Planning explanation, not legal advice

FAA and operations

Ordinary Part 107 already allows most of this pilot: a certificated pilot flying a low, automated, geofenced patrol in visual line of sight, at night with the right training and lighting, in this site''s uncontrolled airspace without ATC permission. The one thing that needs FAA authority is remote launch with nobody on site. This page is a planning explanation, not legal advice.

What ordinary Part 107 already allows

• A qualified person can fly for business or public-safety purposes. The person at the controls holds a Remote Pilot Certificate (or flies under the direct supervision of someone who does and can take control immediately). The certificate is an individual credential, not a site permit, and recurrent training every 24 months is a free online course. ✓Verified
• Visual line of sight is the central constraint. The crew must be able to see the aircraft itself throughout the flight, unaided except for corrective lenses; seeing the facility is not enough. Route design starts from a pilot position with broad visibility, and avoids segments that hide behind buildings. ✓Verified
• Flying low is permissible. Part 107 sets a 400-foot ceiling; it does not require flying high. A patrol at roughly 10 to 25 feet above the site's tallest obstacles, most of it around 30 to 50 feet above ground after a survey, is a design choice the rules allow. ✓Verified
• Automation alone does not require a waiver. The FAA's own guidance recognizes operator-initiated pre-programmed missions where the operator can regain control or command land or return. If the operation complies with all Part 107 rules, a waiver is not required. The human initiates, watches, and can always intervene. ✓Verified
• Night operations are routine, not waivered, when the pilot has current training and the aircraft has anti-collision lighting visible for three statute miles. A storage facility's incidents are often after hours, so the pilot should be designed for night from the start. ✓Verified

Sources: FAA Part 107 summary · 14 CFR 107.31 · 107.51 · 107.29 · Part 107 waivers · checked 2026-08-23

The airspace at this site

Under the current published configuration the facility sits in uncontrolled Class G airspace at the surface, roughly 11 nautical miles from Pueblo Memorial Airport's Class D surface area, so routine low-altitude Part 107 flights there need no ATC permission and no LAANC authorization. ✓Verified A small private-use, non-towered airport lies about two nautical miles away; that requires staying clear of its traffic pattern, not interfering, and yielding to every crewed aircraft, but it does not create a permission requirement. ✓Verified The site rule is simple: if any crewed aircraft could present a conflict, descend or land immediately and yield. ▸Proposal Airspace, restrictions, and NOTAMs are rechecked before every flight. ▸Proposal

Sources: FAA on Pueblo Memorial (Class D) · FAA, flying near airports · FAA, airspace authorizations · checked 2026-08-23

What needs a waiver, and what does not

Ordinary Part 107 compliance still applies to every "No" row: registration, marking, Remote ID, preflight checks, current credentials, and flight records. ✓Verified

The future remote mode has a local model

The FAA's public waiver list shows a Pueblo Police Department waiver issued August 4, 2026 covering sections 107.31, 107.39, and 107.145, the beyond-visual-line-of-sight authority this project would eventually need for remote launch. That waiver is the City's and does not transfer to the county, but it proves the FAA currently issues this authority to local public-safety organizations, and it is the model an eventual county application would follow. ✓Verified The county does not need it to start. ▸Proposal

Sources: FAA issued waivers list · checked 2026-08-23

The operating rules the first pilot would adopt

No flight without a designated remote pilot in command; the pilot or an authorized observer keeps the aircraft in sight throughout; the patrol stays inside the facility geofence, only as high as safe obstacle clearance requires; yield immediately to any crewed aircraft; no intentional flight over uninvolved people or moving vehicles outside the applicable rule; night flights require the training and lighting; preflight covers weather, airspace, aircraft health, launch area, and link; lost-link, low-battery, and return-to-home behavior is tested at the actual site; no pursuit outside the approved route; every flight is logged; and remote launch with nobody able to maintain sight is not allowed until FAA authority exists. ▸Proposal

Published August 24, 2026 at 00:38 UTC. Last updated August 24, 2026 at 01:30 UTC. Times come from this page's revision history and can be checked against it.