Operating In The Shadows: The Best Places to Fly Drones During The Solar Eclipse

When, Where & How to Fly Drones Safely During the Eclipse

Joshua Ziering
Aug 8, 2017 · 10 min read

What if you had the chance to film something 55 miles wide traveling just over Mach 3 with your drone? As it turns out, on August 21st 2017, you’ll have that very opportunity. A solar eclipse, or alignment of the sun, moon and earth, is taking place for the first time in 38 years. The last cosmic event of this magnitude happened on February 26, 1979 — a time long before you could use the battery powered supercomputer in your pocket to fly a self-stabilizing GPS guided aircraft with a 4k camera using a high bandwidth spread spectrum wireless control system. Sheesh, drone’s sound so impressive when you describe them like that.

We had one of our commercial customers ask us, “What’s involved in flying a drone during the eclipse?” and after batting the idea around the office we set our Chief Pilot Josh Ziering loose on the question. He had more than a few recommendations.

We’ve compiled a state by state list of the best places to fly in states that will get a full eclipse as well as some of the consideration involved if you’ll be flying commercially. (The title of Chief Pilot doesn’t come easy around here.)


A Word On Safety

A solar eclipse is a beautiful event but it comes with it’s own set of safety considerations. As with any mission, thorough planning and pre-flight is going to pay dividends in safety. Remember that in addition to the hostile environment, you might be contending with people nearby, unfamiliar surroundings, and strange flight conditions. Whether you’re flying commercially or as a hobbyist, you’ll still want to follow FAA guidelines and consider things like “flying at night” even when its high noon.

Also, no mission is worth losing your eye sight over. A solar eclipse can leave you visually impaired or blind for the rest of your life from even a brief glimpse at the sun. Make sure you and your visual observer both take the necessary precautions. NASA has a great web page on Eclipse Safety available to you here. https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/safety


Oregon: Always too cool before it’s cool.

If you want to be the absolute first person to get footage of the shadow, the first land based point of contact with the path of totality (the shadow of the moon on the earth) will be at Lincoln Beach, Oregon at 9:05 a.m. PT. Even the planets know that if you want to be cool before it’s cool you start in Oregon.

Unfortunately, Lincoln Beach often suffers the same visibility problems that plague many coastal areas, particularly earlier in the day. If you don’t want to roll the dice, you’re better off moving inland where the chance for marine layer visual obscuration is much lower. If you’re flying commercially, remember that FAA Part 107 requires a minimum of 3 miles of visibility unless you have a waiver. Also remember that Oregon requires a separate registration for UAS (More on that below.)

Over 90 minutes the path of totality will run through Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and North and South Carolina. The total eclipse will end near Charleston, South Carolina at 2:48 p.m. ET.

For detailed flight conditions and local rules for each state, continue reading below. We humbly present, in order of appearance, some fantastic places to fly.

Oregon

Coastal areas of Portland are also notorious for their poor visibility and relatively frigid summer temperatures. It’s not exactly a sure bet for making sure you get once in a lifetime footage.

Many of the places defined as “the best” the watch the Eclipse from are the beautiful Oregon State Parks. While National Parks have a clear policy on drones, Oregon State Parks do not. It would be prudent to check in advance with the park officials you’re looking to fly in to make sure they allow drones. When working gigs like this, it’s usually a best practice to get something in writing and either throw it in your Kittyhawk Documents or keep a printed out copy with you.

http://www.oregonlive.com/travel/index.ssf/2017/03/17_places_to_watch_the_2017_so.html

WARNINGS:

Idaho

Idaho State Drone Laws: https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title21/T21CH2/SECT21-213/

Best Spots
Idaho Falls and Rexburg will experience a total eclipse of 1 minute 46 seconds and 2 minutes 17 seconds respectively. Unfortunately, Idaho Falls is almost all Class E airspace to the ground. However, the neighboring town of Mitchell has beautifully clear airspace and skies, which has been described by EclipseMobile.com http://eclipsophile.com/idaho/ as an “exceptionally cloud-free environment of the Columbia Basin.”

If you’re looking for somewhere you can camp, Smith’s Ferry Idaho has an entire event planned and they lie just outside of any nearby airspace. They also have a huge open field that’s likely to compete with just about any map on any flight simulator out there for “gorgeous points.”

