I was speaking with a client a while back who wanted to do have us carry some 3D Virtual Reality equipment using one of our drones near the Hollywood Sign in Los Angeles, CA. With only a few days’ notice, I had to explain how the FAA does not work on the same time table as production. In the infancy of the commercial drone operation and event today, access to controlled airspace is tough to get in a short amount of time. In the past this required a long drawn out process to get a certificate of waiver, usually taking the FAA 120 days to even look at the request let alone grant it. The FAA has had a slow approach to letting operators gain access to controlled airspace. While this has been a safe approach to integrating drones into National Airspace, it is still not conducive to working with production schedules. After more than a few missed opportunities due to this timeline, we set out to be proactive in airspace access rather than reactive. We have applied for blanket and wide area access to many of the airports in the Ventura and LA county areas for greater flexibility and shorter timetables for access to these controlled areas.
After waiting for over a year now, we have been granted access to some of the most desirable locations in the Los Angeles area. Our drone pilots have blanket access to Los Angeles International (LAX), Bob Hope in Burbank (BUR), Santa Monica (SMO), Long Beach (LGB), Van Nuys CA (VNY), Santa Barbra (SBA), Oxnard (OXR), Camarillo, (CMA), Point Mugu Air Station, (NTD) and Nellis AFB in Las Vegas (LSV).
For our clients, this means no more waiting, we are pre-approved by the FAA to fly in these areas! Permitting offices have accepted our waivers without question.
Are you a drone company that needs access to these airports for your upcoming project? Get in contact with us to find out how we can help.
About the Author
Jaron Denson served the U.S. Department of Defense for 5 years engineering, manufacturing and piloting unmanned aircraft. He quickly became the lead aeronautical engineer at an unmanned aircraft company where he trained and directed engineers for R&D projects. Jaron holds a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, a B.S. in Physics, a Private Pilot’s Certificate for civil aviation and Part 107 Certificate for commercial drone operation. Spotting the rise of the commercial drone space, Jaron quit his job as an aerospace engineer and co-founded Drone Tech Aerial, LLC .
