All flight requests must be submitted by a member of the university community with a valid Duke netid. If you are an external contractor, you will work with your Duke sponsor to make the formal request.
Flight requests should be submitted at least one week in advance of the proposed flight.
Duke’s campus is a vibrant and highly populated area. With near constant student activity, community events, a sprawling medical center, and a Life Flight heliport, requests to fly any type of aircraft must be carefully reviewed, and approvals will be heavily dependent on location and timing. Working closely with Duke Forest, Duke University has created two pre-approved locations, the Couch and Blackwood field sites, which are recommended for most drone needs. Requests to fly at the pre-approved locations will be handled more quickly and with greater likelihood of success. Please visit the Duke Forest website and reach out directly to the Duke Forest staff at dukeforest@duke.edu for more information about their property, event calendar, and teaching/research use forms.
The questions on the Drone Flight Request Form can be previewed here.
All flight requests must begin with the Duke Drone Flight Request Form. You must have a Duke NetID to make a flight request; if you are a third party vendor, your Duke sponsor (who is ultimately responsible for the flight) must make the request on your behalf. Requests will be reviewed for completeness and viability.
Requests for flights in Duke Forest will first be reviewed for viability by the drone approval committee, but final flight authority will be given by Forest staff who need to de-conflict competing priorities for the sites and also need to communicate access and operating procedures. Requests to fly anywhere on the main campus will be carefully scrutinized for risks they might pose.
Student flights in aid of a course or research projects should be coordinated with and requested by the cognizant faculty member.
The following types of flights are generally NOT approved:
- Hobbyist flights (except under the auspices of the Duke Academy of Model Aeronautics)
- Private event photography, including weddings
- Flights principally to the benefit of a third party entity rather than to Duke
