This blog outlines some of the latest No Fly Zones in the United States. These are places that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) states you cannot fly your aerial drone. This subject is dry and boring, so all you need to know is that you can’t fly your recreational drone near airports, military installations, major sporting events, and nuclear research labs.

Of note for our DJI drone pilots, DJI has software lock-outs to keep their drones out of restricted airspace. Part two of this series outlines the procedure for DJI drone pilots to unlock their drone’s restrictions, such as when they have permission to fly in restricted airspace.

National Security Sensitive Facilities/National Defense Airspace

FAA NOTAM FDC 7/7282 governs restricted air space. The restrictions extend from the ground up to 400 feet, apply to all types and purposes of Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) flight operations, and remain in effect 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

This NOTAM identifies in an online map the FAA’s restricted UAS flight operations airspace: https://uas-faa.opendata.arcgis.com/

At this time, the restricted airspace is typically around military installations, large airports, and nuclear research labs. It seems reasonable to expect that power plants, prisons, and other critical infrastructure will be added to this online map.

This NOTAM also states the enforcement actions and penalties: $32,666 for a small business, $13,066 for an individual not acting as an airman, or $1,437 per violation for an individual acting as an airman; and revoking FAA certificates and authorizations to operate UAS’s under Title 49 U.S.C. Sections 44709 and 46301. I’ve also seen reports that military installations can shoot down unauthorized aerial drones.

Sporting events

FAA NOTAM FDC 7/4319 restricts UAS operations around stadiums and motor speedways.

UAS’s are prohibited from flying at or below 3,000 feet within a 3 nautical mile radius of any stadium with a seating capacity of 30,000 or more people during a Major League Baseball, regular or post-season National Football League, NCAA Division I football game, or major motor speedway event. This temporary flight restriction applies to the entire U.S. domestic National Airspace System, and takes effect starting one hour before the scheduled event time until one hour after the event concludes.

The FAA’s Go-To Resource

B4UFLY is an easy-to-use smartphone app that helps unmanned aircraft operators determine whether there are any restrictions or requirements in effect at the location where you want to fly. B4UFLY pulls its information directly from publicly available FAA data sources and packages the information in a user-friendly and intuitive format. You can download B4UFLY from Google Play (Android) or Apple’s App Store (IOS).

More information is available online at:  https://www.faa.gov/uas/where_to_fly/b4ufly/

Future Developments – ID and Tracking Your UAS

ID and tracking technology is actively being considered as a requirement for UAS’s by the Aviation Rulemaking Committee. Yes – this is about adding transponders to future drones so big brother can identify your drone (and you), and possibly override your control.

Their most recent report is found here:  ARC Recommendations Final Report 9/30/2017

The FAA welcomes UAS questions at their e-mail:  uashelp@faa.gov

Fly Safe!