MAKE Terry Kilby, Getting Started

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Where and When to Fly
Planning is a critical step in safe, successful flight. There is a
saying: fail to plan; plan to fail. There are many things to con-
sider before your maiden flight, and every takeoff thereafter. We
use a preflight checklist to be certain that we have gone over all
functions necessary for our planned mission. You can use your
favorite productivity app to generate your own preflight check-
list. Many are available in the online app stores. The to-do list
app we have enjoyed using is Wunderlist. It syncs easily across
multiple platforms. It’s also free, which is nice. See the next sec-
tion for specific points of information you may want to include in
your preflight checklist.
We also like to use the 3D feature in Apple Maps to plan our mis-
sions. You can view a perspective very close to what you are try-
ing to achieve while in flight. Time of day and lighting features
may also be important to you, if for no other reason than to
ensure you’re not looking directly into the sun while visually
tracking your UAV.
The best way to identify potential risks is in person. We like to
visit a location in advance to see if there is enough space, and if
the location presents any possible hazards. Develop a plan to
best mitigate risks to such a degree that is tolerable to all
involved with the flight area. You likely need to get a permit or at
least permission to fly in an area, even if it appears to be an
empty field. If you own your own very large yard, you have the
ideal setup for stress-free, regular practice space, as long as it is
five or more nautical miles from any major airport. Finally, US
national parks are (at the time of this writing) considered no-fly
zones. We hope this changes at some point in the future. At the
very least, we would hope to see procedures put in place for aer-
ial photographers to obtain a permit to access national parks
under the rules of the National Park Service.
Safe and Responsible Flight 165