Hello

This is my first post and suspect this has been talked of elsehwere so hopefully it's known.

I bought a Mini 3 so I can add some nicer/more interesting footage to my non-monetised YouTube channel. I love photography and travel, so thought this would enhance an vlog I make. I only want simplistic shots, flying above a treeline maybe, across some fields, possibly over the seas/across a bay.

I have a trip to America in mid April and would like to use it over there, but no matter how I try and understand the FAA rules page, I cannot be 100% sure what the requiredment is for a sub 250g drone to get some footage for a non-monetised YouTube channel, I can't 100% decipher if I am recreational or not.

Clearly I don't want to break any rules/laws so does anyone have any recent experience of flying in America from the UK, and if so, what did you need to comply with. I am heading to New York state, traveling from Boston across to Buffalo.

Thank you

Hello

I have posted this in on other part of the form. This is not to annoy but I am trying to find the right section to contact the right people. After this, I will reserve it to one part of the form.

This is my first post and suspect this has been talked of elsehwere so hopefully it's known.

I bought a Mini 3 so I can add some nicer/more interesting footage to my non-monetised YouTube channel. I love photography and travel, so thought this would enhance an vlog I make. I only want simplistic shots, flying above a treeline maybe, across some fields, possibly over the seas/across a bay.

I have a trip to America in mid April and would like to use it over there, but no matter how I try and understand the FAA rules page, I cannot be 100% sure what the requiredment is for a sub 250g drone to get some footage for a non-monetised YouTube channel, I can't 100% decipher if I am recreational or not.

Clearly I don't want to break any rules/laws so does anyone have any recent experience of flying in America from the UK, and if so, what did you need to comply with. I am heading to New York state, traveling from Boston across to Buffalo.

Thank you

I think you'll find this site loaded with information that will answer your question and give you some dos and dont tips also.  https://drone-laws.com/drone-laws-in-ny-state/

Register and label the drone for the USA,  take and pass the TRUST. exam and carry proof and you'll be fine as long as you're not making money from it.   As soon as you do you'll need to sit the part 107.

Hello there, I have just completed the TRUST course and have my certificate from Boy Scouts Of America

My drone is under 250g, so I don't need to register? I definitely will if I have to

Thank you will have a read now, just taken and passed the TRUST test via the Boy Scouts Of America website

Make sure to print your certificate and keep it with you when you fly.  That way if you are approached you have proof of your completion.  Also even though the drone is below the 250 grams, it may not hurt to register the drone for $5.

my opinion and not legal advise.  you do not have to register your drone if it is less than 250g.  for the mini 3, i would you bother to register it and you may not even be able to without a credit card with a usa billing address.  people will disagree with me but if you are flying for fun, you don't need a part 107.  the part 107 license is not for making money, it's for furtherance of a business.  even the crappy businesses that don't make money still need a part 107.  if you're not trying to further a business but you're only posting fun videos to yt (whether yt makes money on them or not and they do), when your drone takes off from the ground and you're flying across fields and bays and treelines for the fun of it, if that's your intent then no part 107 required.  come to america, come fly your mini drone, don't sweat it.  just get the trust certificate and get laanc approval in controlled airspace and never ever have a drone discussion with a police officer while you are here and you'll be fine.

Shawgod Posted at 3-31 05:50
Make sure to print your certificate and keep it with you when you fly.  That way if you are approached you have proof of your completion.  Also even though the drone is below the 250 grams, it may not hurt to register the drone for $5.

Thanks, I may do that. I have made contact with the FAA and they have been sending information, but it's starting to sound it's very limited over there where you can fly, which is fair enough

The Saint Posted at 3-31 06:00
my opinion and not legal advise.  you do not have to register your drone if it is less than 250g.  for the mini 3, i would you bother to register it and you may not even be able to without a credit card with a usa billing address.  people will disagree with me but if you are flying for fun, you don't need a part 107.  the part 107 license is not for making money, it's for furtherance of a business.  even the crappy businesses that don't make money still need a part 107.  if you're not trying to further a business but you're only posting fun videos to yt (whether yt makes money on them or not and they do), when your drone takes off from the ground and you're flying across fields and bays and treelines for the fun of it, if that's your intent then no part 107 required.  come to america, come fly your mini drone, don't sweat it.  just get the trust certificate and get laanc approval in controlled airspace and never ever have a drone discussion with a police officer while you are here and you'll be fine.

When you say never have a drone discussion with a police officer is that because they come down hard on their use or they aren't the people to query it with ? On the Trust test one of the 'wrong' answers is 'do you speak to the police to get permission?'

Download B4UFly. This will show you FAA controlled airspace and NFZs.

DT0125 Posted at 3-31 08:47
When you say never have a drone discussion with a police officer is that because they come down hard on their use or they aren't the people to query it with ? On the Trust test one of the 'wrong' answers is 'do you speak to the police to get permission?'

the TRUST is a mandatory government test where they ask questions and give you credit for answering them correctly.  so of course they will instruct you to have a big long discussion and answer everything that is asked about you.

however, your best bet is to follow the law.  the law varies from state to state but i can tell you that you are not required to answer any questions from a police officer.  i just wouldn't go into specifics about what paperwork is needed, do you have authorization to fly here, the weight of your drone, what you are doing with your drone, how high or fast you are flying, if your drone has cameras installed, can you see your drone at all times, are you flying over people or cars, etc.  the answer to every single question is "im a recreational pilot flying my drone strictly for fun; have a good day."  if the officer want to notify the faa, that's fine but the trust paper is all they get.

as a visitor, you might not have the same rights as a citizen (especially in the ssr of new york) so you should do whatever you feel comfortable with.  the reason i say don't answer questions is because police dont know the drone laws.  many officers still believe within 5 miles of an airport is a strict no-fly zone, many officers believe public parks are private property and park patrons deserve privacy else you are disturbing the peace, police think the drone laws that apply to their department also apply to you the flying public, etc.

