Flying Aerial Drones At Night Is NOT Permitted By The FAA

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Flying Your Aerial Drone At Night Is Not Permitted (Without Waiver) By The FAA

Flying Your Aerial Drone At Night Is Not Permitted (Without Waiver) By The FAA

Your drone lights up like a Christmas tree at night, but does that mean you can legally fly your aerial drone at night? Some drone pilots think yes, but I haven’t found justification for night flying in the USA without an FAA waiver.

This is another of my blogs where the FAA’s rules are straightforward. You can avoid a lot of boring reading if you will just take my word to fly your aerial drone in daylight conditions unless you receive a waiver from the FAA.

Let’s find out what the FAA has to say about night flying:

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rules are found in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) which are federal laws. Those that apply to this topic include:

Title 14 CFR 107.29  Small UAS Daylight Operation.

(a) No person may operate a small unmanned aircraft system during night.

(b) No person may operate a small unmanned aircraft system during periods of civil twilight unless the small unmanned aircraft has lighted anti-collision lighting visible for at least 3 statute miles . . .

(1) Except for Alaska, a period of time that begins 30 minutes before official sunrise and ends at official sunrise.

(2) Except for Alaska, a period of time that begins at official sunset and ends 30 minutes after official sunset.

Reading this excerpt from the rules, the FAA is clear that Aerial Drones shall not be flown at night. However, flying during periods of civil twilight is permitted as long as collision-avoidance lighting requirements are met. Of note, the LED lights on your DJI drone are nowhere near the intensity to qualify for twilight flying; see line (b) above.

The FAA may issue a WAIVER for night flying

Pilots who wish to fly at night may request a certificate of waiver from the FAA’s Administrator. The waiver request must contain a complete description of the proposed operation and justification that establishes that the operation can safely be conducted under the terms of a certificate of waiver.

14 CFR 107.200  Waiver Policy and Requirements:

(a) The Administrator may issue a certificate of waiver authorizing a deviation from any regulation specified in §107.205 if the Administrator finds that a proposed small UAS operation can safely be conducted under the terms of that certificate of waiver.

Of note 14 CFR 107.205 specifically includes flying at night. Your waiver application is submitted to the office of the FAA’s Administrator in Washington, DC.

Can I Fly at Night Under the Model Aircraft Rules of Part 101?

There are some remote pilots that have stated the requirements for 14 CFR 101.41 will allow them to operate at night. In my view, this is a stretch of interpretation for most pilots.

The chapter that covers UAS’s, Part 107, specifically excludes aircraft that are qualified to fly under Part 101. In other words, you can’t use Part 101 rules to justify flying Part 107 aircraft.

Why? Part 101 addresses Moored Balloons, Kites, Amateur Rockets, Unmanned Free Balloons, and Certain Model Aircraft (emphasis mine).  Subparagraph 101.41 addresses the Special Rule for Model Aircraft, which some pilots have stated online justify flying their aerial drones at night.

First, there are several requirements that must be met if your aerial drone is to be considered a model aircraft:

  • You may fly for hobby or recreation ONLY
  • You must register your model aircraft
  • You must fly within visual line-of-sight
  • You must follow community-based safety guidelines and fly within the programming of a nationwide community-based organization

That’s it. Night flying is not explicitly permitted in the subpart for “Certain Model Aircraft”.

Remote Pilots that are flying commercial off-the-shelf aerial drones, such as those manufactured by DJI, will have a hard time convincing the FAA that you qualify under Part 101 rules.  Even if your drone was to qualify under Part 101, the relevant subparts that allow night flying don’t apply to model aircraft. They apply to other aircraft categories, for example:

14 CFR 101.17

No person may operate a moored balloon or kite, between sunset and sunrise unless the balloon or kite, and its mooring lines, are lighted so as to give a visual warning equal to that required for obstructions to air navigation in the FAA publication “Obstruction Marking and Lighting”.

14 CFR 101.25

When operating Class 2-High Power Rockets or Class 3-Advanced High Power Rockets, you must comply with the General Operating Limitations of §101.23. In addition, you must not operate Class 2-High Power Rockets or Class 3-Advanced High Power Rockets . . .

