Drone Flying for Beginners
“Just buy the thing and press the “Go Up” button, right? Surely, that’s all you need to know?”
No. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but there are a few things you need to wrap your head around before you can take off. Not to worry though, here’s all you need to know to launch you into your new hobby!
All the information below is found within the Civil Aviation Authority’s guidelines (The CAA is the UK’s aviation regulator). Visit the link here for all the facts. https://www.caa.co.uk/drones/drone-code/
See your own region’s regulator for specific rules in your location.
The laws are constantly changing in such a rapidly growing industry, information is correct on article publishing date and should be corroborated before taking as fact.
Categorically Speaking
In the UK, there are 3 drone categories to be aware of, but it’s likely you’ll only fly aircraft within 1 of them. That one, named the “Open” category, refers to drones that weigh less than 25kg (2,500g) and are performing low-risk operations. Think of this as the Level 1 of difficulty/danger. The other two are named the “Specific” and the “Certified” categories.
The level above Open - the Specific category - encompasses flights that involve risk and have had a pre-flight risk assessment completed; examples of this include roof surveys, dropping items from a drone or flying close to crowds. Note that the latter two are illegal if done without specific permissions and checks being put in place beforehand.
The third and most restrictive group - the Certified category – relates to drone ops that are so hazardous that the flights are worthy of being classed as “manned flights” in their own right.
There is a separate mention for flyers in the CAA guidelines regarding First-Person-View (FPV) flights. This is because, as cameras attached to drones become more common, the need for the pilot themselves to maintain visual line of sight becomes less necessary. In this section – while not a category in its own right – it speaks of the opportunity now afforded pilots to utilise another person as their “spotter”. There are rules and stipulations for this as ever, but essentially the spotter must maintain visual line of sight without aid from other devices, including binoculars or visual aids (standard eyeglasses excluded), allowing the pilot to control the drone while focusing entirely on the images transmitted by the drone’s onboard camera.
Licence & Registration Please
Depending on your drone and its purpose, you’ll almost certainly need to obtain one or two licences. If your drone does not have a camera and weighs less than 250 grams, it does not need a licence as it is considered a toy. The CAA still recommends checking out the information freely available on its website to ensure you don’t do any damage to people, animals or objects when you fly.
If your drone weighs less than 250g but has a camera, or weighs more than 250g, the minimum licence you will need is the Operator ID. The cost of this is a very reasonable ~£11, needing renewal each year. There are very few requirements for this other than that the operator who registers must be 18 years or older. Once obtained, the ID you are given must be displayed and visible on the aircraft itself without the need for tools to access it, often printed onto a sticker and attached to the underside of the drone.
A Flyer ID is then required for those using drones weighing 250g or more. The CAA recommends this for any drone pilot regardless of the drone weight, as it includes an examination of the regulations and only helps to keep the skies safer for all. The test is free to take, comprises of 40 questions taken in your own time (reference to CAA guidelines during the test is permitted) and only requires 30 correct answers to pass. The Flyer ID licence stays active for 5 years.
Further certificates can be gained for those looking to make more complex flights, suited to those doing commercial work with the heavier classes of drones and/or within close quarters with structures and other objects. There are many courses available online, simply search “A2CofC and GVC” to find out more.
Never Above the Law
Considering all the rules and regulations, here are four to always keep in mind.
Flight Height: Do not fly your drone above 120m/400ft from the ground. Most modern drones will allow you to set the maximum height before you are warned off from flying higher or forcefully limited from doing so (this height is set from your point of take-off). If the elevation of the ground below your drone changes as you move around, take this into consideration and adjust accordingly. This rule is primarily in place to protect manned aircraft.
Line of Sight: Otherwise known as VLOS (Visual Line of Sight), it is important to keep your eyes on your drone for obvious reasons. No visual aids can be used to assist in keeping line of sight. As mentioned earlier in the Categories section, VLOS can be maintained by a spotter instead, when the drone pilot intends to use the on-board camera to control its position and speed.
Distance to People: First and foremost, do not fly over crowds unless specifically approved to do so (this would move the flight into the ‘Specific’ category and would require further pre-flight certification). For drones weighing 250g or more a 50m horizontal distance must be kept from people – think of this like a cylinder of protection. If operating a drone lighter than 250g, you may fly over people, but you must use caution and continue to avoid crowds unless you’ve obtained special certification to do so.
Airspace Restrictions: While in most cases private property owners do not own the airspace above their land, this is not the case when it comes to airports and the like. To check airspace regulations, check out useful tools such as Altitude Angel (dronesafetymap.com) for the area in which you’re planning to fly. Many modern drones have this data loaded into their software and can halt your flight immediately after take-off if in these restricted areas.
Sky Safeguarding
Pilots of drones without cameras need not worry about this. Everyone else, read on.
Try to avoid filming people without their consent where possible, though if the subjects are unidentifiable (from simply being too far away), this is a reasonable adjustment and is permitted. In a similar vein, when filming people and capturing their “digital data” you must comply with GDPR guidance if filming for commercial purposes, regardless of your drone type.
Flight Crew
The best way to stay up to date with the latest regulations – and even get yourself some public liability insurance – is to join an organisation designed to support UAV hobbyists, such as the BMFA (The British Model Flyers Association). Signing up as a member costs a little less than £50 per year but provides support from the community along with insurance of up to £25m. Read more on their site (bmfa.org).
Other ways to keep in touch with fellow flyers include joining communities on social media platforms such as Reddit and Facebook. These groups are great for asking the “stupid” questions. Take comfort in the knowledge that if you’ve thought of asking something, someone has almost certainly asked it before you! Another well informed vlogger is Sean of the ‘Geeksvana’ channel on YouTube.
If you have any questions about taking up the hobby, please don’t hesitate to reach out and ask us on our Contact page. We’ll happily elaborate on any of the above info to the best of our knowledge and point you in the right direction to get you in the air as soon as possible. The sky is literally the limit!