Flights in controlled airspace?

There is a very large (by east coast standards...), well maintained field in my area that I drive by every day. I have never tried to request to fly there before because of one issue - its about 2 miles from a small towered airport. The field is inside of their class D from sfc to 2500. Has anyone ever flown in controlled airspace?

For LPR/MPR/Class1:

I'm looking in CFR 101, in 101.5 it says operating in a "prohibited or restricted" area requires permission. I interpret that to apply to the P- & R- hatched regions on sectionals, not just controlled airspace, true?

There is no mention of controlled airspace in 101.23 "General operating limitations" like there is in the Class 2 specific 101.25.

This makes me think Class 1 would not require FAA or tower approval. There is also no mention of airspace/airports in the NAR safety code.

For HPR/Class 2:

Has anyone ever attempted to get a waiver for this sort of situation? I'm not at all familiar with the waiver process. Do you typically request an altitude & plan of operation that the FAA approves or do you just specify a location and they tell you what you get? We would be close enough to have radio contact with the tower if needed. I would love any examples if there is precedent.

Thanks,

I know from flying drones that one is supposed to get clearance from the facility prior to flight. Unmanned aircraft can indeed be operated within the Class D airspace provided permission is obtained. The clearance in question is a one time proposition. When obtaining clearance the aircraft operator must supply the authorities with the date and approximate time and duration of the flight.

Jim

Russ, I think your reading that a Class 1 rocket would need no coordination is correct. Of course you would need to not launch if there were aircraft over the field as called for the the Safety Code....but that's always the case.

I have no direct experience with getting FAA waivers but based on the nature of the waivers that I know of for clubs in this general vicinity and where their flying sites are, I strongly suspect you would never get one for a site like you describe. But, as I say, I have not tried to do this. Perhaps someone else who has can weigh in.

This is, for now at least, a completely different case than RC aircraft and those bloody quadcopters and the FAA restrictions that have arisen out of their occasional irresponsible use. I, for one, would like the separation between rockets and "Small Unmanned Aerial Systems" to remain.

I agree with Bernard.

We launch 4.3 miles from a semi-busy general aviation airport. Lost of small airplanes and helicopters. We simply follow the NAR Safety Code and look for aircraft and we also ensure that whenever we hear an airplane or helicopter we shout "HOLD" to the launch control officer and we stop launching until we determine exactly where the airplane is. If it is heading away from us, we proceed. If it is heading toward us - even if somewhat far away - we stop until they pass. That way they do not erroneously report seeing "someone on the ground firing missiles at us".

We launch AT an airport. No faa involvement is needed for class 1 other than vfr rules.

BEC said:

....RC aircraft and those bloody quadcopters....

Click to expand...

Hey, those "bloody quadcopters" are a hell of a lot of fun.

...and I have been thoroughly enjoying your projects (and in the case of the ML mixing the two types together. I don’t expect you are operating in the fashion that has got the FAA’s attention.

I sometimes wonder if Zenon Dragan had any idea what would become of his idea.

I got a waiver to fly at a small (BurlingtonNC) airport once, but it was part of an air show.

Often when I call the appropriate number to fly a kite or rocket they seem rather annoyed. Nevertheless I keep doing it when I'm supposed to, not my fault they put tiny nothing airports all over the place.

Yes, fortunately we are not (yet) lumped in with model aircraft. It’s been sad to see such a long established hobby suddenly be brought into a negative light by the proliferation of “drones”. I fly a mix of fixed wing, helis, and now quads too and it’s amazing how the attitude of the public has shifted over the past few years. It’s a sobering reminder of how close we are to getting outside “help”.

Sounds like I should go ahead and contact the property manager. If we can get a successful low power launch I’ll revisit the waiver.

Thanks for the input!