FAA Night Waiver HELP

Kaifect · Jan 18, 2018

I am trying to get an FAA waiver for flying at night. I have an agreement with a local news agency and public safety agencies but since I am not affiiliated with those agencies I need a waiver to fly at night. I applied for the waiver and got denied with "interventions you described are insufficient to mitigate risk to an acceptable level".
Does anyone have experience with this or even better a waiver application I could look at to see where I am lacking....?

BigAl07 · Jan 18, 2018

As a part 107 operator you'll always have to get your own waivers & authorizations.

There's a section already going for help with Night Waivers located at:
Night Operators

Florida Drone Supply · Jan 19, 2018

We also had a couple of our clients apply and get their first submission denied. The FAA is very particular on risk mitigation for this waiver. Hopefully the link above will give you some good advice.

Mike Overstreet · Jan 20, 2018

Kaifect said:
I am trying to get an FAA waiver for flying at night. I have an agreement with a local news agency and public safety agencies but since I am not affiiliated with those agencies I need a waiver to fly at night. I applied for the waiver and got denied with "interventions you described are insufficient to mitigate risk to an acceptable level".
Does anyone have experience with this or even better a waiver application I could look at to see where I am lacking....?

I own a video production company, do news work, and need to add night flight to my bag of tricks. I'm also a part 61 aircraft pilot which includes night flight. I too would be VERY interested in seeing a successful FAA application for night flight that might give some general guidance on getting such a waiver to operate legally. I'm tired of drone owners who just DO IT and hobbyists who have virtually no restrictions but there doesn't even seem to be any specific guidance from the FAA as to what they want in this regard.

Russ Still · Jan 20, 2018

Start out using the Performance Based Standards as a guide.

Kaifect · Jan 20, 2018

This seems to be a really good resource. I will let you know how it ends up.

How to Fly Your Drone at Night: Applying for a Part 107 Daylight Operations Waiver | Drone Pilot Ground School

Russ Still · Jan 21, 2018

That "How to" link (above) does cover some basics, but has very little meat and a few minor errors. The person who runs that site is not a flight instructor, so that should be expected.

The article it links to about about night visual illusions is by Desi Ekstein. She is a very active Remote Pilot in California, and a Gold Seal graduate who took the Gold Seal night operations training.

Kaifect · Jan 21, 2018

Thanks I will check it out. I am always looking for ways to turn the drone into cash.

AeroDroids · Jan 22, 2018

Initially mine was sent back for more information... I resubmitted it and it was approved. I indicated I would only do night ops with a visual observer. They asked me to resubmit for more information on how the visual observer would be trained to recognize visual illusions related to night flying etc... They wanted a simple statement of training, testing, and retention of training records for visual observers that would always be available in the event of an inspection.

Boefinator · Jan 22, 2018

My agency uses Gold Seal for our Ground School, can't recommend them highly enough. We referenced their Night Ops in our approved Night Waiver.

Russ Still · Jan 22, 2018

Boefinator said:
My agency uses Gold Seal for our Ground School, can't recommend them highly enough. We referenced their Night Ops in our approved Night Waiver.

Hey there, Boefinator. Thanks so much for that! Glad to have you as part of our aviation family.

Kaifect · Jan 27, 2018

I am always a little skeptical about paying for things but the Gold Seal night training seems pretty good. Great information on filling out the waiver and a certificate to prove it. Let's see if I get approved this time.

Russ Still · Jan 27, 2018

Best of luck, Kaifect!

Kaifect · Feb 15, 2018

Well I got a request for more information, that's better than being denied. Any help would be appreciated.

· The method that will be used to recognize when other aircraft (including other UAS) enter the operations area.

· The method that will be used to recognize when people enter the operations area.

RNCotton · Feb 16, 2018

I submitted mine on 02/02 through DroneZone and never received an email response from FAA confirming receipt, but on the web site I see that it is under review.

My fear is that my ISP killed their message as spam, and they asked me for info. Who would I need to contact at FAA to ensure they have everything they need and aren't waiting on a response from me?

Kaifect · Feb 16, 2018

Login to your FAADroneZone and you can see the status.

RNCotton · Mar 1, 2018

Finally got mine back yesterday. Submitted 02/02, received 02/28

Kaifect · Mar 1, 2018

Did you get approved to fly at night? I finally submitted the additional information they asked for, it is now a 5 page document.

I guess they don't assume we all now that we find other aircraft by looking t them and that we get out of the way when they are near us. There has got to be a better way.........

AH-1G · Mar 1, 2018

Do you have any additional strobe lights attached to your drone? That will help to recognize yours from others. Maybe you can set up the strobes flashing in a distinct pattern to distinguish from others, then submit that?

BigAl07 · Mar 1, 2018

Kaifect said:
Did you get approved to fly at night? I finally submitted the additional information they asked for, it is now a 5 page document. I guess they don't assume we all now that we find other aircraft by looking t them and that we get out of the way when they are near us. There has got to be a better way.........

5 page document? Exactly what did they request from you?

Did you happen to take the Gold Seal Night Operations course? Many of us took it and got that waiver straight forward.