Morning dronies or should I saw Not so good morning! I implore all of you out there to read the updated guidance on UAS in other words DRONES!
The eighth edition was published on 5th November 2020. very ironic as sparks are sure to fly! Please make some time to read this document as it contains some 238 pages and its about UAS and drone operation.
If you are considering the purchase of a new drone you may wish to read it before you part with you hard earned cash !
Basically all current drones will become legacy drones from December 2021 , twelve months time. The use of such will be severely restricted.
UAS operators will require permission to fly, from landowners ie this may include footpaths and public rights of way otherwise you may be committing trespass.
UAS operators will have to obtain explicit permission from people on beaches or parks if they wish to fly in these areas. The whole regulation requires a degree to understand. I implore UAS operators to read and digest it.
There doesn’t seem to be anything new in this that we haven’t discussed in detail before.
Exixisting drones become legacy drones at the end of 2020, not 2021, and the restrictions for legacy drones are not as severe as people claim.
There is nothing in this new document requiring anyone to seek permission from landowners, or for public rights of way, or from people in beaches and parks.
Sure - you can fly at a beach or park near or over uninvolved persons (i.e. without asking their permission) if you have the right class of drone for the Open A1 category, or if you stay at least 50m away from them (legacy drone) / 30m away from them (class C2 drone) in the Open A2 category.
That’s not the same as “UAS operators will have to obtain explicit permission from people on beaches or parks if they wish to fly in these areas.”
For most of us, it will just mean staying a safe distance away from people in the park or beach, just as we do today. But for some of us (owners of <250g drones), it’s a huge change: we can go to the beach or park and fly much closer to people than we are allowed to today, so long as our flight remains safe overall.
Thanks for your update. it just seems a lot of rules and regulations, and I like other people may find it difficult to understand these regulations. ie drones less than 250 g . I have an air 2 which is 570g, although the regulations mention drones sub 500g. I also have an M2 Zoom at 907 g, and the regs mention 900g. It seems we are always on the wrong side.
It’s going to confuse anyone who tries to figure it out, because it’s way too much information and unnecessary complication. I feel sorry for whoever is updating the online drone registration test to suit it, as that’s where many drone users will first encounter it. It’s pretty much unenforceable anyway, so I wouldn’t get too caught up in the fine detail.
Morning guys. These are the new EASA rules which we’ve all known about for some time (eg my video asking everyone to write in about them from 4 years ago here: https://vimeo.com/184752149). (Don’t bother watching that though, it’s very out of date now. They did take some comments onboard).
I had the draft ‘easy to digest’ information sheet from the CAA last night for comment. This will be published shortly, with the intention of being easy and quick to understand. (It probably would have been a good idea for the CAA to publish the easy-to-digest information sheet before CAP722 in truth. But that’s the policy team and the communications team working at different speeds I suppose).
I think Kvetner is right, that actually not a lot changes in practical terms - and in fact in some cases the new rules are more permissive.
Also, rather than the Open Category, FPV UK members will have the option of flying under our Article 16 operational authorisation (in the specific category) and this will allow just about everything as it does today (including incorporating the exemptions we have today such as FPV, flying non-multis up to 1000ft, etc).
I’ll post the easy-to-digest sheet here as soon as it’s released.
Has anyone noticed the bit at the bottom of p119 section 3.7.1.2 Specfic Category:
“UAS Operators are required to ensure that each UA is installed with a remote ID system by 2 December 2021.
From this date if must be active (i.e. switched on) and up to date whenever the UA is being flown.”
As a PfCO holder expecting to renew with OA when my PfCO runs out later in the year so remaining operating in the specific category, I am wondering how this will be done with existing kit, the paragraphs following that seem to imply something quite sophisticated. I was considering investing in some new kit in the New Year as business develops, but unless I know it will be compatible or retro-fitable it’s a concern.
Damn didn’t realise they had withdrawn the cap1789 (11th November) i used to carry the open subcategories table in my drone bag. Do they have a similar table in cap722. I normally fall asleep by page 15
No but they have UAS.OPEN.20 for A1 subcategory and UAS.OPEN.30 for A2.
For Info:
The transitional remote pilot competency requirements that are set out in Annex B of CAP 722, in relation to remote pilots operating under permissions or exemptions that have been issued prior to 31 December 2020 have been amended slightly due to an unforeseen technical issue.
For the amended text, please refer to the Latest updates section of the CAA’s UAS webpages.
The main CAP 722 document will be amended shortly.
