ok so my buddy keeps telling me i cant fly anywhere near a hospital because of the helicopter pads but when i look it up i cant find a clear answer. like is there an actual FAA rule about this or is it more of a general safety thing people just say. the hospital near me has a helipad but its not a major trauma center or anything, and im not trying to fly over it i just want to get some footage of a park that happens to be like 3 blocks away.

i dont have part 107 just the recreational cert. does that change anything. sorry if this is a dumb question

not a dumb question at all, this one confuses a lot of people. so there isnt a specific FAA rule that says "no drones within X feet of a hospital" as a blanket thing ? what matters is whether the airspace is controlled and whether there are active flight operations happening. the helipad thing is real though, helicopters doing medical flights have priority and if you're in the area when one is on approach that's a serious problem regardless of what any app says.

practically speaking for a rec flyer, if the park is 3 blocks away and not directly in the flight path you're probably fine legally, but id still check LAANC or B4UFLY just to confirm the airspace class. some hospitals are in Class D or even get TFRs during emergencies. better to spend 5 minutes checking than deal with the alternative.

hospitals specifically arent listed as no fly zones by default, its more about the airspace around them if they happen to be near an airport or have active air traffic. ive flown near a couple with no issue but i always check for NOTAMs first because sometimes they do put up temporary restrictions especially if theres some kind of emergency situation going on. the helipad thing is just common sense more than a hard rule tbh