Mobilehomer Posted at 3-31 08:53
Download B4UFly. This will show you FAA controlled airspace and NFZs.

I have been in constant email with the FAA all day and I am not filled with confidence when they give such short answers.

I gave them this image and asked is it true to say that when the B4UFly app says Clear For Take Off it's okay to fly there so long as I follow the rules, and their answer was 'generally'.

^yep you're not going to have a problem from the faa when you try to fly in that area.  if you want to download a 3rd party app, try "aloft air control" to get a different viewpoint.  if the drone will let you take off without any warning, you'll be fine.

"Generally" means if there is no TFR in the area.

The Saint Posted at 3-31 12:42
^yep you're not going to have a problem from the faa when you try to fly in that area.  if you want to download a 3rd party app, try "aloft air control" to get a different viewpoint.  if the drone will let you take off without any warning, you'll be fine.

Brilliant, this is the sort of help I was hoping for

Mobilehomer Posted at 3-31 17:13
"Generally" means if there is no TFR in the area.

Thank you, and that b4ufly APP would presumably flag up TFPs ?

DT0125 Posted at 4-1 00:15
Thank you, and that b4ufly APP would presumably flag up TFPs ?

I believe so. It needs data access to keep up to date when opened.

DT0125 Posted at 4-1 00:15
Thank you, and that b4ufly APP would presumably flag up TFPs ?

@DT0125 The b4ufly app should tell you if there's any TFR's in the area. I've also read some of your previous posts being concerned about the legality of piloting a drone in the States. If you're using it for recreational purposes, as long as you have proof of passing the TRUST exam (paper copy or digital copy) and certification for drones weighing 250g or more, you'll be fine.

DT0125 Posted at 3-31 08:47
When you say never have a drone discussion with a police officer is that because they come down hard on their use or they aren't the people to query it with ? On the Trust test one of the 'wrong' answers is 'do you speak to the police to get permission?'

@DT0125 Also, don't get too worked up about having to deal with police officers when flying your drone. Talking to police is certainly not a question on the TRUST exam. Generally, police will only come talk to you if someone nearby has called them to complain. If this happens, I'd recommend just being polite to the officers and let them know you will be leaving soon, assuming you only plan to fly for less than an hour. Even if you're only flying for <1 hour, it's likely that police won't be a problem anyways.

ColtonP Posted at 4-2 15:55
@DT0125 Also, don't get too worked up about having to deal with police officers when flying your drone. Talking to police is certainly not a question on the TRUST exam. Generally, police will only come talk to you if someone nearby has called them to complain. If this happens, I'd recommend just being polite to the officers and let them know you will be leaving soon, assuming you only plan to fly for less than an hour. Even if you're only flying for

Thanks for you reply. I only really want to take some footage of some of the scenery where appropriate, nowhere near house/people, and it probably wouldn’t be for more than 5 minutes. If i see a nice outlook and the app says its okay to fly id just get what i needed and move on.

ColtonP Posted at 4-2 15:50
@DT0125 The b4ufly app should tell you if there's any TFR's in the area. I've also read some of your previous posts being concerned about the legality of piloting a drone in the States. If you're using it for recreational purposes, as long as you have proof of passing the TRUST exam (paper copy or digital copy) and certification for drones weighing 250g or more, you'll be fine.

Ive got the dji mini 3 and that’s under 250g.

Good morning,

I am reading your post with interest as flying from Manchester to Texas in March and have similar concerns.

I have resisted with Thedronezone and took the trust test. I have a Mavic 2 Pro so over the registration weight.

I have downloaded b4ufly etc but unsure on remote ID as currently the UK has not decided on whether to implement it yet or not.

I am on latest firmware but unsure how to get remote ID to register with US

Robert

With regards to dealing with American cops, or other authority figures, I suspect that if you treat them as if they were human and very much like yourself then then will treat you in the same way, just as the British police do.
On the other hand ..... give them abuse or make their life difficult then they will probably reciprocate.

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you ...... or something like that.

I want to clear up some things here that may cause a little trouble for you. If you are using the standard batteries on the DJI Mini 3, you won't have any issues. If you use the extended flight batteries, the weight is significantly higher, and the drone will start emitting Remote ID to comply. Remote ID is turned off by default, but automatically turns on with the extended flight batteries. You can't control this, not to turn it off or on. Also, if you are flying evening time, and have running lights, that puts you over. If you have landing gear, that puts you over. A 249 g drone is really only legal without registering if your drone is completely naked, with standard batteries, and absolutely no addons whatsoever. If you use anything aside from what came in the box, register. I mean, it's $5. A coffee costs more.

DT0125 Posted at 2023-3-31 02:12
Hello

I have posted this in on other part of the form. This is not to annoy but I am trying to find the right section to contact the right people. After this, I will reserve it to one part of the form.

Sub 250g, for recreational purposes only, take the TRUST exam (15 mins no brainer), carry your certificate and you're good to go (remain in accordance with airspace regulations). For permission to launch from any given spot you need landowner's permission so on private property with owner's consent in class G airspace you're good to go. If you're on pubic lands you need to find out who owns / manages the land and what their drone policies are. Generally it's good in America especially in rural areas.