Chicopee, MA Drone Rules: Airport Proximity Rules (2026)

The five-mile rule sits in Chapter 186 of the Chicopee Code, the drone ordinance the City Council adopted on 6-20-2017 as Ord. No. 17-30. Subsection (C)(10) of § 186-4 states that no drone shall be flown within five miles of a civilian or military airport without first contacting the control tower before flying. The distance is measured from any civilian or military airport rather than from a named field, so the radius is not tied to Westover alone.

The purpose clause explains why the City wrote it. Section 186-1 says the City of Chicopee is the home of the Westover Air Reserve Base, which conducts flights critical for the protection of all United States citizens, and that the chapter is adopted to comply with federal and state laws, including the safe operation of the Westover Air Reserve Base. The clause also notes that United States airspace is the busiest in the world.

What the rule requires is contact before flying. The ordinance names no phone number, form or approval office, and it does not fix a waiting period. It also does not turn tower contact into a permit: the duty is to make contact first. The neighboring items in the same list add related airspace duties: no operator can operate an aircraft or drone in close proximity or near another aircraft (C)(11), fly in bad weather (C)(12), or exceed 400 feet (C)(2). Section 186-4(A) separately requires compliance with all Federal Aviation Administration regulations.

Subsection C is introduced as applying to operators who use a drone for nonbusiness or noncommercial purposes, and § 186-3 limits the chapter to drones under 55 pounds flown by a private citizen below 400 feet and only to the extent allowed pursuant to state and federal law.