your RTH altitude to be higher than any obstacles between where you will be and the locations you will be recording.
As for not flying over people, is there a way you could fly an indirect path to the filming location that doesn't force you to fly over people?

 

[EZL]

No issues flying off the top of a building. Remember, Solo will set home altitude to zero when it is armed for takeoff, so all reported altitudes will reference the height of the building you took off from.
Make sure you set your RTH altitude to be higher than any obstacles between where you will be and the locations you will be recording.
As for not flying over people, is there a way you could fly an indirect path to the filming location that doesn't force you to fly over people?

What about RF from WiFi in the building? These new /old SmartMeters emit high RF pulse data from a Combiner which is actually a "Repeater"
for data transmission to the power company. They are right in the Amateur band and WiFi bands and exceed the output from the controller.
I would trust a cell tower proximity launch before going near a Combiner.

 

[reelcrazyfish]

If you haven't already - get some liability coverage too. I've used Verifly a couple times and I'm happy with it so far. $10 for $1,000,000 in coverage for a 1/2 hour flight time.

 

[andrew.baker.142]

What about RF from WiFi in the building? These new /old SmartMeters emit high RF pulse data from a Combiner which is actually a "Repeater"
for data transmission to the power company. They are right in the Amateur band and WiFi bands and exceed the output from the controller.
I would trust a cell tower proximity launch before going near a Combiner.

Every house in my neighborhood has a smart meter. No issues that I can tell. I get about 2,600 feet at 200' AGL before loosing link which is plenty for me. If I need to go further I have directional antennas I can use.

 

[EZL]

That's ok, until a system check which is a power analysis on the residential use for billing and even a "turn-off" for failure to pay usage.
The power company can throttle back usage and turn-off power with the systems! I know all about the SCAM the utility company's
have been using. I oped-out on the system and my meter is intact as a analog meter.

 

[Maddog]

Like Andrew said launching from a rooftop is fine for RTL purposes.

I would recommend flying all of that in FLY: MANUAL to eliminate any sudden GPS loss issues.

If you got a good satellite lock before take off, Solo will RTL to your launch point in case you lose wifi connection between Solo and controller.

Some of the major news stations in Phoenix are flying drones under part 107 and they fly over people all the time, just as if they were in a helicopter.

I think the requirement not to fly over non-participating people is virtually impossible to comply with and will be difficult to enforce unless you drop into a crowd. It's one thing not flying over a stadium full of people, but trying not to fly over people just out and about walking through a city is rediculous.

 

[just_bruce]

Like Andrew said launching from a rooftop is fine for RTL purposes.

I would recommend flying all of that in FLY: MANUAL to eliminate any sudden GPS loss issues.

If you got a good satellite lock before take off, Solo will RTL to your launch point in case you lose wifi connection between Solo and controller.

Some of the major news stations in Phoenix are flying drones under part 107 and they fly over people all the time, just as if they were in a helicopter.

I think the requirement not to fly over non-participating people is virtually impossible to comply with and will be difficult to enforce unless you drop into a crowd. It's one thing not flying over a stadium full of people, but trying not to fly over people just out and about walking through a city is rediculous.

Are you absolutely positive 1.) They don't have a waiver from the FAA? 2.) That they are actually flying over people? I've just finished a series of flights where I was within and above a controlled area, yet some looked at the video feed and swore I was out over the crowds.

I don't think the current prohibition on overflight of non-participating persons is ridiculous at all. And it isn't at all impossible to comply with. It requires prior planning and sometimes some additional crew management, but it isn't by any means impossible. But just my .02.

 

[Soupdaddy]

I am not 100% sure about USA as I'm in Canada, but our new laws state no flying over built up areas ...ie ; urban areas or ba anywhere near buildings at all ...need to be 75 meters (roughly 250 ft) from all buildings or people...basically need special permissions even to fly in own back yard

 

[Soupdaddy]

Although your flight is feasible and would work it's likely not legal

 

[just_bruce]

I am not 100% sure about USA as I'm in Canada, but our new laws state no flying over built up areas ...ie ; urban areas or ba anywhere near buildings at all ...need to be 75 meters (roughly 250 ft) from all buildings or people...basically need special permissions even to fly in own back yard

As yet we don't have such draconian regs in the USA. It is recommended that you get permission from neighboring buildings, but currently the FAA is maintaining it's stance that it controls all the airspace within the United States. If a licensed Remote PIC launches from a permitted location, doesn't violate anyone's privacy, and follows the other parts of 107, then as far as the FAA is concerned the flight is legal. But again, just my understanding.

