Does anyone know the legal distances to keep between drone and a British aircraft carrier and importantly where it is written. Im looking at the Prince of Wales visit to Liverpool next week. The drone photos from other hobbyists Ive seen online from the past would suggest around 500m. Doing measurements from the deep channel to the border of the soon to be NFZs on the Mersey suggest 800m-1km. Although there are quotes about nuisance drones entering protected aerospace there is no rule that I can find telling you how big this airspace is.
There are places to fly from outside the NFZs during the ships approach (north of the NFZ in the second screenshot) but without this information I reckon Im asking for problems. No response from the navy themselves or the drone exemptions contacts at the police that are supposedly managing them.
Hi @UAVShipSpotter
Saw some video on YouTube of one of the carriers entering Portsmouth harbour, it looked to be about 200m distance. It was posted on this site too
Yes I could or there abouts, I have a lot of spots up and down the coasts I fly from But what Im really trying to find out is what does the Navy feel is a safe distance that doesnt cause issues. And really I was hoping it was in a regulation somewhere in black and white. In Hamburg with its sister ship the police attempted to use counter drone technology because something got close so there must be a boundry before that is brought into play.
Hi John @UAVShipSpotter I regularly fly around Portsmouth Naval Base and along Southsea seafront. Or should I say, I fly around its physical boundaries at least. The Spinnaker Tower is an extremely popular landmark that many drone pilots have filmedā¦and with some spectacular results too! However, the Tower is situated very close to the berth where both the Carrierās moor up. When flying around that area Iām always conscious of not straying too close to either of the Carrierās as āMod Plodā have very little time for anyone or thing that they consider a potential threat and/or danger.
I have seen several drones flying around quite close to the Carrierās when they are entering or leaving the harbour entrance but have never flown that close myself. I was present when a fellow drone pilot flew his Mavick Pro from Southsea seafront and performed a complete circumnavigation of one of the Carrierās which made me nervous at the timeā¦but he was completely confident about doing it and, subsequently, he did indeed get some great footage.
I have never found anything in writing which stipulates the distance you must keep from a Naval shipā¦other than No Fly Zones set up on purposeā¦for example, when we had the recent D Day celebrations the whole of Southsea seafront was subject to a No Fly Restriction.
If you use your own common sense, and observe any NFZās you should be okayā¦just donāt try landing on the flight deck āfor a laughā!
Thatās the limit of my flying inside Portsmouth Harbour, Iāll not go further than that. Itās common sense flying and at the end of the day, I want to return home with my drone in its case.
I could tell it would be a bit early as it departed very early for the distance it had to travel from Scotland. Sure enough it was made known yesterday it would arrive this morning instead of Monday morning possibly due to weather.
The no fly zones were not updated to reflect the early arrival so technically I could have flown anywhere on the Mersey today. But I decided as I got my camera out and set up that Id stick to that plan for a change. Minimal drone kit by my standards was also in my bag for a tour around Birkenhead docks afterwards, Air3s and controller with no spare battery and no spare SD cards.
Camera started giving me some grief, I basically didnt touch it for 2 years and forgot how to use a lot of it, all but one battery has gone bad in storage, one I realised swelled and got stuck, I had to pry it out. All the time I know the drone is in the bag. I could almost hear it like a little devil on my shoulder āUnfold the drone and fucking send itā. But I stayed strong and managed to get the camera sort of doing what I wanted.
General musings about aircraft carries; when they are flying off or landing a/c they are airports/air bases, so would presumably have an FRZ around them. Theoretically, if they were close enough inshore, I suppose the same rules apply, you would apply online and ring the tower when youāre ready to fly? Perhaps not.
If a carrier were flying off or landing, it would mean that they are either at war and in action, or on a military exercise, in which case there would be a NOTAM in effect. But when itās a ship, which is most of the time and certainly when it is entering/leaving a port, the situation in which it might reasonably be expected to be the subject of hobby drone attention, it is presumably to be treated like any other naval vessel; fly/film as much as you want but DBAD (Donāt Be A Dick). 150m standoff, treat is as a builidng for 250g+ flying? The Liverpool NOTAM for the Prince of Wales might be as much to do with the presence of crowds as security issues. And a bunch of matelots on the flight deck on parade makes a great video subject, but they are still just a crowd if you overfly them, and you know what the CAA told you about crowds!
But what Im really trying to find out is what does the Navy feel is a safe distance that doesnt cause issues. And really I was hoping it was in a regulation somewhere in black and white. In Hamburg with its sister ship the police attempted to use counter drone technology because something got close so there must be a boundry before that is brought into play.
