Haven't contributed too much here, but I'm looking for some feedback. Disclaimer: I'm not a (full-size aircraft) pilot and may mangle the nomenclature.
I live in New Hampshire, USA and fly mostly multirotors, usually around my house. I'm not jazzed about the recent FAA guidelines/regulations/suggestions, but I'm trying to be a responsible citizen and drink the Kool-Aid. I was asked by a friend if I could get some aerial footage of their wedding at a ski resort up in one of our National Forests. The resort said no because it's in a NF, which I know isn't entirely true (except for maybe Wilderness Areas within NFs). According to knowbeforeyoufly.org, this is restricted airspace labeled as an MOA (Military Operations Area). So being the good little boy that I am, I decided to go down the rabbit hole and try to find out who to call...
Made the first call here: https://www.1800wxbrief.com/afss/#!/phone-numbers-quick-steps
The guy from Lockheed Martin was very nice and helpful, if not slightly confused. He gave me a number to call for "Boston Center" traffic control and also the number to submit a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen). So I called the Boston Center number and got transferred.
Then this guy picks up, clearly sounds like military. (Disclaimer: I have nothing but the utmost respect for military service members.) He then proceeds to flatly tell me that it's impossible to get approval. It'd have to go through so many levels, I'd have to be a "military operator", "we can't have people farting around with drones up there", "military equipment is so expensive", etc., etc. When I asked about the process that Lockheed Martin had explained to me, he said, "Lockheed Martin doesn't own the airspace. I do." Basically told me to f-off in so many words and acted like I was endangering military planes. Which is exactly why I was calling...
Now in retrospect, the whole idea probably seemed silly to him and would have been a waste of everyone's time. But I was a little annoyed that trying to be legit got me laughed at. Most other interactions with air traffic control that I've read about have been positive. Anyone else have experience with this?
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