Here’s a link to our FAA LAANC authorization guide. LAANC, or Low-Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability, is a partnership between the FAA and private companies like Skyward, Kittyhawk, and DJI. Using LAANC to request instant airspace authorization There’s also Aloft (formerly Kittyhawk) another free tool which we like, because you can plug in an actual address. It’s a great way to quickly scan the major airspace considerations of a particular latitude / longitude. While you can buy a printed-out version of a Sectional Chart to hang on your wall from a website like My Pilot Store, most drone pilots are using apps on their computer, tablet, or phone to conduct airspace research.Ĭompanies like VFRMap and SkyVector offer free, digitized Sectional Charts, allowing you to zoom in and out and click into airports to get more detailed information. What are the best apps / tools for researching airspace? This shows you what colors match up with what airspace classes.īottom line - if you’re flying in controlled airspace, you need authorization. If you’re flying into blue or magenta solid or dotted lines, that’s where you really need to start paying attention.Ĭheck out this portion of the Sectional Aeronautical Chart legend, found on page 1-1 of the testing supplement that remote pilots need to reference during the FAA’s Aeronautical Knowledge Test. Looking at these charts can be super intimidating at first, but after going through a handful of examples and understanding the different tools that are out there for you to research this stuff, it gets a lot more approachable / easier to do airspace research. We have an entire lecture on this within our online Part 107 test prep course, and frankly it’s where our students spend the most time studying. Needless to say, if you haven’t already been exposed to these charts while researching locations to fly, you will soon enough. Our students report seeing a disproportionate chunk of test questions (up to 30-40%) having to do with Sectionals, mostly knowing how to identify airspace classes, whether you can or can’t fly, and the ceiling and floor altitudes of those areas. How can I tell if airspace is controlled or uncontrolled?Īs a student drone pilot is going through his or her studies, learning how to read and to interpret airspace on a Sectional Aeronautical Chart is an absolute must. It’s the last item of interest, airspace classes, that we’ll be discussing in this guide. The innermost magenta circle that surrounds the airport denotes controlled airspace from the surface up to 4,600 ft. Often just called a Sectional or Sectional Chart, these maps are updated every 6 months and show things like terrain elevations, airports, radio frequencies, latitude & longitude, and airspace classes. The Sectional Aeronautical Chart is the FAA’s official source of data when it comes to topographical features that are important to pilots operating in the National Airspace System (NAS). Q: I heard I could just contact the airport / air traffic control directly…isn’t that faster? Q: What if I need a Part 107 waiver AND airspace authorization? Q: Are airspace authorizations and airspace waivers different than getting a “Part 107 waiver?” Q: What is airspace authorization, and how is it different from an airspace waiver? Q: Using LAANC to request instant airspace authorization Q: What are the best apps / tools for researching airspace? Q: How can I tell if airspace is controlled or uncontrolled? Q: What is a Sectional Aeronautical Chart? How a Drone Pilot Should Request Controlled Airspace Authorization So, without further ado, let’s get into the questions. We’ll teach you what controlled airspace is, how airspace authorizations are different than waivers, how long airspace authorization takes, and how to properly request airspace authorization. This guide is written for both recreational and commercial drone pilots. In this guide, we’ll help you understand how to request airspace authorization to operate in controlled airspace.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |