Drone-curious with some questions

[Involute]

I’m 66, recreational commercial pilot, and thinking of buying a DJI Flip. I’m superficially aware of the FAA regs concerning drones, and would become thoroughly familiar if I bought one, though the Flip is sub-250 grams, so I realize most don’t apply. One that does, however, is the restriction on flight within controlled airspace. Since I live within 5 miles of a towered airport, and confirmed with Aloft I’m within the lateral boundaries of the airport’s airspace, I assume I’d have to notify someone and get approval before each flight in my backyard.

The Aloft app lets me “Notify and Fly,” as well as “Get LAANC.” What’s the difference? Do I need both?

Finally, once I get approval, how do I communicate that to the drone? I thought they’re supposed to be geofenced to prevent unpermitted flight within controlled airspace. Or am I misunderstanding something?

Thanks for any help.

 

[LoudThunder]

I’m superficially aware of the FAA regs concerning drones,

Welcome from the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, USA.

First off, a bit more information would have been helpful… like how close to that Towered airport and your orientation to the runways… It really makes a difference and if you load the Air Control App on your smart device or PC, and input your location, you will know if it is even possible to fly a drone there as the maximum altitude a drone may fly, from zero altitude to 400'.

Now, where you can fly in LA will come into question as there are a lot of controlled airspace, Graphic is from the Air Control App…

llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

If flying is allowed (not a Zero Altitude Quadrant…), and your airport is LAANC (Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability) enabled, you would simply enter your flight location into the Air Control App and submit it, takes about 1-minute, 2-minutes (when you are learning…).

A LAANC (Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability) request might be disapproved if your planned drone flight falls within restricted airspace, exceeds the allowed altitude limit for automatic approval, is too close to an airport's critical area, involves complex operations requiring further coordination, or if the area you want to fly in is not currently enabled for LAANC authorization.

But as your Wrote that you only "superficially aware of the FAA regs concerning drones, then you should take the TRUST Certification course, it's FREE and you cannopt fail and your must have this certification before yu fly a drone Recreationally…

Link to the TRUST Certificate at the Pilot Institute Web Site (FREE…)

FAA TRUST Online Portal for Recreational Drone Operators - Pilot Institute

Get your FAA TRUST Certificate of Completion to legally fly drones for recreational reasons in the United States.

trust.pilotinstitute.com

Next, you might also want to get a bit more advanced training, it's also FREE, and it is required for Part 107 Certification recurrent training which we Part 107 Certification holder must complete each 2-years…

Activities, Courses, Seminars & Webinars - ALC_Content - FAA - FAASTeam - FAASafety.gov

Take the FAA Recurrent training course, like I wrote, it's FREE and there is an exam at the end if you want to take it to see how much you absorbed…

Next, the DJI GeoFencing has just (Yesterday) gone under much change and in many cases you will only need to click that you accept "Full Responsibility…" However, not all fencing has been removed, it's just not as restricted… If you are flying in a really restricted location, one that requires an FAA Authorization, and not many are approved for a Recreational Pilot… but if it is approved, you will submit that to DJI and if they agree, the drone's firmware will be updated over the internet and most folks do that from home…

I am Part 107 Certified and I need that since I live in the Class D Controlled Airspace of an Air Force Base and I am in a Zero Altitude Quadrant ( as I call it, a "Drone Taxi Zone…") just to fly in my back yard yard and my front yard is in the Class D airspace of an International Airport that Air Force One practices landing upon… This is my home area…



And this is a view of what flies over my back yard…





Good Luck!

 

[Involute]

Thanks for the detailed reply and links. The nearest airport is Santa Monica which participates in LAANC. I’m under a 400 foot ceiling according to the FAA’s UAS data map. Once I submit my LAANC request and receive the approval, do I still have to transfer it to the drone (even with relaxed geofencing)? If so, does the app handle that, via Bluetooth e.g.?