I've been known to be VASTLY mistaken in the past....

 

[FamilyFlyGuy]

Are you absolutely positive 1.) They don't have a waiver from the FAA? 2.) That they are actually flying over people? I've just finished a series of flights where I was within and above a controlled area, yet some looked at the video feed and swore I was out over the crowds.

I don't think the current prohibition on overflight of non-participating persons is ridiculous at all. And it isn't at all impossible to comply with. It requires prior planning and sometimes some additional crew management, but it isn't by any means impossible. But just my .02.

To date, only 3 waivers to Part 107
"107.39 Operation over people/Operation Over Human Being" has been granted. On 8/29/2016 to CNN and FLIR Unmanned Aerial Systems on 5/03/2017 & 4/27/2017

Part 107 Waivers Granted

 

[Soupdaddy]

all that being said...i have only heard of one incident in Canada that spurred legal response....a drone seen flying near a Medivac helicopter was seized.in Alberta,..a Mavic...by RCMP for flight to close to Medivac airfield ...seized and fined

 

[tracer]

Thanks folks for all the suggestions. The car show is actually put on by the town itself, so getting permission to fly over the buildings shouldn't be a problem. I do have a $1m liability policy on my drone (~$800/year). If I get the gig, I do plan to arrive early and do some practice runs. My biggest challenge will be getting permission to fly - the local airfield is in Class D airspace, with no tower. I finally got my waiver for flying anywhere in the city where I live, and that took 8 weeks for the FAA to process. But, the way I interpret the regs, I only need permission from the local airport to fly a specific event. Again I would have to get the town to pull some strings to get this done in a timely manner.

As for taking off from the roof, manual mode sounds most intriguing. I would need to practice that more. If one building causes too much interference, I will try another.

The cross-streets and people will be a challenge. I could just shoot multiple videos of the show and then edit it all together. It would be impossible to capture the scope of the show even if I could fly over people.

Thanks everyone!!

 

[just_bruce]

Thanks folks for all the suggestions. The car show is actually put on by the town itself, so getting permission to fly over the buildings shouldn't be a problem. I do have a $1m liability policy on my drone (~$800/year). If I get the gig, I do plan to arrive early and do some practice runs. My biggest challenge will be getting permission to fly - the local airfield is in Class D airspace, with no tower. I finally got my waiver for flying anywhere in the city where I live, and that took 8 weeks for the FAA to process. But, the way I interpret the regs, I only need permission from the local airport to fly a specific event. Again I would have to get the town to pull some strings to get this done in a timely manner.

As for taking off from the roof, manual mode sounds most intriguing. I would need to practice that more. If one building causes too much interference, I will try another.

The cross-streets and people will be a challenge. I could just shoot multiple videos of the show and then edit it all together. It would be impossible to capture the scope of the show even if I could fly over people.

Thanks everyone!!

If the car show/flight area is in a Class D, you will need a waiver or airspace authorization from the FAA, *unless* the Airport which has the Class Delta has effective hours and you're flying outside of those hours when you fly. Most Class D reverts to Class E (not at surface) outside of operating hours.

However, if the flight area is within 5 miles of an untowered airport, you *could* have an E-at-surface airspace, which you'd also need a waiver or airspace authorization from the FAA for.

All of this assumes Pt. 107 licensing, which you'd almost HAVE to be as I read the situation.

 

[TrekTheWild]

I have launched from a couple buildings (all types of structure types) and I haven't had any interference from the internal issues. Anytime I have had magnetic interference it hasn't allowed me to launch until I move it to a proper location. I've lost signal multiple times and it has always returned home and/or given me back control of Solo. I can't speak for 100% of your experience - but all of mine have turned out well! Cheers

 

[Pedals2Paddles]

Manual mode is not going to change anything related to the compass. If you have compass interference, you can't change that by changing modes. The steel beams are still there, earth is still there, and it still won't fly. Moving to another location is the only thing you can do. Manual mode as a fallback is for when GPS is crappy. And that is terrible idea when it comes to taking off and flying around people. If your GPS signal sucks at the takeoff location, change locations to where it doesn't suck. But I would think from a rooftop, that won't be a problem. However, if you're doing this professionally, you need to be familiar with handling it in manual. If you lose GPS in flight, it will switch to manual.

Also, if you're taking off from a building or other not so ideal location, climb up and away from the structure and do a full 360 degree rotation. The compass will realign itself when you do that.