I use my drone at tree height or building height, sometimes lower. It feels like I’m using it as a fancy tripod instead of a flying machine. I take photos and videos of family doing flips into the pool, biking, skating, or just watching wildlife. Usually, I don’t fly higher than 20-30 feet.
I never get that high, so I don’t think the FAA should be involved since I’m not posing a risk to aircraft at those low altitudes—if an aircraft is that low, it’d hit trees or buildings.
Why does the FAA need to regulate ‘ground level to obstacle height’?
Of course, flying over crowds or big groups is risky, and that should be avoided.
Let me know what dangers I might be missing that the FAA is handling well.
Case 1: Drone on a 25 ft tall pole held by someone
Case 2: Drone hovering 25 ft off the ground
Case 3: Drone 25 ft off the ground but attached by a very thin string
Case 4: Drone hanging from a crane 25 ft off the ground
In each of these cases, the drone is taking videos from the same height. But according to drone rules, Case 1 is fine, while Case 2 has to follow FAA rules. Not sure about Case 3, but Case 4 seems the same as Case 1.
Whitney said:
I’ve been saying this for years. It’s crazy that I need permission to fly below tree height.
I once called Santa Barbara tower. I told them I wanted to fly my drone around the campus to film buildings and fields as a gift to a student. I was within 2 miles of the airport. I asked if I could do this when no planes were landing or taking off. They asked how high I would go, and I said, ‘not very high, you tell me.’ They said as long as I stayed below tree level, it’d be fine, but they would still notify planes about drone activity at or below 100 feet. I called him 30 minutes later, said I was done, and thanked him. This happened in 2018. Flying low like that shouldn’t be such a big deal.
Whitney said:
I’ve been saying this for years. It’s crazy that I need permission to fly below tree height.
I think it’s because of the ‘fly away’ rule.
In the UK, you have to know how far your drone can fly if it loses control. That means you need to be aware of nearby airports and what might happen if your drone flies away vertically.
I was trying to show off my drone at my friend’s new house. I wanted to take a picture at 50 feet and send it to him. But the house was too close to a military airfield, so I couldn’t even take off.