ok so i finally registered my mavic 3 and got part 107 last month, been flying locally no problem but now i want to shoot some footage near a small regional airport, not like right next to the runway or anything but within maybe 3-4 miles and i pulled up aloft and it says i need LAANC authorization for that grid square

i submitted the request through aloft and it said "auto-approved" basically instantly which honestly felt too easy? like i was expecting to wait days or fill out more forms. is that normal or did i miss something. also the approval said i can fly up to 200ft AGL in that area but my original plan was around 300ft for the shot i need, do i just... not do that? or is there a way to request higher ceiling

sorry if this is a dumb question i just dont want to end up with an FAA letter or something

yeah that's totally normal, LAANC auto-approval happens pretty fast for most grid squares that have pre-approved ceiling limits. the system is designed to be quick so pilots actually use it instead of just ignoring airspace rules entirely. the 200ft ceiling is what the FAA and the airport have agreed on for that specific grid, you cant just fly higher because you want a better shot, that's not how it works.

if you genuinely need 300ft in a controlled airspace area you'd have to apply for a Part 107 waiver or a facility map override, which is a whole different process and takes actual time, like weeks sometimes. honestly for most real estate or landscape work the 200ft limit is workable if you plan the shot right. just stick to what the authorization says and you're fine legally.

same thing happened to me when i flew near a class D a few months back, got approved in like 2 minutes and i kept refreshing thinking it was broken lol. from what i understand the auto-approval just means youre within the pre-set parameters the tower agreed to, so you're good to go within those limits. dont push the altitude ceiling though, that part is real