Drone Pilots of St. Louis

Drone Pilots of St. Louis is excited to share an in-depth review of the St. Louis, Missouri metro airspace. We offer orthomosaics, construction progress analyses, and 3D models leveraging state of the art drones and in-house processing. When working in the St. Louis metro area, airspace restrictions are of top importance. Drone Pilots of St. Louis are FAA Licensed pilots, are trained in OSHA standards and are insured.

Drones have an above ground altitude limit of 400 feet, unless flying within 400 feet of a structure, then you can go up to 400 feet above the structure. Therefore we as drone pilots are most concerned with airspace restrictions that impact 0-800 feet above ground level.

No Fly Zones

The St. Louis metro area has various airports that define the airspace of the metro area. The largest being STL, St. Louis Lambert International Airport. This airport has a class Bravo airspace. No flying is allowed within 6 nautical miles of the airport center. Additionally, the Spirit of St. Louis and the St. Louis Downtown airports have class Echo airspace, creating no fly zones in defined circumferences from those airports. The image below depicts the no fly zones due to airspace restrictions.

Do the no fly zones mean there is no option for flying a drone in these areas?

No, there is a waiver process. Drone Pilots of St. Louis can work with the airspace authority to request a waiver. A detailed flight plan is developed prior to this application. The decision is solely based on discretion of the airspace authority.

Beyond No Fly Zones

Much of the remaining metro area is covered by class Echo. This airspace has a 700 foot above ground level floor. Meaning the height limit of a drone is less than 700 feet in these areas. This allows Drone Pilots of St. Louis to operate without need of a waiver from airspace authorities.

Other Area Restrictions

Beyond FAA airspace restrictions, some government entities have defined additional restrictions against drones in certain instances. Drones are not allowed in Forest Park without prior authorization from the City. Additionally drones are not allowed in St. Louis county parks with the exception of the hobby field at Buder Park. Finally, St. Charles county does not allow drones in parks with the exception of Kinetic Park.

Other Considerations

This article does not cover all drone related rules in the area. The article is meant to inform commercial customers of potential barriers or streamlined opportunities related to drone inspections and services offered by Drone Pilots of St. Louis.

Contact us today to discuss your next project. Drone Pilots of St. Louis is a company of Design Thinking Solutions, LLC, a woman- and minority-owned small business in St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A.