With Great Gifts, Comes great Responsibility: Fort Novosel Officials Warn of Christmas Drones

Photo By Brittany Trumbull | “As you are learning to fly that drone you should take the opportunity to become proficient at it before you do anything dynamic,” said David Green, AVCOE G3 Air, “The first thing you should do is visit faa.gov/uas.” Photo by Brittany Trumbull.  

FORT NOVOSEL, ALABAMA, UNITED STATES

12.16.2024

Story by Jay Mann 

Fort Novosel Public Affairs Office

FORT NOVOSEL, Ala. – Christmas morning as you rip the paper and ribbon from your biggest present to reveal a drone that you have dreamed of flying all year, a whisper floats across the room, “Are we even allowed to fly that thing here?”
“The answers will be different for a kid in Daleville or a kid in Ozark,” said David Green, Aviation Center of Excellence G3 Air, “The reason is that Daleville is under the Cairns Class D Airspace. They have rules that someone in Ozark does not have because they are not under a controlled airspace. It is all about where and how you want to fly the drone.”
Green has some advice for people who plan on giving or getting a drone this year.
“The first thing you should do is go to the FAA’s Website, https://www.faa.gov/uas, read the information and register the drone. After you have registered it, you should take the TRUST test.”
According to the FAA’s website, TRUST provides education and testing on important safety and regulatory information. If you fly your drone recreationally under the Exception for Recreational Flyers, you must pass the test before you fly.
“If you have a remote ID on your drone, you can follow the rules on the FAA website. If you don’t have the remote ID, you can only fly in a FAA-Recognized Identification Area, or FRIA zone,” said Green.
According to the FAA, remote ID is a safety and tracking system that broadcasts basic information about a drone like its ID number, location, altitude and control station. If the drone is being flown in an unsafe manner or in a restricted area, remote ID allows authorized individuals from public safety organizations to request more information about that drone.
“The remote ID is like a digital license plate for a car,” said Green, “Most modern drones come with a remote ID, but on older ones you can add it as opposed to it being built in.”
“I think of it like buying a car. It probably won’t say in the car hey, go to the DMV and register your vehicle. Likewise in your drone box it might not say go to the FAA website and register it.”
“After you verify that you have the remote ID, follow the rules on the FAA website,” said Green.
Green explained that the FAA has certain rules outlined on their website and information on designated no drone zones. If you violate these federal regulations or a designated no fly zone you can be arrested.
“Also, there are different versions of drone fliers. You have a recreational flier and a Part 107, like business fliers. If you fall under the recreational flier, there are nine rules that you must follow on the FAA website,” said Green, “There is a quiz on the website to find out what kind of flier you are and what rules you have to follow.”
The nine rules outlined on the FAA’s website for recreational fliers are:
1. Fly only for recreational purposes (personal enjoyment).
2. Follow the safety guidelines of an FAA-recognized Community Based Organization (CBO).
3. Keep your drone within the visual line of sight or use a visual observer who is co-located (physically next to) and in direct communication with you.
4. Give way to and do not interfere with other aircraft.
5. Fly at or below FAA-authorized altitudes in controlled airspace (Class B, C, D, and surface Class E designated for an airport) only with prior FAA authorization by using LAANC or DroneZone.
6. Fly at or below 400 feet in Class G (uncontrolled) airspace.
7. Take The Recreational UAS Safety Test (TRUST) and carry proof of test passage when flying.
8. Have a current FAA registration, mark (PDF) your drones on the outside with the registration number, and carry proof of registration with you when flying. As of September 16, 2023, if your drone requires an FAA registration number it will also be required to broadcast Remote ID information (unless flown within a FRIA).
9. Do not operate your drone in a manner that endangers the safety of the national airspace system.
People may assume that recreational flight just means you are not getting paid, but the FAA website warns that compensation, or the lack of it, is not what determines if a flight is recreational or not.
Non-recreational flights might include taking photos to help sell property, taking photos or video of a high school football game for their website, or surveying coastline on behalf of a non-profit.
The website warns that if you are not sure if you are a recreational flier or not, you should fly under part 107.
Downloading the FAA’s B4UFLY app will lead you to a list of the FAA’s trusted sources, apps that help you determine the classification of the airspace that you plan to fly, information on temporary flight restrictions, Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC), and other resources you will need to fly.
Green explained that to fly in certain areas you can go into the App and make the request. If the request is approved, you will receive an email with a code to enter into your drone granting permission to use the airspace for the requested time and altitude.
“In the email that you receive with the approval code will be a phone number that you call to inform the air traffic control tower that you are about to fly, and also to call when you are done flying,” added Green.
“I think that it is important that before you use any toy, whether it is a nerf gun or a drone, that you understand the outcome of what using it can be,” warned Green, “In this case whether it is hitting a helicopter, a person, a car or a house you can cause damage based off of the object that you are flying.”
“As you are learning to fly that drone you should take the opportunity to become proficient at it before you do anything dynamic,” he added, “You need to take it step by step.”

• Date Taken: 12.16.2024
• Date Posted: 12.16.2024 12:49
• Story ID: 487587
• Location: FORT NOVOSEL, ALABAMA, US