Just had this pop up on our flying club WhatsApp and wondered if this is / has happened else where before , at the moment it’s in the consultation but will cover a very large band through Norfolk from Necton near swaffham to Happisbugh on the coast going through lots of restricted areas . Anyway the link should take you to the blurb but will stuff a lot of Norfolk flyers if / when the trial goes ahead . Thought some of you might find it interesting.
Hopefully that link works
Definitely interesting. It seems to be about surveying the cable route of the Norfolk Offshore Wind Zone proposition - says on the tin, wind farm off the Norfolk coast - Perhaps more detail could be sought regarding the impact of this on recreational flyers?
Reading it , seems you’d be safe to 300ft
The wind farm cable route is how they have got the trial but the route the proposed is very very much wider than the cable route that’s already under construction , looks to me as if to prove commercial operators can fly remotely far beyond VLOS anywhere . It’s only just popped up and was not published anywhere except by the operator so we will see. Note phase 6 seems to have time end point
Does seem that way but it’s a 12 month trial and longer if they can so that will be a massive pain across Norfolk
@ scottydog - Agree. Looks like it might be a foot-in-the-door job - grabbing some private airspace and setting a precedent for more encroachment. OTOH, there’s lots of export potential and pressure to innovate in the field (also hinted at there), so a plausible case could be being made to our political masters. Worth watching.
It does seem to be part of a much bigger trial and yes as fare as I can see there is a lot more to it than flying over a cable line works site , what it may mean who knows but I know it’s not being publicised it was only found by our local club as this route cuts straight through it and one of their family works for this company . I guess either way it’s a done job and we await to see it added to drone scene
Dunna worry, apparently RID will sort out everything. Just as long as your drone is broadcasting RID, these BVLOS drones will know it’s there and avoid it like the plague. ( said no one from the CAA, ever) 
What the CAA DID say may be of interest:
https://www.caa.co.uk/publication/download/20949
On the face of it, they’ve been doing the asking, for industry leaders to help develop ways of using BVLOS in integrated airspace. Which will then be applied. I imagine this will involve setting flight levels (within the existing 400’ limit for unexempted drones?) and even more constraints on pilots generally.
Re 400’ limit - t’other day watched a pair of Apaches treehopping in local fields. Estimated altitude, <100 feet. This isn’t a restricted area or a MATZ. No doubt it would be my fault if I’d hit one.
From the CAA article, you link to, “ • Entry only permitted if Electronically Conspicuous via a known system (e.g. ADS-B)”
Which makes me wonder why the CAA seem so intent on foisting RID upon drone operators ( and use “safety” as the excuse?)
There couldn’t possibly be a tie-in with DJI, could there? I think the days of a free society, unsurveilled by a “safety-conscious” (= commercially driven via lobbyists) government and its agencies, are behind us now. Sorry to sound like a MAGA survivalist conspiracy nutter, but there’s no doubt that the algorithm rules now: this is Tech and it is sacred. Bow down to Tech, peasants!
I don’t think we’ve ever lived in a “free society”. Such a concept doesn’t exist. We’re bound by rules which ensure we can never be truly free.