A new “No Drone Zone” map highlights areas that local operators of unmanned aircraft systems should avoid, namely within two miles of Santa Barbara Airport.
Flying drones inside the map’s red circle might not technically be illegal, but it’s highly discouraged, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, which governs the skies.
Todd Smith, air traffic manager for the FAA tower at the airport, gave a brief presentation about drones to the Santa Barbara Airport Commission this month, detailing the number of close calls pilots have reported with drones across the country.
Smith also helped create the map, which uses yellow lines to illustrate flight patterns in and out of the airport.
Although there haven’t been any drone-related incidents locally, airport commissioners agreed getting the map out to the public would be a great idea, especially since so many drones are available for less than $100 at Albertsons, Costco and more.
The map provides a link to new FAA regulations, which were rolled out last summer.
Rules focus on commercial versus recreational use and generally ask operators to keep drones in line of sight and below 400 feet, 3 miles from an airport and away from populated areas.
They should also weigh fewer than 55 pounds, unless otherwise certified.
“It’s like anything,” Smith said. “The feds can create a law, but it’s up to the state to enforce and add laws on top of it. We need to find a way to peacefully coexist.”
Locals have already called the Santa Barbara Airport FAA tower asking to use drones to take aerial photos of nearby buildings, Smith said, unaware that some uses now require registration.
Micro drones weighing fewer than 0.55 pounds don’t require it, but those ranging from 0.55 pounds to 55 pounds do — both for recreational use and a separate certificate of waiver for commercial use.
Smith said operators can register via FAA UAS registration program, whereby they go online, do a brief training and obtain a registration card that costs $5.
Because drones are nearly impossible to track — they don’t show up on radar — the FAA is hoping registration could help better inform users of the rules.
In 2015, pilots nationwide reported about 900 drone sightings, with 500 of them being too close for comfort, Smith said.
Drones could become lodged in an aircraft’s exhaust, and the unmanned vehicles have also reportedly impacted firefighters’ efforts to put out wildfires in Southern California.
Smith recommended getting the map out to members of the aviation community, but commissioners also suggested putting them in stores where drones are sold.
“We’d like to be more proactive than ‘please be careful,’” Smith said.
Santa Barbara Airport operations manager Tracy Lincoln said the airport would collaborate with the FAA to distribute the map, which will go up on the airport’s homepage.
“It’s a good public education tool,” Lincoln said, calling it a quick visual reference for operators who hopefully learn where drone-sensitive areas are while not flying too high.
— Noozhawk staff writer Gina Potthoff can be reached at gpotthoff@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
