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Has a very easy answer in the US: No. You do not own your airspace. The FAA owns your airspace. You can build a tall structure (subject to local laws). But an

Has a very easy answer in the US: No. You do not own your airspace. The FAA owns your airspace. You can build a tall structure (subject to local laws). But anything above that is outside your control. --- This article, however, is about Ireland.

throwawee 1y ago
>You do not own your airspace. The FAA owns your airspace. Makes sense. If castle doctrine applied to the skies, people could take potshots at low flying aircraft above their house. I guess that's one way to prevent becoming a flyover state...
- pixxel 1y ago
  [dead]
RankingMember 1y ago
In Ireland?
3cats-in-a-coat 1y ago
So who pays your medical bills when one of those falls on your head. FAA or the delivery company?
- connicpu 1y ago
  This is basically why regulations exist requiring operators of machinery/vehicles to carry insurance, so there's someone who can pay up if people get hurt.
  - tjohns 1y ago
    You actually don't need insurance to fly a plane (in the US). That said, I don't know of any aircraft operator who doesn't have some form of insurance. If nothing else because the banks demand it.
- paulddraper 1y ago
  Who pays your medical bills when one of those cars jump the curb and hits you? The state transport authority or the automobile driver?
  - 3cats-in-a-coat 1y ago
    If some authority unilaterally decides my roof is a highway, I'd say both.
Symbiote 1y ago
The domain is .IE, the FAA has little relevance.
tjohns 1y ago
> Has a very easy answer in the US: No. While you're not wrong in practice, it's actually a surprisingly complicated area of law. The FAA doesn't "own" the airspace, it's a public right-of-way and every citizen has the right to transit it. See 49 USC §40103: "A citizen of the United States has a public right of transit through the navigable airspace". The FAA gets to set policy on how to ensure safety, just like the Coast Guard sets rules for the safe navigation of public waterways (but neither "owns" the air/water): "the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall develop plans and policy for the use of the navigable airspace and assign by regulation or order the use of the airspace necessary to ensure the safety of aircraft and the efficient use of airspace." Now, where it gets complicated is the definition of "navigable airspace". A common definition is either 360 feet or 500 feet above the tallest structure on a parcel of land, but the case law isn't consistent on this - especially when you consider that some aircraft (like helicopters) can legally navigate lower than that. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_rights#United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_rights#United_States
- paulddraper 1y ago
  While citizens have a right to transit through navigable airspace, the FAA controls more than that. The FAA controls ALL airspace (but delegating control over some areas such as military airspace). For example, a drone weighing over 250 grams must be registered with the FAA, no matter what height it is flown. Even if it's your own backyard at eye level. This is a little weird, but factual.
username223 1y ago
True, the article is talking about Ireland, and I don't know what the current laws are there. But for the States, normal aircraft are supposed to stay 500 ft away: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/chapter-I/subchapter-F/part-91/subpart-B/subject-group-ECFRe4c59b5f5506932/section-91.119 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/chapter-I/subchapter-F... That's not true for helicopters and UAVs within sight of their controllers, but I feel sorry for the people who bought a house not near and airport, and now have to deal with a buzzing swarm overhead.
adolph 1y ago
> You do not own your airspace. The FAA owns your airspace. This kinda begs the question of what is meant by "airspace." If the term means a geometric volume that is generally occupied by materials in a gaseous state, then does the FAA own the airspace within one's home? Does the FAA control how cars drive down the airspace of a road? No, that is absurd. The common use of aircraft smaller than humans and capable of performing navigation faster than humans is expanding a previously relatively stable boundary of what Federal law and rules call "navigable airspace." Thus, I think it is incorrect to say "The FAA owns your airspace." since the FAA explicitly does not control airspace below a certain altitude over most people's houses.
- paulddraper 1y ago
  The FAA requires registration of any drone >250g, no matter where altitude you fly it at. So there’s that.
sizzzzlerz 1y ago
Not quite. The height of a structure, antenna, tower, etc., can be limited by the FAA based upon the distance of the structure from a nearby airport. Beyond a certain distance, the height is no longer an FAA issue.
- paulddraper 1y ago
  The FAA has no direct authority over structures. It will evaluate such structures for their effect on air traffic, and local authorities will almost universally follow their findings when approving construction.

throwawee 1y ago

>You do not own your airspace. The FAA owns your airspace. Makes sense. If castle doctrine applied to the skies, people could take potshots at low flying aircraft above their house. I guess that's one way to prevent becoming a flyover state...

pixxel 1y ago
[dead]

RankingMember 1y ago

In Ireland?

