QuadCopters - LaTrax Alias
 

So this might sound like an odd question for me to post here... but... here goes....

So I bought my nephew and I both "Quad" RC helicopters for Christmas this year...

We've been getting pretty proficient at operating them.. They are actually lots of fun..

They fly much faster and higher than I realized when I bought them, and they are equipped with bright LED lights for night flight. If you want to see what we are flying, look up "LaTrax Alias".

Anyway, as we fly higher and faster I have started thinking about airspace. The park (sea-level) we are using to fly is under the Shelf of a Class C (40/12). We don't get anywhere near 1,200 feet, but we might get up around 300 feet, so we're in Class G.

We are operating just South and East of the IAF for an instrument approach into KFXE (PRAIZ). Aircraft at that point would be above 2,000 feet so I don't believe there is any safety hazard here, but I'm wondering what the FARs say, and I can't find any FARs that apply to QuadCopters.

Could someone point me to the right FAR for this so I can read up on it? I can't find anything in Part 91 about it, perhaps some other part?

As soon as you're off the ground you're in class G or you could be in class E surface airspace. But I think you know that.

Here are some links for you.

Unmanned Aircraft (UAS) - Questions and Answers

NPRM regarding UAS (covers RC controlled model a/c to commercial UAVs)
https://federalregister.gov/a/E7-2402


Advisory Circular governing use of RC model aircraft
AC 91-57 Model Aircraft Operating Standards

and these are the AOPA equivalent guys for recreational RC model aircraft.
Academy of Model Aeronautics


But 400ft is the generally accepted concensus.

Anyone else flying quads? I built one "for the children" and they actually took to it and want to fly it all the time. I built a fancy one that is fully autonomous and carries a camera payload. It's a great way to introduce GPS, radio telemetry, programing, mapping, etc. to kids.

The one I built was my first try and flies great on open source software. My point being that if I can do it, it's not that difficult.

I fly a little one that I got at Hobby King about a year ago and am ready to step up to something bigger and better . . . 3D Robotics's Iris+ is at the top of my shopping list since you can create flight plans for it to fly autonomously from an Android tablet and it can follow you around while taking selfie video/pics . . . its two-axis camera gimbal seems to be rock-solid as well.

I am learning everything about the Arduino platform and hope to build one on my own sometime soon, but like someone else said the "honor" limitation right now is 400 ft unless you go through the FAA hoops for obtaining a special ops certificate or exemption.