Fiesta 2022 - UAS Operational Brief:

 

Flight Area #1:

West Arroyo. Flights directly over concrete with an East boundary of the field fence line. North and South boundaries at the pedestrian bridges.

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Flight Area #2:

Directly above Sid Cutter, expanded to include the airspace above the Fiesta Office trailers

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Flight Area #3:

Empty parking lot with a South boundary of the fence line along the arroyo

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Flight Area #4:

Arroyo blocked on all sides, no foot traffic

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Flight Area #5:

Steep native embankment, no foot traffic

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Flight Area #6:

Fireworks columns

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Flight Area #7:

Balloon Museum, approved by Museum Director

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Flight Area #8:

NEW area. Roped off fireworks safety area to be flown during balloon glows, ending before fireworks

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Flight Area #9:

NEW area. Special sponsor balloon capture sorties. Specific permission requests for each mission. Radio authorization required. Team will form a roped off 60ft x 60ft square being held by UAS personnel. UAS team will form the flight area and prevent visitors from entering the area and inform RPIC immediately of any issues. This will create a 30ft distance from the crowd for take off and landing. "Bubble" will be positioned and directed according to AIBF zebra instructions. Flight duration will not exceed 15min, and remain below 200ft.  Bubbles will be positioned to be upwind of balloons taking off and designed to be carried out without interfering with balloon launches.

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Flight Area #10:

NEW area. Splash n Dash capture. Flight area includes several potential ground control areas to be chosen according to winds/balloon directions. While the flight area is extensive, sorties will be conducted within VLOS. At no time will UAS fly beyond 750ft and extra care will be taken to avoid flying in between multiple balloons and their flight paths. Ops will be conducted very conservatively and will likely stay within a 400ft radius of ground control.

 

UAS Personnel - Operational Guidelines:

All UAS personnel will be briefed and trained according to the outline below. Multiple VO will be implemented whenever possible to create a redundancy of tasks.

 

VO responsibilities:

1. Constant visual site of UAS while airborne. Situational awareness of direction of flight path, speed, and location of UAS and all balloon traffic. Constant communication with RPIC regarding see and avoid well in advance of any issues. All flights will be conducted in a conservative manner as to never be in a situation that requires abrupt maneuvers.

2. Personal Conduct. Be courteous and respectful to all visitors. Obey and relay instructions from AIBF staff.

3. Safety above all. UAS team is expected to adhere to all FAA and AIBF regulations and, through constant communication, commit to ensuring safe UAS operations for all involved.

4. UAS team members will attend pre-event training and complete and pass the nighttime operations test with a 100% score.

5. Make sure you are briefed on emergency protocol to land the drone. This is in case I pass out or have a stroke/aneurism/etc.

 

Crew Conduct:

• BE ON TIME.

• Should anything go wrong, like a crash, DO NOT speak to anyone accept me, Fiesta personnel, FAA, or law enforcement. 

• Be respectful and courteous. There are 50,000 people on that field that are NOT paying attention to anything but the balloons. There are another 10,000 idiots that want to know what we are doing and will come ask questions mid flight. Kindly tell them that you cannot help them until we land. Do not get distracted, I am counting on you to keep this operation safe.

• Be sure to return your vest and parking pass to my vehicle if you are not working the next subsequent session. This will prevent having to track you down to retrieve these critical items.

• Bear with me, there are a lot of moving parts in this operation and a LOT on the line. I'm typically pretty easy going but at Fiesta I can get easily uptight if things go sideways. Try to only communicate with me outside of flight times. I will do my best to respond to any questions via phone or text, but try to avoid this during missions. This is a 150+ hour week for me and this event takes everything I have to pull off. I usually run out of steam by the last day, and typically do not fly on the last Sunday.

• Below is the info for how to enter the park and where to park. DO NOT drive your vehicle onto the field at anytime. I will have an ATV that can be utilized to transport people and equipment. Be sure your guests are aware of these details: