Where a drone needs permission, and where it does not
Most of this area is uncontrolled airspace, which is the real reason a job here can fly the week you call. 5 of the 28 towns I cover are near an airport that changes that, and on those the authorization is filed before the flight rather than discovered on the day.
How high anything can go
Part 107 caps a small unmanned aircraft at 400 feet above ground level. Above ground level, not above sea level — over rising terrain the ceiling rises with the hill, so 400 feet over the top of a ridge is still 400 feet.
There is one exception, and it is narrower than it is usually quoted. Within a 400-foot radius of a structure, the aircraft may go up to 400 feet above that structure's own uppermost limit — which is what makes a tower, a silo or a tall roof inspectable at all. Step outside that radius and the 400-foot AGL cap applies again.
None of that changes near an airport. In controlled airspace the altitude that can be authorized is whatever the FAA's grid says for that square, and it is often far below 400 feet.
The three fields that reach this area
Everything shaded below is controlled airspace belonging to one of them. The wash gets stronger as the ceiling gets lower, so the darkest squares are the tightest ground.
Town by town
The five that need arranging, first. Everything after them flies without asking anyone.
LancasterLancaster County, PA
Depends on the addressThe center is uncontrolled, but Lancaster Airport Class D covers part of the town, with ceilings from 300 to 400 ft. Which side of that line an address falls on decides whether it needs filing.
Drone work in LancasterMediaDelaware County, PA
Authorization requiredInside Philadelphia International Class B. The grid over the town center approves 400 ft, so every flight here is authorized in advance.
Drone work in MediaNewtown SquareDelaware County, PA
Depends on the addressThe center is uncontrolled, but Philadelphia International Class B covers part of the town, with a 400 ft ceiling. Which side of that line an address falls on decides whether it needs filing.
Drone work in Newtown SquareWilmingtonNew Castle County, DE
Depends on the addressThe center is uncontrolled, but Wilmington Airport Class D covers part of the town, with ceilings from 200 to 400 ft. Which side of that line an address falls on decides whether it needs filing.
Drone work in WilmingtonNew CastleNew Castle County, DE
Authorization requiredInside Wilmington Airport Class D. The grid over the town center approves 200 ft, so every flight here is authorized in advance.
Drone work in New CastleUncontrolled — nothing to file
No controlled airspace within two miles of any of these. A flight goes up when the weather allows it.
What this page is, and is not
The ceilings here come from the FAA’s UAS Facility Map, which is the grid LAANC uses to authorize a flight automatically. A ceiling is not a permission and it is not the legal altitude limit; that is §107.51, it is covered further up this page, and it is lower and different.
The FAA revises this grid on the 56-day chart cycle. These figures were read from the FAA on 2026-08-12 and are published so you can see how a job here gets planned — not for flight planning, and not as a substitute for checking it yourself before you fly anything.
Airspace is only one of the things that decides whether a flight happens. Weather, people on the ground and site access all matter too, and all of them get checked before the day rather than on it.
Ready to take flight?
Tell me about your project and I'll come back with a quote, usually within one business day.
- Call or text
- 610-410-9705
- info@zigzagaerial.us
- Service area
- Chester County, Pennsylvania, worked out of a base in West Grove. Coverage also reaches Lancaster County PA, Delaware County PA, New Castle County DE and Cecil County MD. There is no distance limit; travel beyond the usual run is costed with the quote.