Homeland security has been responsible for a number of new regulations adopted by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). One of those rules is that no aircraft can fly within a three mile radius of such an event were the seating capacity exceeds 30,000. This specifically includes NFL, MLB, NCAA, Speedway and other events. This Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) goes into effect one hour prior to the event and ends one hour after the event has ended.

There are certain exceptions to this rule. One such exception allows “official” air flights to receive an exemption. Here is the text from one such NOTAM (Notice to Airmen):

THOSE WHO MEET ANY OF THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA MAY REAPPLY FOR A WAIVER TO THESE RESTRICTIONS: (A FOR OPERATIONAL PURPOSES OF AN EVENT, STADIUM, OR OTHER VENUE, INCLUDING (IN THE CASE OF A SPORTING EVENT THE TRANSPORT OF EQUIPMENT OR PARTS, TEAM MEMBERS, OFFICIALS OF THE GOVERNING BODY, THE IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBERS AND GUESTS OF SUCH TEAMS, AND OFFICIALS TO AND FROM THE EVENT, STADIUM, OR OTHER VENUE.

This exception means that the Blimp could be used for filming such an event. There are some issues that should be considered; the waiver take time to obtain and could only be applied for once we meet the criteria. To meet the criteria we would need to qualify under the exceptions noted above. If the Blimp were to operate as a photo vehicle, say for NFL films, we would need to make prior arrangements with them. We would need to dedicate the Blimp’s services for mounting photo/video equipment prior to and after the event. There would probably need to be an actual test of the equipment. This could result in a substantial amount of operational time being dedicated to providing services to a single event.

We have not ruled out the possibility. There are several hurdles to overcome and we are making efforts to obtain the proper information and connections. If you know a senior corporate manager of an official media outlet for such events, please contact them and see if they can help us get the Blimp over one of these events. Then, provide us their information to make the arrangements. Likewise, if you know the owner of an NFL team we ask that you do the same.

 We would love to be overhead at one of these events. The time diverted from Blimp operations could be substantial. The arrangements and coordination for these events may be prohibitive to maximum Blimp exposure.

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 22nd, 2007 at 12:53 am by Charles and is filed under A. All Posts, J. FAQs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.