So I plan to do some drone work in Acadia National Park up in Maine next week, and was wanting to get some clarity on a legal question.
The park states that "Launching, landing, and operation of unmanned aircraft, or drones, is prohibited in Acadia National Park."


(See https://www.nps.gov/acad/planyourvisit/park-rules-and-regulations.htm#:~:text=Launching%2C%20landing%2C%20and%20operation%20of,more%20about%20drones%20in%20parks.)


My thought is that, If I takeoff, operate and land my drone OUTSIDE of the park boundaries, I can fly over Acadia and not be breaking any laws. Does anyone see an issue with this logic?

Yes thats generally the rule,  they control the land not the airspace,   Two considerations of course VLOS and what would happen if the drone landed/fell into their land.

DAFlys Posted at 10-2 22:10
Yes thats generally the rule,  they control the land not the airspace,   Two considerations of course VLOS and what would happen if the drone landed/fell into their land.

Two valid considerations..

I have a question: if the drone takes off and lands on the top of your vehicle parking in the NP, plus you always operate it within your car, let's say you have VLOS all the time, will that be a violation anymore?

Hi,
do you have an option to download official geofencing maps for the national park you want to fly?
Import and let show the device warnings when trying.

And:

Happy New Year

2022>>3>2>1>>2023

djiuser_zyklide Posted at 2022-12-31 03:56
Hi,
do you have an option to download official geofencing maps for the national park you want to fly?
Import and let show the device warnings when trying.

Hi there!

I tried to do that in DJI GO 4, the GEO zones shows me nothing around Death Valley NP at all...

I think the drone restriction by NPS is not integrated there yet.

Happy New Year!!

tbc Posted at 1-1 11:03
Hi there!

I tried to do that in DJI GO 4, the GEO zones shows me nothing around Death Valley NP at all...

Hi tbc,

similar situation here. I am using third party sources / aps to plan routes.

I have opened a new topic, see here:

DJI Pilot 2 - import local flight restriction zones

(https://forum.dji.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=282630)


Maybe official institutions will participate and DJI will implement it to work on all devices.

I would check the FAA be4Ufly map before you fly anywhere in the USA..  https://b4ufly.aloft.ai/
If it red it its a no fly zone and NFZ can force your drone to auto-land , or get stuck in the geo-fence  and just sit there and hover until you run out of battery power., or worst if caught in RED nfz  bring huge fines.
so why take a chance of flying in to red no fly-zone even if there maybe gray areas  and have your drone auto-land in the park some where.

Acadia Is beautiful I would stay away from places like the park -oop road and Sandy beach & thunder-hole, specially the park rangers are thick as theives there.  You can fly in places like Northeast Harbor or out side the park .  But if you attempt to fly into a Federal National Park from outside the red zone . Its possible you could loose the drone. Bareltt island is a clear zone and very pretty coastal area.right by Acaida
I lived in Maine for 28 years . it a Beautiful place you can fly in the state parks like Baxter state if you get the proper permits. But as a rule Federal Parks are off limits Unless you search & rescue or some park goverment entity

Ms Ivy Posted at 1-5 16:51
I would check the FAA be4Ufly map before you fly anywhere in the USA..  https://b4ufly.aloft.ai/
If it red it its a no fly zone and NFZ can force your drone to auto-land , or get stuck in the geo-fence  and just sit there and hover until you run out of battery power., or worst if caught in RED nfz  bring huge fines.
so why take a chance of flying in to red no fly-zone even if there maybe gray areas  and have your drone auto-land in the park some where.

Thanks a lot Ms. Ivy, this really helps! I'll make sure to avoid these red zones on this website

djiuser_zyklide Posted at 1-4 13:41
Hi tbc,

similar situation here. I am using third party sources / aps to plan routes.

great thread, I'll check it out, thanks!

Ms Ivy Posted at 1-5 16:51
I would check the FAA be4Ufly map before you fly anywhere in the USA..  https://b4ufly.aloft.ai/
If it red it its a no fly zone and NFZ can force your drone to auto-land , or get stuck in the geo-fence  and just sit there and hover until you run out of battery power., or worst if caught in RED nfz  bring huge fines.
so why take a chance of flying in to red no fly-zone even if there maybe gray areas  and have your drone auto-land in the park some where.

Hi Ms Ivy,

this is the way I am acting with my DJI RC Plus.
Easier would it be to let do this the controller automatically in the pre flight check.
And, for example, import actual positions of protected birds in allowed zones into the DJI Pilot 2 app.
I do not want to disturbe their habitats.

Good Luck