After the receiving a couple of comments on my #DroneStrategy for Portugal post, I decided I should also share for another country I visited and dug up all this information in advance.
Disclaimer: As laws and rules may change and may not be available in English I may not update this post fast enough. I don't take any responsibility for anything written here. You are the only one responsible for your actions and you are the one who must check the (updated) rules, the laws and the context (always use common sense) before flying your drone. So, go and check the official links and ask more questions to the authorities if you are unsure about something.
Location: Zurich, Winterthur, Baden, Geneva - Switzerland
Time: July 2017 to April 2019 Drones: DJI Spark
Instagram: @o_laparoto
As per usual, here are my personal recommendations:
You must know how to fly safely and do it under supervision of an adult if you are under 18.
Do not put others at risk or disturb them.
The dissemination of images of people or private spaces requires proper authorisations.
- You are responsible for any damage caused by your drone. You are advised to apply for a third-party insurance.
- Inspect your drone before and after each flight, check the entire frame for cracks including the landing gear and props.
- Make sure you have sufficient GPS signal and wait for the "Home Point Recorded" message to avoid a fly away and do not forget to set adequate RTH altitude for a safe return to home.
- If you see a figure of authority, police, fireman, lifeguard etc approach them and ask if there is any special event going on in the area or if you are allowed to fly. Preventing any temporary ban,
Always keep the drone in sight in a radius of 500m
Don't fly near airports, airfields atc.
- Daytime flying with appropriate meteorological conditions (no fog, rain or wind)
- Night-time flying with appropriate meteorological conditions (no fog, rain or wind) with a drone of up to 2kg and going no higher than 50m.- When flying with FPV goggles, you must be accompanied by an observer.
- Do not exceed a height of 120m (400feet) and or on the highest obstacle located within a radius of 150 m from the RPA- Never fly over sensible areas like prisons, military zone, etc.
- My checklist before every flight:
- Is the wind good enough for a safe flight? Check the wind before leaving home and onsite. If the wind is strong your drone may fly away or even crash.
- Is the drone in good conditions? Have you crashed before? You may have to reset/re-calibrate it before attempting another flight. Fix it and perform a test, don't just try to fly it after a crash or it might happen again.
- Risks analysis: what can go wrong? If you see trees nearby, or a big building the answer could be "1) possible crash in the trees if I fly too close to them 2) possible loss of signal if the drone goes behind the building". If I see more then 20 people I change location or fly 100m away from them as precaution.
- Are all the transmitter switches in the proper initial positions? I think one of my first crashes happened because I took off the drone with in a different mode than the one I wanted. The wind did the rest...
Create your own checklist.
Don’t fly without authorisation:
- Over buildings and people
- At night
- In controlled airspace, or in close proximity to aerodromes and heliports, adhering to the distances established by law.
- In emergencies without being instructed by the public authority
Switzerland is very similar to most countries throughout the world, it might be complicated to fly your drone in major cities, in many cities you can fly under strict rules like distance and height limits, etc.
Outside of cities drones are normally accepted, provided you show respect for the area your flying in, asking for permission if your not sure if it’s ok to fly.
If you offer to show what your doing or maybe even share some photos/videos, I'm sure you will be making some new friends.
Showing respect for people and property will only make your life easier.
Customs: There is no specific rules to take your DJI drone through customs in Switzerland. You don't even have to take it out of your bag.
Application Process:
Since the drones section on the English FOCA website is incomplete (what the foca?) here is a quick summary of the most important points for you:
- You must always have line of sight (LOS) with your drone.
- You need a permission for FPV glasses, unless you (pilot) use them in the LOS area and you have somebody (operator) checking the drone and being able to interrupt/control it as well in case of need. Pilot and operator must be in the same place.
- Auto-pilot/autonomous flights are allowed (e.g. missions planned with the Litchi App), but only if you can in any moment take control of the drone.
- Taking videos/photos is allowed. The same privacy rules apply as for other cameras.
- You can fly over groups not exceeding 23 people*. From 24 and more people: flying over them is forbidden, but at a distance of 100m away it's allowed, or you can ask a permission to FOCA.
- If your drone weight (including the battery) is more than 500g, you need a liability insurance to cover up to 1 million CHF in damages and a certificate from your insurance with you when operating the aircraft, which the police might ask you to provide.
- It's forbidden to fly within 5km from airport or helipd runways, unless you got a permission from the air traffic control/aerodrome operator. Check the Swiss map with drone restrictions
- Cantons and towns/municipalities may restrict even more the rules listed above. So make sure to check the local laws as well.
- Most natural reserves are protected and it's forbidden to fly a drone, because the noise can disturb animals. If you see a sign "Naturschutz" please avoid flying a drone there. Websites of such places also indicate if flying drones is forbidden.
Summary from FOCA regarding Swiss Laws, which seems easier to read than the legislation: (Thanks @RA PHI)
https://www.bazl.admin.ch/bazl/en/home/good-to-know/drones-and-aircraft-models/allgemeine-fragen-zu-drohnen.html
I sincerely hope this information has been of good use to you during your visit to Switzerland.
Here is one of my videos flying in Zurich:
https://youtu.be/Y9E4u2dfdZc
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