Learn more and make reservations at: https://www.idahograce.com/solareclipse

WARNINGS:

Wyoming

Best Spots

Casper

Guernsey

WARNINGS:

Montana

Only a small portion of Montana is going to be within the Umbral Shadow and unfortunately that portion is in a very inaccessible and uninhabited part of Montana. You’re much better off making the trip to Idaho or Wyoming to see the eclipse.

Nebraska

No specific state laws but the state capital has some restrictions you might need to be aware of. The state capital has released an operations guide you’ll need to adhere to in addition to Part 107.

Though there are no state laws, there is some local legislation you’ll want to be aware of. For example, Lincoln has a “responsible operator” law on the books. If you violate it, you’re looking at a hefty $100 fine, in addition to the hassle of having to deal with that. Here’s a link to learn more: http://journalstar.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/council-approves-city-drone-ordinance/article_8bfe51be-3be7-54f3-b837-ed3bc7d50bfd.html

Best Spots

A very long stretch of Interstate 80 from before North Platte to the edges of Lincoln is within the path of totality. Lincoln has a phenomenal page with lots of information about how to enjoy the eclipse there. Lincoln proudly touts their 125 neighborhood parks or 131 miles of trails. Learn more: http://www.lincoln.org/play/eclipse

One important note is that Lincoln has a baseball team, The Lincoln Salt Dogs, and they will be playing during the solar eclipse. As with any professional sporting event, this means an implied 3 mile TFR around the stadium from an hour before until an hour after. Even though it’s not indicated on this map, you’ll want to be cognizant of that and respectful of it.

Amendment: The Salt Dogs actually aren’t a major league baseball team and their stadium only holds 8,500 people … far below the 30,000 person threshold for a stadium TFR. See https://www.faasafety.gov/gslac/ALC/course_content.aspx?cID=42&sID=240&preview=true for more information.

WARNINGS:

Iowa

Best Spots Nearby

St. Joseph, Mo., is 2 1/2 hours from Des Moines, Iowa. St. Joseph is the fifth-largest city in the eclipse path.

Kansas

Best Spots

Hiawatha, KS

There are plenty of spots along I-70 on either the west or east side of Kansas City that would prove ideal for a little flying and filming.

Missouri

Best Spots

Chesterfield

Kirkwood

Illinois

Best Spots:

Waterloo, IL (Monroe County Fairgrounds)

Makanda, IL (Blue Sky Vineyard, Rated 4.6/5 by Zagats)

Kentucky

State Drone Laws: No state laws to note.

Best Spot

Paducah KY

Tennessee

Nashville is going to be in the path totality and will be a good place if you can find some uncontrolled airspace. However, it seems like it’s going to be pretty busy.

All these places seem like they’ll be NO fly zones but if you call ahead and verify, you might be able to get some flights in, depending on the place. http://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/local/tennessee/2017/08/02/22-places-east-tennessee-watch-2017-solar-eclipse/514449001/

Georgia

Best Spots

North Carolina

Best Spot

South Carolina

Best Spot

Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston is our pick for the best spot in South Carolina. The Charleston Harbor provides plenty of room to operate and resides squarely in Class G airspace. Not to mention the breathtaking views of the bridge and water that are possible.

In addition to being the last possible place to see the eclipse on land, Charleston has a wide variety of places to operate from and has a very conducive climate for operating drones in the summer time.

To Clear Skies and Safe Landings!

If you have any suggestions, corrections, or would like to submit places you think should be on this list but aren’t, we’re always happy to hear from our readers.

Special Thanks

“Thank You” to AirMap and Jonathan Rupprecht for his useful state-by-state collection of drone laws.


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Drone Stories @ Kittyhawk

Drones are transforming traditional industries in uncoventional ways : here's how its happening - From Kittyhawk: the leader in real-time drone operations. #letsfly

Joshua Ziering

Written by

Co-Founder and Chief Pilot @ Kittyhawk.io

Drone Stories @ Kittyhawk

Drones are transforming traditional industries in uncoventional ways : here's how its happening - From Kittyhawk: the leader in real-time drone operations. #letsfly

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