Nighttime flights can provide drone pilots with new opportunities and perspectives and are sometimes essential for tasks such as security monitoring or search and rescue missions. Whether you’re seeking a unique photo opportunity, or it is critical to your operations, it’s possible to fly your drone safely and reliably at night. However, it is crucial to understand the regulations governing nighttime drone flights to ensure compliance with the law. To learn everything, you need to know about flying drones at night, have a look at our comprehensive guide. 

 

What are the Part 107 rules for flying at night? 

Part 107 licensed drone pilots are permitted to conduct nighttime operations as long as they meet two requirements. Firstly, they must have completed either an online recurrent training or an updated initial knowledge test. Secondly, their drones must be equipped with anti-collision lighting that is visible for at least three statute miles and flashing at a rate that is sufficient to avoid collisions.  

If you do not currently hold a Part 107 license, the application process remains unchanged. With night operations allowed, you can expect some of the questions in the knowledge test to touch on how to fly drones at night and the risks associated with it. To help you prepare for the knowledge test, Pilot Institute’s Part 107 Made Easy course can help you pass the FAA Part 107 drone license test. The FAA Safety website offers a variety of other training modules that may be valuable to drone pilots and worth exploring. 

 

What are the recreational drone pilot rules for flying at night? 

Recreational drone pilots don’t need a license to fly their drones at night. However, when flying drones at night, all of the standard daytime flight rules apply. Pilots still need to fly below 400 feet Above Ground Level (AGL), maintain visual line of sight (VLOS), and their drones must be equipped with operational anti-collision lights, which can be seen for 3 statute miles and have a flash rate sufficient to avoid a collision.  

 

Flying at night in controlled airspace 

Part 107 drone pilots can take advantage of a LAANC system that allows for night operations in controlled airspace. By submitting a request through LAANC, pilots can receive authorization to fly at night as long as they specify the hours during which they plan to operate their drone. Keep in mind that all other regulations on night operations still apply when flying in controlled airspace. 

Starting on February 20, 2023, recreational flyers may now apply for near real-time airspace authorizations to operate at night through LAANC. It’s important to note that recreational flyers must meet the requirements of the Exception for Limited Operations of Unmanned Aircraft and follow the safety guidelines of FAA-Recognized Community Based Organizations (CBO’s). 

With the release of LAANC v6.2 on the SkyGrid Flight Control platform recently, we hope you have had a chance to update your app and try out the new LAANC at night functionality. This version of LAANC allows recreational pilots to request authorization to operate during the night in controlled airspace directly in the SkyGrid Flight Control app.  

 

What anti-collision lights should you use? 

Anti-collision lights are designed to make drones visible to any manned aircraft flying overhead, which is why they are installed on the top of the drone. The lights are not primarily intended to make the drone visible to the drone pilot, although it is a bonus if they are bright enough to be visible from the ground. The main purpose is to ensure that other aircraft in the vicinity can see the drone and avoid a potential collision. There are four things to look out for when looking for appropriate anti-collision lights:  

1. Regularity of light (i.e., light is blinking/strobe) 
2. Color of light (i.e., light is white or red) 
3. Do the lights comply with the 3-statute mile visibility requirement of the FAA? 
4. How well do the lights perform when mounted at the top of the drone? 

Getting your lights right is essential not just to avoid colliding with another drone but to avoid endangering a manned flight. Many companies sell after-market lighting solutions for popular drone brands. Pilot Institute has tested some of the most popular anti-collision lights and compared their features and visibility at night in this article. 

 

Tips to ensure safe and FAA-compliant operations when flying a UAS at night: 

• Make sure your anti-collision light is on and visible from up to 3 miles away before take-off to maintain FAA compliance and aid in visibility of the aircraft. After-market lighting solutions are available from companies such as LumeCube, which has a good reputation 
• To compensate for night blind spots, try looking 5 to 10 degrees off-center of the sUAS 
• Consider designating one or more visual observers (VOs) to scan for other aircraft or obstacles during your operation 
• Remember that night operations are defined as any operation that takes place between evening and morning civil twilight. This is important to keep in mind as you plan your flight.  
• Establish a well-lit night landing area 
• Immediately land the UAS if you cannot determine its location relative to other aircraft. 

