Regional Airport Zone and a Changing NOTAM
You are hired to inspect a roof on a farm building 4.2 km from a regional airport's runway threshold. The building is 90 m above sea level on a hill; you plan to fly at 100 m AGL, within visual line of sight. Your A2 CofC is current. The national UAS geographical zone map shows the area inside a zone that requires prior authorisation from the airport operator; the map was last updated three days ago. You check the official app: a NOTAM has been issued for a parachute display 1.5 km away, active from 13:00 to 15:00. It is 13:20. The airport operator's office is closed for lunch until 14:00. The farmer wants the job done today.
1. What authorisations and checks must be in place before you launch at 13:30, and what does the NOTAM change?
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Before launch you need: a current check of the official UAS geographical zone map and the NOTAM list on the day; confirmation of whether the site is inside the parachute display NOTAM area; and, because the map shows a zone requiring prior authorisation, an actual authorisation from the airport operator covering your area, height and time.
At 13:30 the operator's office is closed, so you do not have the required authorisation. The NOTAM adds a temporary restriction: if your planned operating area falls within its lateral and vertical limits, you cannot fly there between 13:00 and 15:00 regardless of the zone authorisation. If the display is 1.5 km away, you must still check the NOTAM's stated radius and heights rather than assume it is irrelevant. A three-day-old map is not enough; the app check is necessary but not a substitute for the missing authorisation.
2. If the airport operator grants authorisation at 14:05 but the NOTAM display is active until 15:00, what is your decision? Explain the hierarchy of restrictions.
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Authorisation from the airport operator does not override a NOTAM. The more restrictive instrument applies. So the decision turns on geography: if your site is inside the NOTAM's lateral or vertical limits, you wait until 15:00 or relocate; if it is outside, you may fly under the operator's authorisation, but you should monitor for changes and keep clear of the display area.
Reasoning: a UAS geographical zone authorisation grants access to that zone under stated conditions; a NOTAM is a temporary airspace restriction issued for a specific activity. You cannot use one to cancel the other. Because the farmer's schedule is not an aviation consideration, the safe decision is to wait or move the job, not to compress the checks.
3. The farmer asks you to fly at 130 m AGL to get a better angle. How do you respond, and what airspace and performance factors matter?
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You decline. In the Open category the maximum height is 120 m AGL, and the airport zone may impose a lower ceiling. Flying at 130 m would breach the general limit even if the zone authorisation allowed 100 m.
Other factors: ‘90 m above sea level’ is not the same as 90 m AGL, so you must establish the actual height above the surface beneath the aircraft; terrain and building height affect what 120 m AGL means at each point. The parachute display may also have vertical limits that your climb could approach. Operationally, climbing above the planned 100 m changes your visual line of sight, wind exposure and recovery options, and it is not justified by a better camera angle.