(d) Between sunset and sunrise without prior authorization from the FAA . . .

14 CFR 101.35

No person may operate an unmanned free balloon unless . . .

(b) No person may operate an unmanned free balloon below 60,000 feet standard pressure altitude between sunset and sunrise . . .

None of these sections (17, 25, and 35) should be used to justify flying aerial drones at night.

Conclusion

The FAA is very clear in Part 107 that flying aerial drones at night is not permitted unless the pilot has received a waiver. Using Part 101 is not a good interpretation of the meaning and intent of the FAA’s rules. However, there are those venues where flying at night is permitted and waiverable. Some that come to mind include certain sporting events, law enforcement, and fire and rescue.

Another resource that I’ve cited before is Drone Law Attorney “Rupprecht Law.”

Please read their legal opinion on How to Fly Your Drone at Night.

Setting Up Your Aerial Drone Camera

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Aerial Drone Camera Options

Aerial Drone Camera Options

Video Formats

When you set up your aerial drone camera to take videos, the first thing you’ll want to do is to select the American standard of NTSC (National Television System Committee).  Your other option is PAL (Phase Alternation by Line), which is more common in Europe, Asia, and Africa. A third standard known as SECAM is also common in Asia and Africa, and your drone may offer it as well. When in the USA, select NTSC. The main difference is frame rate where the American standard is based on 60 Hz and the European standard is based on 50 Hz.

Among your camera’s setting options, you’ll find video size, which allows you to select format and framerate. You can select from 4k for the UHD or Ultimate High Definition (think of Sony’s 4k digital cinema in your movie theater), 2.7k and 1080p (also known as FHD or Full High Definition), and 720p (also known as HD or High Definition).

I recommend setting your video to 1080p, which has a frame resolution of 1920×1080 pixels, and is standard among televisions and computers. Unless you have a requirement to use higher resolution, then 1080p is the standard for you. Higher resolutions, such as 2702×1520 and 4096×2160 are gorgeous if you have the hardware to play them. Their downside is the increased amount of time required to render in video editing software. Another downside is stutter when playing them on less than state-of-the-art hardware.

Recently I compared several of the UHD and FHD video formats and found that my computer monitor displayed all of them, but stuttered when the source was 2.7k or higher. I couldn’t tell any difference in their resolution when compared with standard 1080p, but that would be expected with a 1080p monitor. There was also some stutter when I played a 1080p video at 60 frames per second.

For most videography applications, I recommend using 1080p at 30 frames per second. Eventually the market will move to 2.7k and 4k resolutions, so you should be ready to switch when that time comes.

Photo Formats

Common formats for aerial drone cameras include 12MP (4000×3000 pixels) and 20MP (5280×3956 pixels), which are sufficient resolution for super fine-grain pictures. I have found that the resolution of the sensor is typically greater than the limitation placed on it by the camera’s optics.

Check it out for yourself by blowing up an image in your favorite photo viewing software. You’ll see the image is blurred from pixel to pixel, which was caused by the optics, not the sensor. This is why you want the most direct path for light to enter the image sensor. Due to their small size, these cameras (and their filters) pick up finger prints and smudges that will reduce the resolution of your camera. Inexpensive filters are another contributor to lower resolution.

Three-byte color granularity is known as 24-bit color because there are 8 bits per primary color.  It’s also known as “True Color” or “16.8 million colors” since 2 raised to the 24th power is 16.8 million.  Using our drone’s 12MP image as an example, the resulting image file is 36 million bytes (or 34MB).  Fortunately, cameras compress the images and reduce their file size to perhaps a tenth of their original size. You’re probably already familiar with the common file compression standard created by the Joint Photographic Experts Group and known as JPG.

A drawback of the JPG compression standard is that certain pixels are selectively thrown out. The loss in fidelity is usually negligible. However, the compression process is not reversible so some image quality is permanently lost.

For optimum results, professionals use the camera’s raw mode, which compresses image files without throwing out any pixels. The resulting file sizes are 2-3 times the size of a JPG file, but there’s no sacrifice in image quality. DJI’s aerial drone camera options list RAW, but download in Adobe’s Digital Negative (DNG) format.

