Thursday, December 15, 2016

Fly near a Class D airport without an airspace authorization!


suasnews.com
By Jonathan Rupprecht
-15 December 2016



Need to fly in B, C, D, or E at the surface airspace but you don’t want to get an authorization or waiver?

You could just wait till the airport tower closes and fly under a Part 107 night waiver.

For more info on what is night, see my article on How to Fly Your Drone at Night-(Part 107 Waiver for Night Operations)

Most controlled airports close at around 9-11PM local time.


Not every airport is 24/7.

Check the chart supplement (formerly known as the airport facility directory) for the airport and see when the airport closes.

You should also see which type of airspace it turns into. MAKE SURE IT TURNS INTO CLASS G!

The time the tower will be in operation will be listed in Zulu time. Remember to convert to local time by looking at the UTC correction at the top.

You just fly at night under a night waiver in that location without an authorization once it turns into G.

Just check to make sure in the chart supplement as I think a few towered airports might revert to Class E at the surface which requires an authorization.

I have 14 night waiver approvals already. I’m noticing that night waivers are on average taking about 26 days for my clients. The fastest ever was 13 days. The FAA is sure speeding things up. If you need help with a night waiver, please contact me by replying to this email.

Stay safe!

No comments:

Post a Comment