Operating a UAS in complex airspace

Introduction

When looking at a sectional chart, especially in crowded cities, they can look very complicated. They can contain many different symbols and confusing circles that are hard to figure out what they mean if one doesn't know where to look. In many cases, you can find the necessary information on the side of the sectional charts, which explain anything and everything found on the chart for that specific area. The three scenarios are of complex airspace, each figure has a series of questions that need to be answered with them, is approval needed to perform an operation in that area, what are potential hazards inside the airspace and important aspects of the airspace that should be noted.

Scenarios and discussion

Scenario 1

In this scenario (figure 1) we are using a quadcopter for an inspection of a tower circled in orange (the red circle is a no-fly zone Trump tower as this complex airspace happens to be over New York City). To answer the first question that was stated yes approval is needed to fly in this area. This would come from JFK as they have airspace control in this area. A potential hazard that 2 runways facing this tower that need to be considered, so traffic will be heavy in the area. Along with the increased traffic from the runways, there are a few important aspects of this airspace that need to be considered. Trump tower as stated earlier is a no-fly zone so geo-locking the quadcopter is a must. Also, it is worth mentioning that because this is a city that there will be tall buildings to avoid and they can cause interference and increase the risk of an accident. Finally, there are tall buildings in the area and some have high-intensity lights. It will be crucial that the flight takes place before they are turned on as they have a chance of blinding the sensors used and make the data unusable.

Scenario 2

The second scenario is to use a fixed-wing to map Carrington Island (circled in red). As approval is not needed to fly in this area, the first question is answered. Some potential hazards of the area include the restricted airspace that is just to the west of the island. There is also a VFR checkpoint and route that runs just to the north and southeast respectively. These important aspects are things that should be avoided, the restricted airspace especially (so geo-locking the fixed-wing is required). The VFR route will most likely have a higher concentration of aircraft following the route. Although they will be at a higher altitude than is legally allowed to fly a fixed-wing UAS it is still a good idea to know that there could be a higher volume of air traffic along the route. The last thing to consider in this scenario is the isogonic line that runs right by the island. This will probably require that the compass will need to be calibrated.

Scenario 3

In scenario 3 an analysis of a forest on fox island is required (red oval is fox island). Approval for this flight is needed and will come from Gray AAF (GRF), it also wouldn't be a bad idea, in this case, to also alert Tacoma Narrows (TIW) that there will be operations in the area. The potential hazards of flying this island are that there two airports (GRF and TIW) right by the area of operation, and there is a group obstruction just to the east of TIW. The hazards are that there is class E airspace 700ft above the island, and again as a UAS should never be flown that high per FAA regulations, it is still good to note. There will also be a very high volume of air traffic in the area due to the airports around, also the high obstacles just east of TIW will be a good thing to avoid.

Conclusion

Being able to identify hazards in the airspace is essential to safe ops of a UAS. Sectional charts can be a useful way to determine what aviation hazards are in the area and what specific areas to avoid due to restrictions and other special cases. Being able to determine the hazards that are on these charts will separate a good UAS pilot from a professional.