Oziumentisis here. I’m Canadian and have recently moved over to the UK for the next few years, and I’m currently based around the Northwood/Ruislip area of London.
I’ve been into technology, electronics and photography for a long time, and quadcopters ended up being a pretty natural combination of all three. My main interest is FPV, although I also enjoy the photography and video side of flying. My photography interest actually goes back to the darkroom days, so cameras have been a hobby of mine for quite a bit longer than drones have.
Back in Canada I pretty much always flew alone. There weren’t many other pilots around where I lived, so flying with other people is actually something I’ve never really had much opportunity to do. Now that I’m in the UK, I’d really like to change that.
I’m still getting familiar with the UK flying environment, CAA rules and good local places to fly, so I’m looking forward to learning from people who have been flying here for a while. I’d definitely be interested in any local meet-ups, club flying days or just opportunities to get out and fly with a few other quad pilots.
Mostly I’m here to enjoy the hobby, improve my flying, discover some good locations and finally meet some other people who share the addiction.
Looking forward to getting involved and seeing what everyone is flying.
Hi @Oziumentisis and welcome to GADC You’ve come to the right place and drone scene is your friend for locations to fly etc. group meet-ups are quite common and keep an eye on the forum for any local to you. Welcome again and enjoy!
London is rather limited for where we can get anything in the air, but the drone scene map here is a darn good tool for checking out spots that do allow it.
I live just within a flight restriction zone for a heliport so have to make tracks in order to fly, and my go to for testing new settings etc is Wormwood Scrubs flying fields, in Acton, not too far from you. The other hotspot is Richmond Park flying fields, plenty of people head there for numerous flying reasons, including model gliders etc, though that is a bit more travel.
Flying a drone is great fun but sometimes you feel the need to have a purpose for doing so and the Challenges category provides some great reasons for you to fly.
There are regular challenges which are open to all, that attract members of all abilities. Support, advice and constructive criticism is freely available; still photography, video and the techniques for editing both are involved in the challenges. Suggestions, for subjects or for complete challenges, are always welcome - take a look in the Challenges category for more information.
We’re a well established club with many knowledgeable members so it’s very likely that any issues you come across will have been discussed here before. Our discussion forum has very powerful search features which should help you find what you need but if you get stuck you can post a new question in the Questions & Answers category.
And finally, if you are new to drones and wondering what it’s all about, have a look at Resources for a beginner.
I’ve been extensively studying where its safe and where its not. I’ve noticed that even when it appears like a good zone, there are some councils that have by-laws, which are not captured on the map, so I have more digging to be sure. For instance, Hillingdon has a blanket no drone policy throughout the borough. I just don’t want to get fined for being negligent and not doing my due diligence.
All great info! Much appreciated. I’ve been flying quads for about 5 years now, but new country new rules. I just want to know them and be mindful, its a hobby I would be devastated to lose the privilege of enjoying because I didn’t do my homework. Thanks!
I appreciate all the suggestions. First thing I did when I got here was get my Flyer ID and Operator ID. I’m studying towards my A2ofC. This is one of my main reasons for finding a crew, so I can have a spotter. My wife can’t fill that part of my life all the time and she isn’t as excited as I am about the hobby, which is fair!
All council boundaries are show on drone scene.
With the map open, click the little building button at the bottom right. Click anywhere on the map. It will zoom in or out to show the council boundary. Click inside the highlighted boundary and it will show if they have bylaws, policy’s or PSPO’s
If you scroll to the right of the line with the bylaw on click the link to see the actual bylaw or policy.
When finished click little building again to turn council search off. Map will go back to yor last view before you clicked it.
Dronescene has a fairly comprehensive ‘by law’ filter.
The club did the appropriate freedom of information requests from basically every council etc. There should be a few discussion threads on here you can access that will go through everything.
Look out for meets posted for wormwood scrubs. A popular locatiob for GA meets.
Having a car helps, what days an times would you like to fly?
I just checked Hillingdon. They have no bylaws just a pspo. I cannot with a quick scan see drones mentioned on it. It may be there, you may want to read it yourself
You do have Denham, Northolt and Heathrow airfields all close by though.
You’ve come to the right place and drone scene is your friend for locations to fly etc. group meet-ups are quite common and keep an eye on the forum for any local to you. Welcome again and enjoy!
