Totally agree Lee, didn’t want to over complicate what I was trying to say!
Again totally agree, I believe having completed the course has made me think differently about when, where and how I fly.
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You are correct in that the 30m rule is for take off and landing. But…it’s still 50m from any building or structure. Specific permission must be obtained from the CAA to fly closer than 50m
2) The circumstances referred to in paragraph (1) are-
(a) over or within 150 metres of any congested area;
(b) over or within 150 metres of an organised open-air assembly of more than 1,000 persons;
© within 50 metres of any vessel, vehicle or structure which is not under the control of the SUA operator or the remote pilot of the aircraft; or
(d) subject to paragraphs (3) and (4), within 50 metres of any person.
(3) Subject to paragraph (4), during take-off or landing, a small unmanned surveillance aircraft must not be flown within 30 metres of any person.
(4) Paragraphs (2)(d) and (3) do not apply to the remote pilot of the small unmanned surveillance aircraft or a person under the control of the remote pilot of the aircraft.
(5) In this article, “a small unmanned surveillance aircraft” means a small unmanned aircraft which is equipped to undertake any form of surveillance or data acquisition.
Rules are made to be bent/broken 
In all seriousness though the 50m distance role is just bonkers, that would mean very few places you can fly at all in urban areas, meaning your limited to the occasional field in the middle of nowhere or large park at dusk/dawn when people are scarce, even then your bound to be interrupted by some annoying twit with an unleashed dog that wants to lick you to death.
That’s not the case as…
You need to be “in control”. This could be in the form of a briefing to all present covering what you’ll be doing, what to do in an emergency etc. Drone fly legally within metres of buildings and people all the time, they merely need to be under the operators control
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Which is exactly what I pointed out in my post about flying closer than 30m. However the daft CAA wording makes it so ambiguous to be almost non sensical. However part 95 of the ANO states
Article 95 of the ANO states that, if you wish to fly your camera fitted drone:
- within 150m of either a congested area or an organised open air crowd of more than 1000 persons
and / or - within 50m of people or properties/objects that are not under your control
then you will need to obtain a Permission from the CAA in order to do so legally. Because the Permission will enable you to reduce the normal safety limits that have been set out for drone operations, the CAA must obviously be satisfied that you are able to do this
Cricky I have scared myself to death after asking this question.
How many people bought a drone to earn money from weddings or aerial shots and then do the PfCO course only to realise it is virtually impossible to film a wedding because there is a Costa coffee less than 50 metres from the church, or some Japanese tourists might walk through the church yard (as happened on Saturday).
If I filmed my Jaguar F pace on Saturday in a Premier Inn car park (somewhere in Nottinghamshire) and no one else was there but it was close to the hotels reception I would’ve been breaking the law by the sound of it.
I agree, a briefing has to be given to fly close to buildings and people but can you imagine the difficulty of giving a safety brief to hundreds of people at a wedding. And the odd tourist who happens to wander thro.
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You’d be ok if you briefed the premier inn reception…and EVERYBODY who goes in and out…next to impossible I’d say.
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That’s what I am worried about.
I have been asked to do a friends wedding.
No way will I be able to brief or gain permission from everyone in the building surrounding the church.
Alan @AG-Cranes
Why not get that bloke who filmed the Jaguar F Pace on a Saturday in a Premier Inn Car Park (somewhere near Nottingham) to film the wedding 
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Great idea.
I’m just worried I have filmed about 4 arrest-able churches and hotels already!
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https://greyarrows.s3.dualstack.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/original/2X/a/afd2403b01524b6141014b64f36798c9b0c3690d.MP4 if Swampy or Tarzan, was living in one of these trees I’m screwed!
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Just checking if this has a delete function. Ah good it does!
That is the whole point of why to do these type of events you should have a PfCO. The major part of the course is about the planning a safe flying operation, how to manage an area, what you need to do to manage people, to consider if ‘the odd person’ should walk through. Why and when to use an observer and marshal’s. And finally, and most importantly, when to say “No” it’s not safe to fly the drone to do that, but to be able to offer an alternative solution.
I will add however that the but CAA regulations are not actually that ambiguous, many just don’t like to have to follow them. I have come to the conclusion that they are trying to manage a sensible approach which balances safety and privacy. The latter often gets forgotten but was the principle reason for introducing the 50m rule, to stop people flying their drones close over people homes or in parks etc.
I’ll stop now, and leave this thread well alone. I apologies again for getting all serious, but I do think it is important when giving advice that it is accurate
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I’d just give up the idea, and find a big rock to hide under!.
(looks over shoulder to see 4 vicars running down the street at him !) LOL
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Absolutely agree with you Brian, you’ve just posted my thoughts about planning and safety that they teach you on the pfco course.
Thanks for getting serious, I don’t mind being corrected and appreciate it, it’s a great conversation and nice to bounce ideas around.
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Alan @AG-Cranes
The guys above are being positive about the subject matter, and they are right on the ruling that we all have to abide by.
I believe that they are “kindly” advising you on “not getting yourself” in trouble with the authorities, or anyone else come to think of it.
While none of us are here to “police” anyone’s drone flights (GADC Rules) I am sure that we, as members would not want you to fall foul of the law, in anyway.
Just my honest 5 penneth !.
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Brian and Chris thanks to you both for your input.
Please don’t think I want to do the wrong thing or be irresponsible. I certainly plan to do the PfCO course with UAV Academy.
I have only had the drone a month and actually bought it to film used cranes that we buy and sell inside factories with the clients permission.
Hopefully if the clients give permission I can film inside their factory safely and it will be easy enough
to control the staff.
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Alan
Is all your work inside?
If so you wouldn’t need a PfCO as detailed below on CAA website
Indoor use - The applicability of the regulations regarding flights within buildings has been clarified recently. Under the CAA Act 1982, the Air Navigation Order is made for the purposes of regulating air navigation. Flights inside buildings have nothing to do with air navigation because they can have no effect on flights by aircraft in the open air. As a result, flights within buildings, or within areas where there is no possibility for the unmanned aircraft to ‘escape’ into the open air (such as a ‘closed’ netted structure) are not subject to air navigation legislation. Persons intending to operate drones indoors should refer to the appropriate Health and Safety At Work regulations.
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