The new 2016 proposals by the EASA to regulate drone + RC aircraft flying will kill off drones in UK if they go through as I see it. Extremely restrictive.
I am not one to get too involved in these sort of things normally, but if I am just about to spend £1000 on a Mavic I thought it best to understand whats what, and it has concerned me
massively.
For anyone in the UK or EU it is well worth listenning / reading / signing petitions etc

Video


Docs
https://www.easa.europa.eu/syste ... ulation%20final.pdf


Cheers
Rep

Thanks for the info.

Sounds quite silly.
Mavic (and Phantoms) would be classed as A1 as over 250g but under 25kg.
Would need to be limited to 50m altitude and 100m distance
You must register

Killing the UK drone market.  

Listen I have been flying for more than 3 years and have never had any issues, also never seen or been asked by the drone police to stop flying. Think about where you are going to fly don't do anything stupid you will be fine

I don't live in the UK, but with the advancement of Brexit I'd think none of this applies to you. It is a European Union regulation, and doesn't apply to British Isles folks.
I could be wrong, but it would be the first time....Ha Ha
Sure as shooting it will kill the Drone business and fun in the EU.

Thanks for the info, I don't think EASA has any durastiction over airspace in U.K. Or Ireland for that matter, these are proposal documents they can't enforce these rules without the say so of every country in the EU and I can't see this happening in the near future, I know where I live in Ireland the police have no problems with me flying my P4 places you can't fly are all geo fenced current crime rate regarding use of drones is at present nil.
I will send an email to EASA to put my two pence worth in.

The good thing seems to be the remark about FPV (had not seen that before in proposed regulations, but I can easily be mistaken):
"in first-person-view mode or follow-me mode, only if the remote pilot maintains a safe separation of the UA from people, property, ground vehicles, public roads and from other airspace users;"

This does seem absolutely ridiculous. Once again the technology is far ahead of the law. If they'd done this with cars back in 1900 we'd have cars limited to 20mph with no more than 4 hp engines!

It would have been argued that cars were dangerous, no way to know where they're going, they'll crash into each other, etc. but who could possibly have seen electronic traffic signals coming? Just try making that case to someone in 1900.

Me: "One day we'll have these lights at junctions to make sure the cars don't crash when two or more roads meet."
1900 person: "And who is going to light those lights?"
Me: "Well... We'll have these things called computers..."
1900 person: "What are you talking about? Let's just limit cars to 200kg, 20mph and 4hp steam engines, so much safer!"

Hterag Posted at 2016-10-7 23:47
This does seem absolutely ridiculous. Once again the technology is far ahead of the law. If they'd d ...

Those rules do seem harsh, but safety is their main concern.

These rules are a disaster for DJI and the entire drone industry.  It also kills the entire aircraft model industry.  (Unless they weigh less than 250 grams.)  I would strongly advise all people interested in model aircraft to contact the EASA and protest strongly to these purposed rules.
You can also sign a petition if you are from the UK:
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/168112

I wouldn't get too worried about it

It's slated for 2021 and it's coming out of Europe. That means in reality it will cost 10 times more than budgeted and will miss its implementation target by years!
The member states will never agree on anything unilaterally - they just like to argue amongst themselves to try and get the upper hand.

By the time this might go through in whatever form it is by then the UK will be out of Europe and the CAA take a far more pragmatic view on RPAS operations.
We will be a sovereign country and responsible for our own aviation rules and laws (as we pretty much are now.)

Videos like this scare people unnecessarily - I never listen to anything coming out of the European Parliament and can't take them seriously.Thankfully, we won't have to listten to their rubbish for much longer!

Tharg (from the Posted at 2016-10-8 03:58
I wouldn't get too worried about it

It's slated for 2021 and it's coming out of Europe. That means  ...

Keep your fingers crossed.

Tharg (from the Posted at 2016-10-7 20:58
I wouldn't get too worried about it

It's slated for 2021 and it's coming out of Europe. That means  ...

Hope you're right... I just worry if it goes that way there, what's next? Don't want other countries copying or trying to out-do them with, "safety"!

And I always thought the EU has much more important issues to solve...

UK is not in EUROPE anymore lol

It's being reported on other sites that Britain exiting the EU might not prevent these regulations being forced upon us. I understand the BMFA are fighting our corner and will try and get some of these proposed regulations softened.  One possible outcome is that you can continue to fly whatever models/drones you own but ONLY at specific certified sites (model clubs basically) that have a proven safety record.

arives@capecod. Posted at 2016-10-7 16:43
I don't live in the UK, but with the advancement of Brexit I'd think none of this applies to you. It ...

