ChasesDronePics Posted at 2017-10-31 13:49
The NPS doesn't control airspace but they don't allow drones in the park.

As previously stated, they cannot prevent you from flying over a park.  They prevent you from taking off or landing in the park.  Most parks I know of are large enough that you wouldn't be able to fly from outside the park to the interesting part of the park.  That said, we have one right here where you can launch outside and fly completely across it with no problem.

AG0N-Gary Posted at 2017-10-31 13:58
As previously stated, they cannot prevent you from flying over a park.  They prevent you from taking off or landing in the park.  Most parks I know of are large enough that you wouldn't be able to fly from outside the park to the interesting part of the park.  That said, we have one right here where you can launch outside and fly completely across it with no problem.

Yes you're correct I just didn't make that clear in my previous comment.

AG0N-Gary Posted at 2017-10-31 13:58
As previously stated, they cannot prevent you from flying over a park.  They prevent you from taking off or landing in the park.  Most parks I know of are large enough that you wouldn't be able to fly from outside the park to the interesting part of the park.  That said, we have one right here where you can launch outside and fly completely across it with no problem.

This also applies to National Monuments that are not identified by TFR's & PFR's

It's ironic to say a drone flying over vast unpopulated lands is so bad there must be rules against it yet a million people annually trample through the park leaving trash that the NPS has to pay people to clean up.

Hotelone4 Posted at 2017-10-27 11:10
"Operating or using aircraft on lands and waters." I know of one appeal that argued that "on lands" didn't mean "over lands" but that appeal was dismissed.  For national parks the law is clear and established. Don't encourage people to do this, they can get fined and forfeit their drones. I personally know of at least three drone operators that were successfully prosecuted for launching outside the park and flying in.  $500 fines and one had to forfeit his AC. If someone would like to run a case past the 9th Curcuit Court of Appeals up to the Supreme Court let me know and I could call a guy and get the ball rolling!

Can you cite the court cases you are talking about? Let's see some proof.

Even the NPS website SAYS it is generally legal for someone to fly their drone over a park from the outside:

https://www.nps.gov/articles/unm ... -national-parks.htm

Quote: "Can I launch and land my unmanned aircraft outside the park boundary?
The NPS has no authority outside park boundaries; the unmanned aircraft operator would have to get the permission of the landowner."

I think he went away......?

this is stupid what are they hiding that they dont want drones flying in them and seeing

boostedford Posted at 2017-11-18 16:24
this is stupid what are they hiding that they dont want drones flying in them and seeing

It's not about that. On my trip I asked Rangers, and especially at the Grand Canyon they had stories where they'd have to go beyond railings to fish drones out of plants. It damages the nature around them if they crash, and causes noise pollution. Imagine everyone that has a $60 drone that cannot hover right trying to fly across a National Park, it's not feasible to enable everyone to fly.

Flycaster Posted at 2017-6-8 12:03
From what I have read, and understand, you cannot take off and fly in a National Park.
BUT, if you park/step outside the N.P. boundary, and launch OUTSIDE the N.P., and controlling it OUTSIDE of the boundary, you can fly over the park etc.
Unfortunatly, all the neat stuff mat be a wee bit out of ranger in some cases

You can play that game if you want but, if your drone inside the park does any damage, disturbs wildlife or creates a nuisance of any sort, you can still be cited for the violation, since it occurred within a park boundary.

Irate Retro Posted at 2017-10-27 12:07
So park rangers have the ability to search you and seize your junk when you're not even on national park land?  When I saw him coming I'd throw the drone in the locked trunk of my car and deny him permission to enter the vehicle.

That's ok, a ranger can detain you on probable cause and get a warrant electronically.

DroneFlying Posted at 2017-10-27 10:57
Launching outside a NP and flying in is still a no-no.

No, it isn't; you just can't launch or pilot from within the park, and doing so is only a violation of park rules and not FAA regulations, but the parks have no jurisdiction over what you do outside of them and in particular don't have jurisdiction over any part of the national airspace. In fact, the very material that you quoted but apparently misunderstood confirms this: operating or using aircraft on  lands or waters other than at locations designated. In other words, you can't operate / use a drone (or other aircraft) from national park land or water unless you're in a location designated otherwise -- but the NPS has no jurisdiction over the airspace.

You can play that game if you want but, if your drone inside the park does any damage, disturbs wildlife or creates a nuisance of any sort, you can still be cited for the violation, since it occurred within a park boundary.

QuadKid Posted at 2017-10-31 14:04
This also applies to National Monuments that are not identified by TFR's & PFR's

Thanks QuadKid.  This is the info I was looking for as I noticed Fort Monroe National Monument in Hampton Virginia was not showing up on AirMap.

Frank Biganski Posted at 2018-1-19 02:41
Thanks QuadKid.  This is the info I was looking for as I noticed Fort Monroe National Monument in Hampton Virginia was not showing up on AirMap.

Here is an example, took off just outside the boundaries of this National Monument, flew within the boundaries to get the footage I wanted then landed back at my Home Point, The ranger came up to me and said not a problem, wanted to see the footage so I showed him some of the Raw video, he was impressed. That being said if the drone had malfunctioned and came down within the Monument boundaries that would have been a problem.