LAANC Above the Grid: Further Coordination

A LAANC app shows a number in every grid square near an airport: 400, 200, 100, sometimes 0. That number is not the legal limit of the airspace. It is the altitude the FAA has already decided it can approve automatically. Above it, a Part 107 pilot can still ask for permission through further coordination. This post covers how that works, including the zero-foot grids.

What do the grid numbers mean?

They come from the FAA's UAS Facility Maps. The FAA describes them as the maximum altitudes around airports where it may authorize Part 107 operations without additional safety analysis. It also stresses that the maps do not authorize anything on their own: you still need an airspace authorization through LAANC or FAA DroneZone to fly in Class B, C, D or surface-area E airspace under §107.41.

What is a further coordination request?

The FAA's LAANC page lists two ways to use LAANC:

You can submit a further coordination request up to 90 days before the flight. If a facility denies it, the FAA says the facility can provide guidance so you can adjust the operation and resubmit.

Can you fly in a zero-foot grid?

Sometimes. A 0 in a grid means no automatic approval at any altitude. Zero grids tend to sit closest to the runways, where the facility maps allow the least. The FAA's Part 107 airspace authorizations page says certificated remote pilots may use LAANC to request authorization above grid altitudes up to 400 feet, including 0-foot grids, by submitting a further coordination request. The exception is on-airport operations, which cannot go through that route.

Some requests will be denied, so plan the job so a lower altitude or a different launch point still works.

When do you use FAA DroneZone instead?

Two situations from the FAA's pages:

• The airport has no LAANC. LAANC is available at 726 airports. Near airports that do not offer it, you apply through the manual process in FAA DroneZone.
• You also need a waiver. If a flight in controlled airspace needs both a waiver and an airspace authorization, the FAA says you must apply for both through DroneZone. The waivers post covers what can be waived.

Give DroneZone time. The FAA says processing has historically taken up to eight weeks from submission, and you may not fly the operation without the approval.

A worked example

A roofer needs photos of a warehouse 1.5 miles from a Class D airport. The grid over the warehouse shows 100 feet, and the shot needs 150. The pilot files a further coordination request through a LAANC app two weeks ahead, describing the location, the 150-foot altitude and the time window. If the facility denies it with guidance, the pilot adjusts, for example by staying at 100 feet with a wider lens, and resubmits. If the warehouse sat next to an airport without LAANC, the same request would go through DroneZone, filed weeks ahead.

What the exam asks

The knowledge test asks when authorization is required, not how to use an app. Expect questions on which airspace classes need authorization under §107.41, and on reading airspace from a sectional chart. The LAANC post and flying near an airport cover those, and the Class D post covers the airspace where most grids sit.