For most photography applications, I recommend using the JPG format due to its high popularity. For those special shots (or client requirements) then select raw mode.

Other Aerial Drone Camera Settings

Settings for exposure value, contrast, saturation, color filter, etc. are also available for the experienced photographer. Default values will usually suffice for the casual photographer, but when you’re looking for more control you’ll find it under these settings.

Fly Safe!

No Fly Zones – Flying Your Drone in Restricted Airspace, Part 2

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DJI's Fly Safe GEO Zones

DJI’s Fly Safe GEO Zones

Is my flight location in a restricted airspace zone?

No matter what make and model drone you’re flying, you can find out if you’re in or near restricted airspace on the DJI Fly Safe GEO Zone Map (GEO – Geospatial Environment Online). Of note, the DJI GEO-Map is much more comprehensive than the FAA’s online map, from Part 1.

DJI’s GEO-Map System delineates where it’s safe to fly, where your flight may raise concerns, and where flights are restricted. Restricted airspace zones that prohibit flights are implemented around locations such as airports, power plants, and prisons. They’re also implemented temporarily around major stadium events, forest fires, or other emergency situations. Certain restricted airspace zones don’t prohibit flight, but do trigger warnings that inform users of potential risks.

The procedures below are specific to the DJI brand of aerial drones. Other drone manufacturers may have their own procedures.

DJI’s Restricted Airspace Boundary Color Codes

Green– warning zone, such as the outer zones of restricted flight areas.

Yellow– authorization zone, such as the inner zones of restricted flight areas – unlock is available online.

Red– restricted zone, unlock is available by providing evidence from an authorization authority to DJI.

FAA Part 107 requires the remote pilot to receive permission from the airport Fixed Base Operator prior to flying within 5 miles of the airport. If your drone is inside the “green zone”, that is it’s inside the 5-mile radius but outside the 1.5-mile radius, DJI assumes the pilot has this permission – your drone will fly; no further action needed. However, if you’re inside the 1.5-mile “yellow” radius, the drone’s firmware prevents the drone from starting and/or entering this airspace.

DJI provides an easy method to unlock your drone’s firmware so you can enter “yellow zone” restricted air space, such as around regional airports. DJI assumes the pilot has this permission and simply verifies your identity in their online process. Here’s how:

Unlocking a Yellow Zone Restricted Flight Area

Unlocking a yellow zone boundary, such as within 1.5 miles of an airport, requires permission via the DJI website, which verifies your identity and coordinates the “Unlock” with your DJI online account. A reminder that you should have a valid reason, such as a commercial photo shoot, prior to asking the airport’s Fixed Base Operator for permission.

Procedure

Open the DJI Fly Safe web page:  https://www.dji.com/flysafe

Click on the “UNLOCK A ZONE” tab and enter your DJI account information.

Enter your drone model, location, authorization date range, and controller serial number. Your remote controller serial number is not printed on the remote, but you can look it up in your DJI Go app. You can also look it up in a Litchi flight log under the column FlyControllerSerialNumber.

Choose to verify your identity by credit card or mobile phone (with text capability):

1. By phone, enter the number (no hyphens), press send and you will receive a text message. Enter the token.

2. By credit card, enter the number (no hyphens) and info.

If successful, you will get this notice: “This Authorization Zone has been unlocked. You can check your unlocking records in the DJI GO app.” Caveat: you may not see the “unlocking record” in your app but you will be prompted to fly safe before taking off. Also, this procedure only works for the DJI Go app; other after-market apps may not work.

Unlocking a Red Zone Restricted Flight Area

Permission to fly in a red zone is done via e-mail to flysafe@dji.com. You will need to provide evidence from an authorization authority. DJI will then process your request and, if approved, unlock your drone via your DJI online account.

Fly Safe!

No Fly Zones – Flying Your Drone in Restricted Airspace, Part 1

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Aerial Drone Restricted Flight Zone Signs Coming Your Way Soon

Aerial Drone Restricted Flight Zone Signs Coming Your Way Soon

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!