3cats-in-a-coat 1y ago

So who pays your medical bills when one of those falls on your head. FAA or the delivery company?

connicpu 1y ago
This is basically why regulations exist requiring operators of machinery/vehicles to carry insurance, so there's someone who can pay up if people get hurt.
- tjohns 1y ago
  You actually don't need insurance to fly a plane (in the US). That said, I don't know of any aircraft operator who doesn't have some form of insurance. If nothing else because the banks demand it.
paulddraper 1y ago
Who pays your medical bills when one of those cars jump the curb and hits you? The state transport authority or the automobile driver?
- 3cats-in-a-coat 1y ago
  If some authority unilaterally decides my roof is a highway, I'd say both.

Symbiote 1y ago

The domain is .IE, the FAA has little relevance.

tjohns 1y ago

> Has a very easy answer in the US: No. While you're not wrong in practice, it's actually a surprisingly complicated area of law. The FAA doesn't "own" the airspace, it's a public right-of-way and every citizen has the right to transit it. See 49 USC §40103: "A citizen of the United States has a public right of transit through the navigable airspace". The FAA gets to set policy on how to ensure safety, just like the Coast Guard sets rules for the safe navigation of public waterways (but neither "owns" the air/water): "the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall develop plans and policy for the use of the navigable airspace and assign by regulation or order the use of the airspace necessary to ensure the safety of aircraft and the efficient use of airspace." Now, where it gets complicated is the definition of "navigable airspace". A common definition is either 360 feet or 500 feet above the tallest structure on a parcel of land, but the case law isn't consistent on this - especially when you consider that some aircraft (like helicopters) can legally navigate lower than that. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_rights#United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_rights#United_States

paulddraper 1y ago
While citizens have a right to transit through navigable airspace, the FAA controls more than that. The FAA controls ALL airspace (but delegating control over some areas such as military airspace). For example, a drone weighing over 250 grams must be registered with the FAA, no matter what height it is flown. Even if it's your own backyard at eye level. This is a little weird, but factual.

username223 1y ago

True, the article is talking about Ireland, and I don't know what the current laws are there. But for the States, normal aircraft are supposed to stay 500 ft away: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/chapter-I/subchapter-F/part-91/subpart-B/subject-group-ECFRe4c59b5f5506932/section-91.119 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/chapter-I/subchapter-F... That's not true for helicopters and UAVs within sight of their controllers, but I feel sorry for the people who bought a house not near and airport, and now have to deal with a buzzing swarm overhead.

adolph 1y ago

> You do not own your airspace. The FAA owns your airspace. This kinda begs the question of what is meant by "airspace." If the term means a geometric volume that is generally occupied by materials in a gaseous state, then does the FAA own the airspace within one's home? Does the FAA control how cars drive down the airspace of a road? No, that is absurd. The common use of aircraft smaller than humans and capable of performing navigation faster than humans is expanding a previously relatively stable boundary of what Federal law and rules call "navigable airspace." Thus, I think it is incorrect to say "The FAA owns your airspace." since the FAA explicitly does not control airspace below a certain altitude over most people's houses.

paulddraper 1y ago
The FAA requires registration of any drone >250g, no matter where altitude you fly it at. So there’s that.

sizzzzlerz 1y ago

Not quite. The height of a structure, antenna, tower, etc., can be limited by the FAA based upon the distance of the structure from a nearby airport. Beyond a certain distance, the height is no longer an FAA issue.

paulddraper 1y ago
The FAA has no direct authority over structures. It will evaluate such structures for their effect on air traffic, and local authorities will almost universally follow their findings when approving construction.