SOUTHERN INDIANA
Flying an Indiana jobsite: airspace, authorization, and your schedule
A site in Jeffersonville or New Albany sits under some of the busiest airspace in the region. That changes how a flight gets planned, and it is worth knowing why before it affects your calendar.
PILOT
FAA-Licensed
OPERATING UNDER
FAA Part 107
COMMON SITES
Clark and Floyd County
AUTHORIZATION
Handled before arrival
WHY INDIANA IS DIFFERENT
The river does not stop the airspace
Louisville Muhammad Ali International is a major cargo hub, and the controlled airspace around it does not politely end at the Ohio River. A good deal of Clark and Floyd County sits underneath it, which means a jobsite in Southern Indiana can require FAA authorization before an aircraft leaves the ground.
Add Clark Regional Airport near Sellersburg and you have a second layer to check. None of this makes flying impossible. It makes flying something that has to be planned rather than improvised, and it is the main reason an unlicensed operator with a drone is a genuine liability on an Indiana site.
HOW AUTHORIZATION WORKS
Most of it is quick. Some of it is not.
For much of the controlled airspace in the metro, authorization is automated and comes back quickly, so a flight can be planned with confidence a day or two out.
Some areas are more restricted, and those need a request submitted in advance that is not instant. That is the case worth knowing about early, because it is the only situation where airspace genuinely affects your schedule rather than just my paperwork.
Either way, this is settled before I arrive. Nobody on your site should be standing around while a pilot works out whether he is allowed to be there.
A Southern Indiana site: authorization is part of the plan, not a surprise on the day.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU
Three things worth asking any aerial provider
Are you licensed?
Commercial drone work in the United States requires an FAA remote pilot certificate. I am FAA-Licensed. If a provider is vague on this, that is your answer.
Are you insured for my site?
General contractors increasingly require proof before anyone flies over an active jobsite. It is a fair requirement and a reasonable thing to ask for up front.
Do you handle authorization?
Getting airspace authorization is the pilot’s job, not the client’s. You should never be asked to sort out a flight approval for your own project.
THE UPSIDE
Southern Indiana projects photograph beautifully
Once the planning is handled, Clark and Floyd County are genuinely good places to shoot. The terrain has relief to it, the river gives context that flat sites never have, and the Louisville skyline sits in the background of a lot of frames whether you asked for it or not.
For an example of a complete package on an Indiana build, see the Jeffersonville commercial project, or the construction progress page for how monthly coverage is structured.
WHY THE RULES EXIST HERE
You are underneath a working cargo hub
Louisville is one of the busiest air cargo airports in the world, and the traffic pattern does not respect the state line. Aircraft on approach and departure are lower over parts of Clark and Floyd County than most people on the ground realise, which is the entire reason the airspace above those jobsites is controlled rather than open.
That is worth understanding rather than just complying with, because it explains why the answer is sometimes no. An authorization is permission to operate at a stated altitude in a stated area. It is not permission to go higher because the shot would be better, and a pilot who treats it that way is a liability on your project rather than an asset.
In practice this rarely limits the photography. Most of what makes a jobsite legible from the air happens well within the altitudes that get approved. The constraint bites on tall structures and on wide establishing shots, and both can usually be solved with lens choice and position instead of altitude.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Indiana specifics
Does authorization cost me anything?
No. It is the pilot’s administrative work, not a line item, and it is done before arrival.
How far ahead do you need to know about an Indiana site?
A few days is comfortable. Most of the metro authorizes quickly, but some areas need a request that is not instant, and that is the only situation where airspace genuinely affects your schedule.
Can you fly at all near Clark Regional?
Close in, it depends on the exact location and altitude needed. It is a question with a real answer rather than a blanket no, and the answer comes before the visit, not on the day.
Our GC requires a certificate of insurance. Is that a problem?
No, and it is a reasonable requirement. Ask for it early so it is attached to the site paperwork rather than chased at the gate.
Is a hobby drone operator really a risk?
On an active commercial site, yes. Commercial work requires an FAA remote pilot certificate, and an uninsured unlicensed flight over your crews is your exposure as much as theirs.
CLARK AND FLOYD COUNTY
Indiana site that needs an aerial record?
Licensed aerial work by Aerial Photography Louisville.
