Need to absolutely nail a safety justification. Tips?

[NothingBurger]

First, I have searched for a similar question and was unable to locate one. If I missed it, my apologies.

I fly golf courses from time to time and I am talking with the owner of one that is right next to an airport. For those interested, see KMYR (Class C) and Whispering Pines golf course right across the street. Obviously, this one is in a 0' cell and very close to the terminal. I've submitted a few safety justifications so far but this is different due to its close proximity.

Typically, I mention what I am doing and that I will be flying at a max altitude of 75' AGL, will have a VO, use anti-collision lighting and will monitor ATC/CTAF. So far, the requests have been successful. In this scenario, I see the max altitude being 50' AGL (which is sufficient). Something that might be helpful is that there is a 124' tower on the northeast corner of the golf course property. Google Maps shows the closest point where the would be aircraft ground traffic at 1,100 feet from taxiway to property line.

If you were to look at this potential flight, can you think of anything that would be useful to add to the safety justification that would help?

Many thanks.

 

[jaja6009]

First, I have searched for a similar question and was unable to locate one. If I missed it, my apologies.

I fly golf courses from time to time and I am talking with the owner of one that is right next to an airport. For those interested, see KMYR (Class C) and Whispering Pines golf course right across the street. Obviously, this one is in a 0' cell and very close to the terminal. I've submitted a few safety justifications so far but this is different due to its close proximity.

Typically, I mention what I am doing and that I will be flying at a max altitude of 75' AGL, will have a VO, use anti-collision lighting and will monitor ATC/CTAF. So far, the requests have been successful. In this scenario, I see the max altitude being 50' AGL (which is sufficient). Something that might be helpful is that there is a 124' tower on the northeast corner of the golf course property. Google Maps shows the closest point where the would be aircraft ground traffic at 1,100 feet from taxiway to property line.

If you were to look at this potential flight, can you think of anything that would be useful to add to the safety justification that would help?

Many thanks.

Mention

• Tell them you will note the traffic pattern and which runways will be in use that day
• Note that the tower will serve as a type of obstructed shielding for your proposed operation
• If your drone has DJI Air Sense, note that you will monitor Air Sense for manned aviation
• Note that you will geo fence your drone horizontally and vertically
• Note that you will have alternative launch and landing points
• Note that you and your flight crew will have emergency procedures and will discuss them
  • Note your Lost Link Procedure (RTH) and it will be set to an appropriate altitude as part of your geofence
  • Note that you will contact ATC upon a flyaway
• Give your cell phone number in the Safety Justification
• Note a preflight walkthrough of the site

 

[NothingBurger]

Thank you for that. I hadn't considered the geofencing and RTH altitude. I'll add all of that.

 

[jaja6009]

When you submit it, I would place all of the above in the application.
Actually note the real runways and traffic pattern (right/left), tell them the actual CT frequency.
Note the height of the tower.
Note what the actual LANNC/UASFM grid actually is.

It shows you truly did the research and truly know the air space you will operate in.

I recently got 300 ft AGL in a zero with something similar, in Class Charlie.

 

[Wanderlost]

First, I have searched for a similar question and was unable to locate one. If I missed it, my apologies.

I fly golf courses from time to time and I am talking with the owner of one that is right next to an airport. For those interested, see KMYR (Class C) and Whispering Pines golf course right across the street. Obviously, this one is in a 0' cell and very close to the terminal. I've submitted a few safety justifications so far but this is different due to its close proximity.

Typically, I mention what I am doing and that I will be flying at a max altitude of 75' AGL, will have a VO, use anti-collision lighting and will monitor ATC/CTAF. So far, the requests have been successful. In this scenario, I see the max altitude being 50' AGL (which is sufficient). Something that might be helpful is that there is a 124' tower on the northeast corner of the golf course property. Google Maps shows the closest point where the would be aircraft ground traffic at 1,100 feet from taxiway to property line.

If you were to look at this potential flight, can you think of anything that would be useful to add to the safety justification that would help?

Many thanks.

I don't know how busy this airport is, but if there are quiet times during the day perhaps you can coordinate with ATC to fly at those times. The other comments are excellent additions.

 

[markpdxt]

Good advice above. A couple things I'd add from my experience with safety justifications in zero-grid cells:

Include a visual. Even a simple annotated satellite screenshot showing your proposed operation area, the runway/taxiway geometry, the 124' tower, and your planned max altitude relative to the surrounding terrain goes a long way. The FAA reviewers process a lot of these — anything that lets them quickly see the spatial relationship between your operation and airport traffic works in your favor. I've started including an airspace overlay showing the grid ceilings and nearby traffic patterns in mine and the turnaround time noticeably improved.

Frame your altitude request relative to the obstacles already there. You mentioned the 124' tower on the NE corner of the property. The fact that there's already a charted 124' obstruction within the golf course boundary, and you're requesting 50' AGL (well below it), strengthens your case. Make sure you reference the actual obstruction data - you can pull it from the FAA's Digital Obstacle File or just reference the sectional.

Mention your operation duration and timing. "I'll be operating between 10am-12pm on a Tuesday" is more reassuring than leaving it open-ended. If you can coordinate with the tower to pick a historically quieter window, even better - KMYR has commercial traffic but it's not a constant flow like CLT or ATL.

One more: include your contingency for a lost-link scenario that accounts for the proximity. Not just "RTH at X feet" but specifically what happens if comms drop while the aircraft is between the taxiway and your launch point. Having a well-thought-out answer for that specific geometry shows the reviewer you actually studied the site.

Good luck with it - The key is making it easy for the reviewer to say yes.

 

[NothingBurger]

Thank you, again, to everyone who has responded. I apologize for not being able to be more active in the thread. I've hit my busy season and I'm running wide open and burning the candle at both ends.

Wanderlost, I typically fly very early in the day. I'll be at the location, ready to fly as soon as light allows. I also try to do most of my flying Monday through Wednesday. These, combined, are usually good for lower volume of air traffic.

Markpdxt, I'll have to figure out how to attach an image to the request. I've done a couple of them but have not had the occasion to add additional images. I did already plan to mention the tower on the NE corner of the property. I figured that would possibly be the strongest argument in my favor.

For the lost link, would having the drone set to hover and then closing distance as quickly as possible be enough for that scenario? I could probably add some additional verbiage if required.

Thanks again for the input. It has been helpful. I'll try to check in again this afternoon.