ChadAustin
lvl.4
Flight distance : 139731 ft
United States
Offline
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Hi folks,
Background
I'm in the middle of shooting a documentary of my home town, Hickory, NC, and areas that are indigneous to my city. This is not a commercial effort, just artistic.
One of the shots coming soon is going to be at a Minor League baseball stadium (holds several thousand) during a practice. This has already been cleared by the Administrative office of the team.
The stadium is located about 1000 ft away from the start of one of the runways for a regional airport. The stadium also sits downhill from the airport. with the stadium lights' height reaching 50ft or more below the level of the runway.
If I were to fly no higher than the stadium lights for my footage then technically, no aircraft would be put in jeaopardy.
But, I don't want to be made an example. And since there are no legal standards fully in place as of yet, I decided to reach out to any and everyone I could think of, and at least make sure we were all communicating.
FAA, Air Tower, Flight Standards District Office
I first called the airport who put me in touch with the Air Tower manager. While he said they had no issue with me getting footage close by, he suggested calling the FAA. He was also very appreciative of the call to let them know of nearby operation of a drone.
So I called the FAA, and after a maze of prompts, got put in touch with FAA Security. I want to say the fellow I spoke with, Chris, was also extremely friendly and helpful. It was not the witch hunt against drone operators as I was expecting. He also saw no issue with what I was wanting to do- but he suggested (as did the Air Tower) that I get in touch with the local Flight Standards District Office (FSDO).
So I called the FSDO this morning. While I haven't got my response from them yet (in all fairness, the President is visiting Charlotte today, so they had their hands full), it is seeming that as long as everyone is talking and using common sense, that the FAA and FSDO will work with you as long as you're working with them.
I will keep everyone posted within this thread as to the final outcome.
Commercial use
While speaking with the FAA, I asked the agent about folks who have drones and who are using them commercially anyway. He stated that he hasn't seen that much commotion about it except for other 'drone operator whistle blowers' who are reporting their competitors, mainly in Real Estate.
Anyway- food for thought.
Chad
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