Sheriffs department search and rescue
- Thread starter Colbycheese08
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I just passed the exam for my 107 and I was looking forward to being able to do SAR work either paid or as a volunteer. I have not looked into the 333 mentioned in above posts as of yet but it just seems to me that you would be able to fly and do this kind of mission (in daylight) by just making sure you have permissions for the airspace you are in if it not class G or E. Thanks for any info given.
Hi, all. This is my first post on PhantomPilots because I find this topic to be very interesting. I am a volunteer airborne photographer with the Civil Air Patrol, flying in Cessna 182's and 172's. However, CAP is starting to train our volunteers to fly sUAS aircraft, primarily for disaster relief when it would be impractable to fly manned aircraft due to weather, manpower, or funding issues.
Many of the posts in this topic were written prior to August 29, 2016 when Part 107 went into effect. Now that most commercial sUAS operations are conducted under Part 107, Section 333 exemptions are not so applicable to us any more. Sec. 333 requires the pilot to have a Part 61 certificate, which allows the pilot to fly a full-scale, manned aircraft. However Section 333 is still in force and can provide legal authority under certain circumstances, especially for aircraft weighing more than 55 pounds and/or flying beyond line of sight.
Please look at an extremely good website dealing with all legal aspects of UAS operations: Rupprecht Law P.C. They have a very good discussion of the differences between Part 107, Public COA and Sec. 333 here: Section 333 Exemption vs. Part 107 vs. Public COA vs. Blanket Public COA -.
Fly safe -- Joel
Many of the posts in this topic were written prior to August 29, 2016 when Part 107 went into effect. Now that most commercial sUAS operations are conducted under Part 107, Section 333 exemptions are not so applicable to us any more. Sec. 333 requires the pilot to have a Part 61 certificate, which allows the pilot to fly a full-scale, manned aircraft. However Section 333 is still in force and can provide legal authority under certain circumstances, especially for aircraft weighing more than 55 pounds and/or flying beyond line of sight.
Please look at an extremely good website dealing with all legal aspects of UAS operations: Rupprecht Law P.C. They have a very good discussion of the differences between Part 107, Public COA and Sec. 333 here: Section 333 Exemption vs. Part 107 vs. Public COA vs. Blanket Public COA -.
Fly safe -- Joel
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Hi BigA107. Have you been able to get an exemption for flying at night for SAR purposes from the FAA? It's my understanding that the FAA wants an exemption process for each instance where flying at night is needed, which of course is very difficult when you are doing SAR because of the time sensitivity.
We are trying to see if there is a way to get a sort of blanket exemption but I'm not sure it is even available at this point through the FAA. Do you have any info on this?
I'm afraid you've been lead wrong a bit. The Daylight Waiver (~107.29) isn't for a specific day/date/situation. It's for a time period (2 years I think i don't have it in front of me) and it covers us for the airspace we operate in. I've had my ~107.29 for a good while now and routinely fly at night under this waiver and I can also over-see another operator flying under my waiver but I am ultimately responsible for all flying under my waiver.
Once a Public Safety Department (Emergency Services, Fire Dept, Police Dept) gets established they normally start to transition from a Part 107 Entity to a Public Safety COA Entity. When you get your COA it will contain all of your needed/desired/approved waivers within the COA itself and be for the Dept rather than just for the individual and whoever is flying directly under that individual.
If that doesn't make sense just let me know and I'll go about it another route.
Allen
BigAl07 Is right, i just had a meeting last week with my local FSDO and they said the same thing, as long as the controlling agency (police,Fire dept etc) have a COA, they can automatically add a part 107 pilot to it almost instantly so they can use you, one thing they did tell me is that they are officially starting to crack down on people now for not having the correct documentation on them and that most police departments now know what paperwork you must have on you specifically to fly in controlled airspace under part 107, you must have a airspace authorization and a confirmation number with you or you will be fined.
Hmm.. Ok, so this seems to apply for "official" Public Safety Departments which are government/state entities. I am part of a SAR organization mainly consisting of trained volunteers. We are FEMA and SARTECH certified and our SAR drone program is run by an airline pilot who also has the part 107. So, with that in mind, is the process the same? We always work with local law enforcement agencies who routinely reach out when they have any need where we can help. The drone program has been requested on numerous occasions as well.
Appreciate the response.
The COA process is for Public Safety entities only but the Daylight Waiver (~107.29) is for Part 107 operators. If the airline pilot submits for and gets his ~107.29 waiver he can fly at night (depending on airspace etc) and he can also oversee others flying at night but HE is ultimately responsible for every flight that happens under his waiver whether he's at the controls or not.
One thing that every person reading this needs to know is that you can NOT "augment" a LAANC airspace authorization with your Daylight Waiver (~107.29). Hopefully this will change in the future but as of right now you can NOT combine them.
I hope this helps to clear the muddy waters.
Thanks for the backup.
Part of the beauty of operating under a Public Safety COA is the ability to "Self Certify" as an entity. We don't need Part 107 operators although many set Part 107 as one of the (not the only) basic requirements to be a part of the sUAS team. Legally Part 107 is not required but it's a VERY good idea to make this part of your dept checklist and use Part 107 training as a basis for all future sUAS training. Then add your Emergency Services training (high stress, varying conditions, long hours...) to this basis.
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