Hi.

I've written a blog post regarding the use of 'drones' for recreational use in the UK. I thought it might be of use to your customers. I've linked to the CAA guidelines in the post and added my own content.

Any comments would be great.

Dave


UK Law for drone use

Here is my website

Aerial Photography Wales

Nicely done.  Unfortunately, we on the other side of the pond have government agencies that are incapable of establishing a sensible set of guidelines.   Our "representatives" in Washington seemingly are hell bent on doing just the opposite.  

NICE........ advertising!
Highly informative , but still not making any impact on the masses of noobs...................



Article 167 would lead you to believe the FPV ( first person view ) flight of your quadcopter or other craft would fall under this. This is not the case. 167(5) makes it out that a small unmanned surveillance aircraft is an aircraft equipped to “undertake any form of surveillance or data acquisition” but
CAP722 (http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/CAP722.pdf) article 3.4 in Section 3 Chapter 1 page 2 refers to this
The provision of image or other data solely for the use of controlling or monitoring the aircraft is not considered to be applicable to the meaning of ‘Surveillance or Data Acquisition’ covered at Article 167 for SUSA.
However if the video is captured in some way and used for other purposes the CAA considers the flight to have been for data acquisition and article 167 does apply.
CAA exemption from Article 166(3) for FPV fliers where the criteria of the exemption are met and the stipulations are followed:

I did cover this and this is why this forum is dying a death,  repeat central.............   no actual organisation of posts,  nobody actually cares....
Why am I even writing this........   

The UK CAA Rules are really very simple to understand.
The aircraft must be kept within the visual line of sight (normally taken to be within 500 m horizontally and 400 ft vertically) of its remote pilot (i.e. the ‘person in charge’ of it).
Don't fly over or within 150 metres of any congested area.
Don't fly over or within 150 metres of an organised open-air assembly of more than 1,000 persons
Don't fly within 50 metres of any vessel, vehicle or structure which is not under the control of the person in charge of the aircraft.
Don't fly within 50 metres of any person.

They might be simple to understand, but what is a 'congested area';

CAA state:
The Air Navigation Order defines a congested area as being 'any area of a city, town or settlement which is substantially used for residential, industrial, commercial or recreational purposes'
Permission must be obtained from the CAA to land or operate within a congested area. Permissions granted may be valid for one flight or for a period of up to 12 months.

This statement covers most of the UK, so where do normal hobbyists fly their drones??   HELP

Unmanned Aircraft to be limited to 50m height by EASA Prototype Commission Regulation on Unmanned Aircraft Operations!
Please WATCH, SHARE and ACT! We only have until Mid-October to make a difference.

To those who think the rules are very simple to understand, trust me, they're not. As I found out after a visit from the police recently.

I plan to visit the UK with the family for a boat trip (either canals or on the Thames river) and I'm considering taking my drone with me.
Is it allowed to fly a drone in the Thames or the canals? Should I use it only when there is no other boat in sight? According to what I see in the rules, attached at the top of the thread, it should be no problem if I am not very close to other vehicles (boats?) or houses with my drone? Am I correct?

fans88d6c240 Posted at 2016-11-8 17:31
I plan to visit the UK with the family for a boat trip (either canals or on the Thames river) and I' ...

Using the thames corrriodor for uav flights should be fully checked for regulations before any flight.There are a number of heliport operators on the london stretches along with the city airport so no fly zones operate along with restrictions on areas like houses of parliment tower bridge and many more.The upper and lower reaches of the thames are less restricted..Hope this helps

fans88d6c240 Posted at 2016-11-8 09:31
I plan to visit the UK with the family for a boat trip (either canals or on the Thames river) and I' ...

This might give you some idea, this was from a NOTAM (Notification To Airmen) flight planner:-

I will be boating on the Thames.
So is checking the NOTAM map enough (which seems comlicated enough) or should I do anything in addition?

fans88d6c240 Posted at 2016-11-9 14:30
I will be boating on the Thames.
So is checking the NOTAM map enough (which seems comlicated enough ...

You could use DJI's own geofencing map as a guide -
http://www.dji.com/flysafe/no-fly

Thanks,
tiscali your map seems much less restricting than the one that Aardvark sent. Can anyone say why is there such a difference?

Does anyone have any knowledge of this problem and if anyone would know a rough cost for a repair

Greatly appreciated for any responses

Hello,

Sorry to jump on this post but seems to me the best place for advice.

I am going to take my PfCO practical test soon and i would like to clarify that with the PfCO i will be able to fly within 150m of either a congested area or an organised open air crowd or more than 1000 persons
and / or within 50m of people or properties/objects that are not under your control?

Im unsure if there are any rules in place when you have a PfCO? I cant find anything on the CAA webiste. Obviously fly safely but can i fly 5m from a build etc as we would like to do roof inspections...

Thank you for any guidance.

James Mitchell Posted at 2018-5-17 00:10
Hello,

Sorry to jump on this post but seems to me the best place for advice.

Hi James,

You should have covered all of this in the theory part of your course.

Having a PfCO modifies some of the distances eg

150m separation for congested areas no longer applies, 50m rule applies
30m separation to people, vehicles, vessels and structures not under your control ON TAKE OFF AND LANDING

You are still not permitted to get within 150m of crowds of 1000 or more people and 50m separation still applies to pvvs during flight.

If something is under your control, then in theory you can get as close as you need to. So a roof inspection on a building UNDER YOUR CONTROL would permit you to get within 5m of that structure.

djmokoia77 Posted at 2018-5-17 02:06
Hi James,

You should have covered all of this in the theory part of your course.

"If something is under your control, then in theory you can get as close as you need to. So a roof inspection on a building UNDER YOUR CONTROL would permit you to get within 5m of that structure. "

And if the neighbours are within 50m then you need to take control of their property too.

Of course you need to anyway since if you are flying within 5m of a roof then there is a definite possibility of you crashing, so you need to ensure that you are not going to crash land in the neighbours swimming pool while they are in it!

Yep good point and an important clarification. No one wants a drone landing in their swimming pool!