The U.K. laws are always more restricted than in the EU... this is one of the main reasons of the BREXIT... they don't want to apply the inmigaration rules of the UE...

I can't believe that the CAA or any other agency in EU countries.. have the resources or manpower to enforce these regulations anyway................ Hell they can't even decide if we need another runway at Heathrow or Gatwick and who gets it...

mikee1554@hotma Posted at 2016-10-8 12:51
I can't believe that the CAA or any other agency in EU countries.. have the resources or manpower to ...

They are the owners of the airspace...so yes they can. Here in Spain they've applied fines to some drone operator for 30.000€, and they could charge as high as 220.000€... they have a new business

Hterag Posted at 2016-10-7 16:47
This does seem absolutely ridiculous. Once again the technology is far ahead of the law. If they'd d ...

This does seem absolutely ridiculous. Once again the technology is far ahead of the law. If they'd done this with cars back in 1900 we'd have cars limited to 20mph with no more than 4 hp engines!

When cars were first invented (UK) you had to have someone walking in front of the car waving a flag to warn others that a car was coming.

Delta Nine Posted at 2016-10-8 13:31
This does seem absolutely ridiculous. Once again the technology is far ahead of the law. If they'd d ...

When the photography were introduced to the society, with the Eastman cameras on the 19th century, on the US they forbidden the use on the beach ,monuments, near of schools...

Jorge D Posted at 2016-10-8 13:06
When the photography were introduced to the society, with the Eastman cameras on the 19th century, ...

Hi guys
Lots of views on this, which is good, as people should be made aware of whats happening in Eu/UK and what crazy rules are being proposed.
Obviously this will be a long way off yet, but as hobbyists its good to get a headsup before hand.

For transparency, I have made my opinions clear to my local MP (for what good it would do!), and signed the petition against these rules.

Cheers

Thanks for your input

I'd like to to an easa rep, or even a copper stalking around the places I fly drones lol, they better bring their hiking boots and a picnic. Ain't a crime if you don't get caught lol

dj.trillium Posted at 2016-10-8 16:38
I'd like to to an easa rep, or even a copper stalking around the places I fly drones lol, they bette ...

It is a crime if you have technologically inept, chronically paranoid, unaccountable and authoritarian bureaucrats who view the public with disdain.

Delta Nine Posted at 2016-10-8 12:31
This does seem absolutely ridiculous. Once again the technology is far ahead of the law. If they'd d ...

In the 1910 council officials predicted the streets of London by 1960 would be covered in horse shit they never envisaged that cars would take off.lol

The changes are coming not only to EU regulations. The changes proposed to Canadian regulations may effectively kill Phantom line and similarly sized UAVs in Canada. Mavic may be soon the only practical option for decent camera platform over here simply because it is below 1kg!  Because of the 1kg threshold, even Karma will not be classified any more as a very small UAV! Not much consolation for me with my P3A weighting at 1.28 kg.  You can find more detail about the proposed regulations and see for yourself that anything above "Very Small" is going to be a real PITA.

The proposed regulation is expected to go to Canada Gazette 1 in spring 2017
The formal consultation period and actual text of the proposed regulations will be communicated to all stakeholders for comment at that time
The distinction between recreational and non-recreational use will be removed, however members of modelling associations with safety guidelines will have an exclusion
The ‘very small’ category weight threshold has been changed from 2kg to 1 kg
An ‘unregulated’ category with a weight threshold of 250g or less will be introduced
Marking and registration will be required only for the ‘complex’ category
Compliance with a design standard will only be required for the ‘complex’ category
A pilot permit will be required for the ‘complex’, whereas knowledge requirements will be required for ‘limited’, and ‘very small’ operations, and will be commensurate to the category
Liability insurance will be required for all categories of unmanned aircraft

andrew43 Posted at 2016-10-9 17:39
The changes are coming not only to EU regulations. The changes proposed to Canadian regulations may  ...

So no more flights over the Niagara Falls area :-). Well seriously, I could understand this on the big cities like Vancouver or Toronto, but Canada is a hugh country, where you could stay travelling in areas were your only companion could be yourself... so I don't understand it...

hallmark007 Posted at 2016-10-9 13:04
In the 1910 council officials predicted the streets of London by 1960 would be covered in horse sh ...

Hehehehe :-). Where do you fly in IRL, It is safe to fly there? Maybe I'll go in November , but my son who is studying in Dublin says that I'm crazy, ,due to the frequent bad weather and strong winds...