 

The ability to fly drones at night without the need for waivers has significantly improved the capabilities of drone pilots. After a transitional period, this benefit has also been extended to controlled airspace through quick and efficient LAANC requests. This increased flexibility has not only benefited drone pilots, but it has also reduced the workload for the FAA by eliminating the need for waiver processing. 

This is just one example of how drone legislation is rapidly evolving. The FAA’s support of the growing drone community is evident through this change. As drone pilots, it’s important to comply with the rules to ensure safe nighttime operations. 

To benefit from enhanced and unprecedented access to the airspace like never before, download SkyGrid Flight Control for free today. 

As more drones take flight, the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC) has become an increasingly important tool to automate drone flight authorization in U.S. controlled airspace under 400 feet. Under Part 107, drone pilots planning to fly in controlled airspace near U.S. airports must get FAA permission via LAANC, giving drone pilots near-real-time authorization to access controlled airspace at or below 400 feet while providing air traffic controllers visibility into when and where drones are operating.
 

What does it mean to be an FAA-approved provider of LAANC? 

The FAA shares airspace data with UAS Service Suppliers like SkyGrid through the UAS Data Exchange to help drone operators stay compliant with regulations. This data includes airport facility maps, airspace classifications, temporary flight restrictions (TFRs), and notices to airmen (NOTAMs). With LAANC, the FAA allows commercial (Part 107 Auto-Approval and Part 107 Further Coordination) and recreational (Section 44809) pilots to gain near real-time access to U.S. controlled airspace via SkyGrid, an FAA-approved UAS Service Supplier, in just seconds. 

At SkyGrid, we’re fueling our system with these data sources to help drone operators minimize risks and generate the optimal route every time. Our goal is to safely integrate all unmanned aircraft in the global airspace, which requires the most up-to-date information from trusted sources. 

Check out a quick overview of our LAANC services and read on for more details: 

 

Features and Benefits 

Our free SkyGrid Flight Control app simplifies the flight approval process by integrating LAANC directly into the flight planning workflow. That means drone operators can seamlessly plan their mission, ensure their flight meets all LAANC criteria, and get auto-approval to fly. Now let’s take a look at what our LAANC services enable drone operators to do: 

• Receive real-time LAANC authorizations for Part 107 commercial and recreational drone operations under 400 feet in U.S. controlled airspace. 
• Request further coordination to fly above the designated altitude ceiling in a UAS Facility Map, up to 400 feet. These requests can be submitted up to 90 days in advance, and the approval is coordinated manually through the FAA. 
• Access UAS Facility Maps that show pre-approved ceilings in controlled airspace and specify if further coordination is available. See the example of the airspace ceilings below: 

• View Special Use Airspace data, airports and airspace classes, Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs), and Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs). 
• Check for both part-time and full-time National Security UAS Flight Restrictions (NSUFRs). See the example of UAS flight restrictions shown in red below: 

Note: If you are planning an operation in controlled airspace that requires a waiver and an airspace authorization you must apply for both through the FAA’s Drone Zone. 

Why use SkyGrid’s LAANC services?  

As a trusted UAS provider of the FAA’s LAANC service, we help drone operators maintain safe and compliant flights by ensuring they’re aware of the class airspace, boundaries, and advisories in their area, such as TFRs and NOTAMs. 

We make it easy for drone operators to access controlled airspace under 400 feet near airports with near real-time flight authorization. Part 107 pilots can also submit a further coordination request to fly above the designated altitude ceiling in a UAS Facility Map, up to 400 feet. 

SkyGrid Flight Control integrates LAANC directly into the flight scheduling workflow. Moreover, it automatically generates area exploration, waypoint, and multi-objective missions based on custom flight parameters, such as desired speed, altitude, and location. As you can see below, LAANC is not required for the mission plan on the left, and LAANC is required for the mission plan on the right and auto-approval is available.

Rather than planning a mission after LAANC authorization, this approach provides more assurance that all requirements are checked before you take flight. We recognized the challenge many drone operators are facing today by using several different tools to check airspace, get LAANC, plan flights, and safely execute them, so we set out to solve this challenge by providing one solution operators can use to manage their entire drone workflow.

 

Download SkyGrid Flight Control for free in the Apple App Store or learn more about our advanced enterprise features.