Hi. Looking at the caa wesite on drones. I'm i right in reading at this present  moment  that camera drones such as the p4 and others are allowed to travel no more than 500 meters horizontally away from the operator?
If so is that a guideline or a true law cast and set in stone passed in UK law. I've noticed some things written are put down as guidelines and not current enforable laws that must be followed without question.   Only I've noticed that it doesn't say anything about this in the drone code.  I no you must stick to 400 meters vertical but the 500  meter horizontal away from you i'm not sure.

Plus sorry for so many questions but its somthing I and others need to know.  those who have only just bought drones for the first time. You can t fly over towns but can you fly around there edge, its outer parrimitor?

You can't fly along beaches in the UK, but can you fly along the shore line just beyond where the waves breaks just off the beach. Or must you fly a quarter mile out to sea away from  land.  I apologise as i would think these questions have been asked before  i know new drone flyers dont want to  break UK drone laws.

Finally. When you put a REWARD sticker on your drone in case it goes  missing. Should you write your email address or phone number or both on the sticker? What do you think is best?

Thanks for replies in advance.

Firtsly, if you are not a license holder, then the 500m does not a apply as your are a hobbyists but VLOS DOES and thats normally no more than say about 4-500m at the most and much less for the Mavic's and Spakr anyway and its 400 feet  vertical not meters, but, again, thats law for PfCO only, BUT, then comes the drone code (guideline) of which states 400ft, if you go above 400ft as a hobbyist and something goes wrong, you best have a damn good reason for doing so else you will end up in a world of hurt in court. But, as a hobbyist, you can use FPV and go up to 1000ft high as long as you have a competent spotter, again, best have a good reason for doing so, i think that could be for inspections such as masts and the like, but then you would be licensed so i dont get that one.

You must stay at least 150m away from a congested area and that is a village, industrial estate, towns, citys, football games and so on, single buildings and people you must stay 50m or more away from unless you are taking off and landing then its 30m.

You can fly on the beach as long as you are 50m away from people unless there are 1000 or more then you must stay at least 150m away from them, some beaches are under the Crown, stay below the high tide line and you will be ok also....

As for the sticker, put both, as much info as possible, i  used a bit of folded paper with cello take covering it to make it waterproof, folded and taped a way that can easily be unfolded again, but need to do a new one since my drone want for a swim, the info wasnt that water proof lol

PS read this page

https://www.caa.co.uk/Consumers/Unmanned-aircraft/Recreational-drones/Recreational-drone-flights/

Also the 3 links (‡) on that page too and follow that, it is what the UK Drone Code is based on but also make sure you keep under 400ft high, this ensures your drones safety and that of manned aircraft

Article 241 - endangering safety of any person or property (‡)
Article 94 - small unmanned aircraft (‡)
Article 95 - small unmanned surveillance aircraft (‡)

You might find this site useful, if you haven't found it already:           http://www.noflydrones.co.uk/

In answer yt your question about it being lawful or not please have a look here

https://iclg.com/practice-areas/ ... ions/united-kingdom

Our aircraft, as that is what they are classed as, come under the control of Air Navigation Orders, which in turn are part of legislation. The rules are enforceable by law. Clearly,  guidelines are just that, but as Bashy clearly says, you need to have a damn good reason for ignoring them should something go wrong. If you are uncertain about that then simply ask Mr Google about  those who have been prosecuted for ignoring them. You will also find your insurance will tell you that you are not covered should you choose to ignore the guidelines.

And the Drone Code that's been mentioned. The 'Drone Assist' safety App' is very good, when zoomed in gives good localised information including any Temporary flying restrictions. This is supported by the CAA, although as a regulator they are not allowed to endorse any product. It's as good as it gets.

"You can't fly along beaches in the UK, but can you fly along the shore line just beyond where the waves breaks just off the beach."

Would be interesting to know where you got some of these "rules"?

Sounds like you may have come across some local byelaws, although that particular one is unlikely to be enforceable as written...

As a new aircraft pilot, make sure you follow the Drone Code, keep it well within sight and don't take any risks with your own or other peoples safety.  It is very easy for things to go wrong for the inexperienced.

The Drone Code is a guide, not the law, but breaking it is like breaking the Highway Code - not advisable unless you really know what you are doing and what the actual law is.

Aardvark Posted at 2018-4-15 07:32
And the Drone Code that's been mentioned. The 'Drone Assist' safety App' is very good, when zoomed in gives good localised information including any Temporary flying restrictions. This is supported by the CAA, although as a regulator they are not allowed to endorse any product. It's as good as it gets.

I will expand on this, i know you said zoom in for localised, (this is for the op not you ;) ) but dont just zoom in, ZOOM in, all the way, reason being, you can see the normal stuff like airports and prisons (mostly) and if you zoom in a bit you can see some more such as certain nature reserves but if you zoom all the way on the place you want to fly it will give you everything, namely the smaller schools, pylons, wind turbines, train lines and much much more, try to make a habit of zooming all the way in and often, because things change and items are added all the time, what was ok yesterday may not be today.

Its a lot to get you head around chap, 1st and foremost, stick to the drone code, that includes your own garden,  as that falls under the 50m rule depending on where you live, also note, a the 150m rule is based on say any more than 5 houses clustered within 50m of each other, thats straight from the horses mouth (CAA on the dog an bone)

Have a look on here http://dronesafe.uk/ - This will tell you all you need to know.