Jorge D Posted at 2016-10-11 16:52
Hehehehe :-). Where do you fly in IRL, It is safe to fly there? Maybe I'll go in November , but my ...

You can fly almost anywhere in Ireland , best to keep out of cities, but from Dublin you are only 30 mins from the country side.
I live in the north west of Ireland on the Atlantic coast, yes it gets very windy and we have plenty of rain but it's a very beautiful place
See pictures of my hometown below taken with P 4
https://www.dropbox.com/s/wn8l46 ... 2009.30.40.jpg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/q5518l ... 20.42.58-2.jpg?dl=0

Saying they would find it hard to enforce is silly - didn't we recently have a mandatory update that crippled the range of the Standard, if only by mistake?

Look at how the Phantoms already cripple the transmitter once they know they are outside of America? It would be a simple matter to force a firmware update that cripples your Mavic to a max height of 50, rather than 500 meters, and the software already has a distance limitation, so making that stupidly short and forced on us would be simple too.

The only option would be to use a phone that is never, ever, connected to the net, and to ignore all "Update available" messages. However what happens when you buy a new battery? ""The firmware of this battery is not compatible with the firmware on your aircraft. Updates are available"...

There's 2 ways of looking at the future of drones:

A. As drones become more popular, practical and user-friendly, this will cause a huge increase in sales, which in turn will boost even more sales, leading to massive popularity. 2 or 3 out of 10 young people will own a small drone. This will create public backlash against "those bloody drones!" and harsh, over-the-top laws will effectively ban them for normal people, rapidly fading as a fun memory, like CB radios or something.

B. As drones become more popular, practical and user-friendly, this will cause a huge increase in sales, which in turn will boost even more sales, leading to massive popularity. 2 or 3 out of 10 young people will own a small drone. This will create greater public awareness of how harmless they are, how much fun they are, the amazing videos you can get and this will create a public backlash against any official body attempting to deprive the people of their beloved flying camera. The result will be some reasonably sane and common sense laws, such as max weight, speed, altitude and payload (Terror! Terror! Terrorists! Terrorism! Terror!) and safety features such as mandatory blade guards (Fink of the chilreen!) along with registration plates and mandatory 3rd party insurance.

B I could live with, my concern is A.

hallmark007 Posted at 2016-10-11 18:03
You can fly almost anywhere in Ireland , best to keep out of cities, but from Dublin you are only  ...

Thanks a lot! What a wonderful shots! Ireland is awesome

Tharg (from the Posted at 2016-10-7 20:58
I wouldn't get too worried about it

It's slated for 2021 and it's coming out of Europe. That means  ...

I really can't take you seriously, do you even know what your saying, there are a lot of Europeans on this forum,but I just want to point out something you said on another thread, and this is why I think your talking through your hat.

YOUR WORDS EXACTLY: The sooner much tighter regulations come in the better - unfortunately, in the UK, there is nobody to police them !!

And this is a better system than the current European system (Anarchy free for all we have no one to police them)

hallmark007 Posted at 2016-10-11 20:39
I really can't take you seriously, do you even know what your saying, there are a lot of Europeans ...

I can't take me seriously either - I am clinically insane.

Tharg (from the Posted at 2016-10-12 20:11
I can't take me seriously either - I am clinically insane.

Well I'm glad you said it..

UK is not in EUROPE anymore lol

We haven't left yet.

These new rules are only draft proposals AFAIK. Likely representatives from various organisations such as RPAS etc, and maybe even lobbying from companies like DJI will ensure that rules as harsh as those will never come to fruition.

Could this be the first good thing to come out of Brexit?

Could this be the first good thing to come out of Brexit?

hallmark007 Posted at 2016-10-11 17:03
You can fly almost anywhere in Ireland , best to keep out of cities, but from Dublin you are only  ...

One big advantage of Mavic over Karma in Ireland is that it falls under the 1kg limit.  Drones over 1kg will need to be registered.

IAA Rules

hallmark007 Posted at 2016-10-11 17:03
You can fly almost anywhere in Ireland , best to keep out of cities, but from Dublin you are only  ...

One big advantage of Mavic over Karma in Ireland is that it falls under the 1kg limit.  Drones over 1kg will need to be registered.

IAA Rules

hallmark007 Posted at 2016-10-11 17:03
You can fly almost anywhere in Ireland , best to keep out of cities, but from Dublin you are only  ...

One big advantage of Mavic over Karma in Ireland is that it falls under the 1kg limit.  Drones over 1kg will need to be registered.

IAA Rules