http://www.faa.gov/uas/b4ufly/The app is ios only right now.

I live in central NJ. I thought I was safe from the 5 mile airport requirement, but much to my surprise the app showed 10 "airports" near my location. All of them are heliports. The FAA considers the entire length of the NJ Turnpike a heliport. Who knew? From the map on the app it looks like the entire state is a no-fly zone.

This is very disappointing.

Everything in Jersey is illegal LOL

Seems like it's almost kind of useless. If you are within 5 miles from an airport and you click on it, it doesn't really give you anything. I thought they would at least put in contact information for the airport operator.

I live in an area there are a few dirt strips that are on the FAA maps, and are hardly used. Looking at the map, pretty much everywhere around me is within 5 miles of an airport / heliport.

If the app at least had contact information, it would make it a lot easier to actually take the steps to contact them.

This is a screenshot from the app. The entire state is basically a no-fly zone.

I think it is absolutely ridiculous that I can't go to my neighborhood park and fly my drone at a low altitude, even if it's lower than cellphone towers and large trees. It's not like planes are buzzing 50 ft over rooftops. Heck, I can throw a football higher than I'm allowed to fly my drone. What's next, are we supposed to get FAA clearance for our kids to hit a home run in a little league game? This is so lame and I'm really bummed out about it. The FAA has taken an awesome new hobby and made it illegal by technicality. These rules are way too extreme. Everyone should flood the FAA website with comments, here is the link:

http://www.faa.gov/uas/contacts/

willywo Posted at 2016-1-7 18:01
I think it is absolutely ridiculous that I can't go to my neighborhood park and fly my drone at a lo ...

Agree. According to the FAA, any airspace 1 cm above a blade of grass, even in your own backyard, is regulated. Why shouldn't I be allowed to fly in my yard (no higher than the house or trees)? The birds are a bigger danger than I am.

I am just waiting for them to make it illegal to fly over private property.  At that point I am going to sue airline companies that fly over my property.  

gherd Posted at 2016-1-7 21:26
I am just waiting for them to make it illegal to fly over private property.  At that point I am goin ...

If you live in the US within 5 miles of an airport/heliport it's illegal to fly anywhere since the FAA "owns the sky", even the air above your yard.

gdl39 Posted at 2016-1-7 22:50
If you live in the US within 5 miles of an airport/heliport it's illegal to fly anywhere since the ...

Yea that's not true at all, I live 5 miles from a small airport and I can fly. All you have to do is call the tower and let them know where you are and what altitude you will be flying.  It even says on the FAA website that if you live within 5 miles of an airport you have to call the tower.

I was worried when I saw two airports within 5 miles of where I live but then I found out (via the app) that it only matters if they have a control tower. Neither do so I am good. If they did have control towers, I would have to notify them of my flight. I bet those big airports are going to get real tired of drone owners calling them. 3.14 * 5 * 5 = 78.5 square miles. That's a lot of potential drone owners.

grangerfx@gmail Posted at 2016-1-8 01:39
I was worried when I saw two airports within 5 miles of where I live but then I found out (via the a ...

My son lives near two small airports w/o control towers. This app shows them as a nfz, so I assume you'd still have to call.

grangerfx@gmail Posted at 2016-1-8 01:39
I was worried when I saw two airports within 5 miles of where I live but then I found out (via the a ...

reply fail

grangerfx@gmail Posted at 2016-1-7 22:39
I was worried when I saw two airports within 5 miles of where I live but then I found out (via the a ...

The app actually states "Federal Law requires model aircraft operators to notify the airport operator and Air Traffic Control Tower (if one is present) when operating within 5 miles of an airport."

So if there is a tower, call the tower. If there isn't a tower you'll have to call the airport operator. This I have found to be difficult to find the phone number for. I wish the app would just provide the number. I live near a heliport at a hospital, so I'm not even sure if I should be calling the hospital, or the airport operator is someone else.

I think B4youFly is a great app it makes you aware of all the potential aircraft and specifically Heli traffic. Interstates are often used as landing zones for MedEvac so that is why the NJ turnpike is listed.

Like users here state, they had no idea there were so many private or corporate heliports or seaplane bases near them. This is important information for all model aircraft operators.

Here is a sample of airport info on a small airport in NH:

http://aeronav.faa.gov/afd/10dec2015/ne_135_10DEC2015.pdf

This is a link to search for airports,easiest to use when you know the identifier, and that is in the B4youFly info.

https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/ ... oducts/dafd/search/

I was part of the Beta testing for the B4youFly App and one of my requests was that contact info should be included, they said they are working on that.

Also they are working on automatic notification to the airports when you file a "flight plan". This was another one of my requests.

Westside Osprey Posted at 2016-1-8 10:34
I think B4youFly is a great app it makes you aware of all the potential aircraft and specifically He ...

Thanks for the links!

So far 3 of the airports / heliports I punched in their IDs for the FAA search comes back with nothing. I've looked for their names, cities etc, and they don't show up.

Here's some examples that show up in the app, but not on that link. I can find information for them with my AOPA account or using AirNav, but even with that it requires a little digging.

BLACKINTON (Valley Center, CA)
ID: 2CA4

Skylark Field (Lake Elsinore, CA)
ID: CA89

Inland valley reg med ctr (Wildomar, CA)
ID: 2CL8

DerikA Posted at 2016-1-8 16:35
Thanks for the links!

So far 3 of the airports / heliports I punched in their IDs for the FAA sea ...

Well I would say you have done due diligence if the FAA can't give you the contact info on those.

You could even email the FAA or call a local office and enquire why info is lacking. They answer the phone right away. At least here in the NE.

It is possible they are no longer in use.
Also AirNav has a database, and that got this info right away:

https://www.airnav.com/airport/2CA4

So add this tou your search efforts:
https://www.airnav.com/airports/

Westside Osprey Posted at 2016-1-8 13:49
Well I would say you have done due diligence if the FAA can't give you the contact info on those.

...

Only reason why I know about AirNav  / AOPA etc is because I used for fly a lot.

The first one is a private airfield that has owners houses that are connected via taxi ways, one if a heliport at a hospital, and the other is a major skydiving airport that is used pretty much every day of the week.

Thanks for looking it up, and at least confirming that more info needs to be present in the app.

So over the weekend I went to fly and called the numbers on AirNav.. One was disconnected, and the other was a wrong number.

Makes me wonder what FAA considers notification of the airport operator if no tower is present. Do I need to go out and get a transceiver so I can make calls on the airport freq? Seems like going that route is slightly overkill for flying in a place aircraft aren't legally allowed to fly anyway in a non-emergency (< 400ft AGL).

I just received the notice about the app being available for IOS, no Android yet.