had a situation last week that kind of stressed me out and im still not sure i handled it right. was doing a shoot for a small construction company, documenting progress on a commercial build. pretty routine stuff ive done a few times. but when i got on site the site manager pointed to an area he wanted covered and it was right on the edge of what i was pretty sure was class D airspace. like my planning app showed it was close but i hadnt pulled a specific authorization for that exact spot because when i planned the job the previous week it looked fine.

i ended up just being vague about it and saying i'd see what i could do, flew most of what they needed but avoided that specific corner, and then kind of hoped they wouldnt notice. they didnt bring it up so maybe it was fine but i felt off about the whole thing. should i have just been upfront? i dont want to look incompetent to clients but i also dont want to do something sketchy.

how do experienced guys handle when the job scope changes on site and suddenly theres something you didnt plan for

honestly just be upfront. clients dont know airspace rules, they assume you do, so when you say something like hey i need to double check authorization for that section before i fly it there they dont hear incompetence they hear professionalism. its the same as a contractor saying let me check the structural drawing before i knock that wall out. you'd want that contractor.

i always keep LAANC open on my phone during shoots for exactly this kind of thing. if the airspace allows a quick authorization i can usually grab it in 2-3 minutes and then proceed. if it doesnt then i tell them ill need to come back for that section or we need to plan it properly next time. most clients are totally fine with that once you explain it briefly.

yeah i've been in that spot too and the vague approach is way more stressful than just saying something. one thing that helped me was kind of mentally rehearsing how i'd explain airspace stuff in plain language before jobs where i thought it might come up. like having a 30 second version ready. construction clients especially tend to respect it if you frame it as a legal compliance thing, same as the permits they deal with every day on site. they get it.

also side note ? are you using foreflight or just the DJI fly app for your airspace checks? asking because the DJI app can be weirdly inaccurate near class D boundaries in my experience, foreflight or skyvector gives me more confidence when its borderline.