AirMap for Drones

I got my part 107 this past winter and I just found this app, and to be honest I’ve been looking for something like this since last year! It is so helpful at giving you what you need to get an ATC authorization. I saw comments on how it gives you inaccurate weather and that might be true but that shouldn’t be your reason for getting the app, because the whole point of this app is to make ATC authorizations fast and easy and they do that extremely well. Thanks for the help Airmap, your services are going to be very helpful in the furture!

This has the most complete data of any source I have located. That it electronically files your flight plan with airports makes it indispensable. The idea that someone would get on the phone and call each the heliports and local private airports every time they want to fly around their yard is a hilarious bureaucratic joke. Most of them are unmanned anyway. There is no one to call. But this is great. Let it generate piles of electronic communications. You meet your obligations.

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AirMap contains very inaccurate information on where you can and cannot fly drones. For example, the map fails to show that flying on a National Wildlife Refuge is prohibited. Many other local, state, and national recreational lands that prohibit drones are not displayed as having such restrictions. And while it is well-known that flying drones in National Parks is prohibited, the colored polygons on the map do not cover the actual boundaries of the parks, and can make it confusing to look at. Even more annoying is that you cannot select individual polygons and see its information, unlike the desktop version. There needs to be an option for users to add information to the map. Crowdsourced data on where you can and cannot fly drones would build a much more accurate map.

After using AIrMap for almost a year and regularly submitting flight plans before my drone flights in USA , this trip to India I tried AIrMap since flying drones is now legal here. It worked really well , I was getting alerts for nearby air traffic as well as no fly zones clearly marked. While I agree that the map updates would be better if crowdsourced, just wanted to let people know, you can and must use AIrMap or similar app to fly safely in other countries . Happy flying!!

The app is actually fairly good, but needs better customization. For instance, why half hour increments of flight time? The other day, I had very specific minutes to fly due to twilight...I couldn’t schedule the exact time and had to file multiple plans to make due. Also, the app doesn’t register said twilight, so it erroneously flagged my flight as “flying at night”, which was not accurate. And lastly...the app only allows a flight cap of 1,000 feet AGL; And because of a special flight, the building I was filming was a little over that. In this instance, as a part 107 holder, I’m allowed to fly 1,400AGL. The app not only restricted me from entering 1,400 feet, it also couldn’t understand that over 400 feet was allowed...and so, it flagged my flight as being non FAA compliant. Try navigating all that when you’re watching the sun set trying to fill out a flight plan. There goes your precious flight time!