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Drones also banned from public parks? (CA Bay area, San Jose)

Posted by Csaba Kecskemeti on December 25, 2015 at 11:24pm

Hi All,

I tried to figure it out if the drones are banned out from all type of parks in the SF Bay area (CA) or just from national parks. (All the articles are talking about the disturbance of the wild life... well :) not so much in San Jose) 

Anybody from the area knows some place where it's legal to fly somewhere around San Jose? 

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Tags: ca, jose, san, fly, where
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            • Tony Kenward > DG January 2, 2016 at 8:45pm

              You failed at Constitutional law.  And you make no sense.

              And, yeah, America was fundamentally transformed when it elected it's first Black president.  You still can't accept that?, too bad.

  • Luca Martinetti December 30, 2015 at 12:20pm

    Hi,

    I am struggling with the same issue in San Francisco. I was flying my quad at Crissy Fields yesterday (a gorgeous day with no wind and the park completely empty) when a police agent kindly asked me to land.

    I checked http://knowbeforeyoufly.org/air-space-map/ and Golden Gate park is not listed.

    Is it legal to fly there? Any other option in SF?

    I would also love to meet other people and fly together. 

    Thanks

    U.S. Air Space Map
    • Coby > Luca Martinetti December 30, 2015 at 2:25pm

      I see Golden Gate park just north of Presidio on the KB4UF map.  I think it's a good resource but it may be giving a bit of a false impression regarding the real aviation activity in a given area.  E.g. It makes it seem I can fly a few blocks away from SFO and all is good as long I call and inform them of my recreational activity.  Meanwhile, I would be operating in Class B airspace with all kinds of special VFR flyways for helicopters and GA aircraft.  In short, what I would hope most of us here would consider a really bad idea.

      I think meeting other people and flying together is your best bet.  That's really what has driven the AMA, so no secret.  It used to be much harder to build and operate an R/C aircraft, so you really needed to join a group of people who had some experience if you had any hope of not using a trash bag to pick up a winters worth of gluing balsa together after a short 30 second "flight".  Ask me how I know.  None of it is particularly hard.  There is just a bunch of info to take into account before, during and after flying.  Likely much easier to handle with a well informed group of flying friends.    

      • Heller Gregory > Coby December 30, 2015 at 10:49pm

        I think Chrissy field is a National Park?  

        Treasure Island is a landfill, so is Ceaser Chavez park and Bedwell.   I signed up for the fly day in Berkeley on the 8th.  

  • Coby December 30, 2015 at 8:54am

    To gain additional insight I would suggest going to https://skyvector.com/ and search for SFO.  Or just pan the map over to your area and zoom in.  Class B Airspace is the blue rings around SFO - it is like an upside down wedding cake.  SFC means it starts at the surface. San Jose is magenta so it's Class C.  It's really hard to make out the parks on the Sectional.  Some of them are marked - light blue lines with dots.  Really just gives you some context into what is going on around you when it comes to aviation operations.

    The VFR Sectional is an eye chart so they created Know Before you Fly:

    http://knowbeforeyoufly.org/air-space-map/

    According to know before you fly:

    "Community-based guidelines require recreational operators to give notice for flights within 5 statute miles of an airport. Notice must be given to the airport operator or air traffic control tower, if the airport has a tower."

    AND THEN you have your local rules and regs for parks etc.  Sorry, can't help you with Bay Area when it comes to parks. 

    R,

    C

    SkyVector: Flight Planning / Aeronautical Charts
    Make your Flight Plan at SkyVector.com. SkyVector is a free online flight planner. Flight planning is easy on our large collection of Aeronautical Ch…
    • Heller Gregory > Coby December 30, 2015 at 10:34am

      I agree, I tell people what happened to drones is GPS.  

      I use sky vector all the time to file COA's.  I overlay it on google earth to file.  I'm a private pilot w/ an exemption.  

      What scares me the most is the drone traffic @ the Golden Gate.  They're incredible shots, it's also the small plane flight route around Class B.  I've also seen Coast Guard and other helicopters shoot the bridge (fly under it).  One guy assured me Coast Guard doesn't do that, and sure enough while we were sailing - they did.  

      If you were the average tourist with a drone, you wouldn't know the bridge is a route.  I wouldn't know if I wasn't a pilot.  

      • Charles K Taylor > Heller Gregory January 3, 2016 at 2:18pm

        There is a red tour helicopter that flies under the bridge multiple times a day... I've been in it. I was a lot of fun obviously and the heli is moving fairly fast so not a time for a drone to get in the way. I've always wanted to fly my rig around the bridge but being a pilot I know better.

  • Darrell Burkey December 29, 2015 at 9:49pm

    This is a disturbing trend. Looks like it won't be long until until multi rotors will only be allowed at clubs with all the other RC enthusiasts. That's bound to slow down the uptake. 

    • DG > Darrell Burkey December 29, 2015 at 9:58pm

      The AMA will love that.

      • Darrell Burkey > DG December 29, 2015 at 10:04pm

        Well, it was bound to happen. Like traditional RC, drones can be used in ways that are invasive and dangerous to the public. So it's a good thing that we have dedicated spaces set up for their use.

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