dj_dread
 Second Officer
Flight distance : 648399 ft
United Kingdom
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Hellow fellow Pilots,
this is my experience with flying my DJI Spark in Greece, last year - 2018.
1. The details around Grece laws can be found here: http://www.hcaa.gr/en/
I found out that in greece you can fly without an authorization if you are not flying above than 160 feet AGL or more than 50 meters in any direction away from you.
2. The form to apply for a flight authorization can be found here: http://www.hcaa.gr/en/uas.html
It should be used when all the below conditions are met:
- You do not hold a Greek Tax Registration Number– i.e., you are a tourist / visitor / guest in Greece.
- You plan to fly your drone in a Free-Flying Zone (*)
- The purpose of your flight is recreational (**) - i.e., sightseeing, personal photo/video etc. (non-profit cause)
- Your drone will fly higher than 160 feet AGL (above ground) or more than 50 meters away from you (the pilot) in any direction and therefore you need to get an authorization to fly it (***).
2.1 This is a real-time map of the no fly zones in Greece:
3. To obtain the flight authorization you need to:
- Fill-in, sign and e-mail the present application form to HCAA: d4@hcaa.gr
- HCAA may ask for additional information i.e., UAS Registration Number, Pilot Certificate etc.
- If your request is approved, you may be informed of additional restrictions for making your flight safer.
- If you do not get an approval in due time, you must call off your flight plans and not fly your drone illegally.
- Upon HCAA approval (if received), you must visit the nearest to your flight area Police Station and the local Municipality services in order to inform local authorities of your approved flight plan. During these visits you will be required to show some identification (your passport or driver’s license etc.) to validate your identity.
- Finally you must observe all flight rules in the UAS REGULATION document, plus those listed in the form (see list in section 7) and be available on your cell-phone for possible emergency calls from ATC units or the police.
4. Few details on filling in the form
All the aircraft details that need to be filled in can be found on the DJI Support website or in the Spark manual.
In my application, for the Start and End date of the flight i listed my whole vacation period and i explained that i cannot point out a specific day or time as i do not know how the weather will be like.
*Note: i sent this application 1 month before going to Greece.
For the Flight Area Coordinates i mentioned that i cannot specify them as i will be travelling the whole island of Thassos and i'll be filming in various locations across the island.
For the Max Flight altitude i asked for 300 feet AGL and i was approved to fly at 200 feet AGL max.
5. Sharing from my experience
I drove to Greece so there no issues taking the drone through customes. But i still put the batteries in fire proof bags and i kept them inside the car (not trunk) as the air conditioning was running and maintaining a constant temperature.
ND filters are a must! Greece and Thassos specifically are very sunny and there is the sea and the sand that are highly reflective surfaces. If you want to respect the 180 degree rule then ND filters are a must. I used a ND16 but was not enough so i would recommend ND32. I'll be better prepared next time 
The island of Thassos is not a big one so i could drive around it and stop in several locations to film. The 5 batteries i had were not enough but i was saved by using a car charger than can charge 2 batteries at once. On top of that i had the Portable Charging Station that stores enough power to charge 3 batteries. The down side is it cannot charge all 3 at once.
I would recommend checking the battery temperature even during flight. Thassos is very hot during summer time and the battery can over heat. Also, when charging the batteries in the car make sure they are in the shade or you start the air conditioning in the car. Otherwise they may not start charging if their temperature is too high.
There were no issues in contacting the local Police station before flying.
I always kept with me the Flight Authorization.
Hope it helps! Happy flying!
Here are two videos filmed with Spark in Thassos during last summer:
https://youtu.be/quMIupfoMpc
https://youtu.be/YiltrVcYGQY
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