Class marks delayed? - CAA consultation on extension to Legacy and Transitional UAS provisions in the Open Category

Drone News
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Easiest one first — The GVC is unaffected by the latest changes. How near you can fly to non-involved individuals will depend on the Operation Manual you will have to submit to the CAA for the Operational Approval you will need to go with the GVC.

The A2CofC allows you to fly the M3 & M3E no closer than 50 metres to uninvolved people. You can fly in built up areas but the proximity to uninvolved people still applies.
Without an A2CofC you need to be at least 150 metres from any built up area and uninvolved people.
The latest regulations make the M3 & M3E a legacy drone from 1 Jan 2023 - but if you have an A2CofC you can still use them no nearer than 50 metres to uninvolved people.

… bloody hell that was a mouthful - but that’s how needlessly complex the current rules are – sorry :man_shrugging: :man_shrugging:

Have a look at GADC’s own guide on where you can legally fly Good 2Go here – Where can I fly my drone in the UK? - Good 2 Go - Can I fly my drone here?
Try inputing different combinations and it will give you a good idea of what qualifications you are going to need to get the best out of the M3 M3E combination. :+1: :+1: :+1:

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The M3E runs on different software to the M3 where a lot the photography/videography options are stripped away as it is intended for enterprise functions - mapping etc.

You can get a resolution of 4k 30fps with a Mini 3 Pro AND fly it almost anywhere - may be a better option to get you started :+1: :+1: :+1:

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Cheers mate :+1:

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re XIMI … It definitely is, isn’t it. 100%.
why anybody actually believed any of it would work is hard to understand.

One of me very close family members until recently worked for the DFT…
The only comments ever made were reference visiting over promoted politicians and their behavior.

Every morning i look out the window for the governments promised land of freedom, opportunity and sunny uplands with their oven ready deal… all i ever see is rain and … never mind no point wasting energy…

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A lot of people are hating on the CAA over the whole C”n" marking debacle but I think they are not the instigators but rather have been tasked as the messengers.

There is currently a very similar cock-up with the CE to UKCA certification process transition. Manufacturers have now been told that they can continue to use CE markings until 31st December 2024 if selling to the UK. All in the name of sovereignty, whatever that means, and other meaningless reasons.

Like most things BREXIT themed these two certification processes have not been thoroughly thought through by the Government, assuming anyone tasked with theses transitions actually had any meaningful and productive thoughts in the first place.

A likely outcome of this is that no drones will ever be certified for use in the A categories in the UK if another BREXIT specific classification is used, as why would a manufacturer go through the cost of a separate certification process for such a small market?

I spoke with one European electronics manufacturer whom stated that they would not be supplying the UK with one of their latest products as it would mean selling at a significant loss if they were to apply for a UKCA stamp. This was before the announcement that the CE label would be extended to 2025.

If you want to direct your anger at someone may I suggest the Second Permanent Secretary, Gareth Davies, as he will most likely be the one who came up with this as he got very moist about BREXIT in the first place.

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Hi, I’m new to this community and I’m looking for some advice.

I’ve been flying my DJI Mavic Mini since 2020 (since the first lockdown) and have recently decided to take it a bit more seriously as I’ve been thinking of starting a small business in early 2023, starting with real estate.

I ordered a Mavic 3 Classic last week (arrived today) as I was under the impression that it was marked as a C1 UA but having watched a few videos online over the past few days, that doesn’t appear to be the case – I’ll be honest I’m pretty confused over the whole situation.

To make things worse (or not) I just dropped 100 quid on UAVHub for the A2 C of C training!

Considering my use case; is it even worth pursuing the A2 C of C (I’ve spent the money, so I’ll take it regardless)? Should I keep the M3C classic if I want to start a small business in the new year?

Can I even fly it now, without the A2 C of C??

Starting to think I should have just gone with the Mavic 3 mini pro to avoid the hassle XD.

Thanks.

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This

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GADC is non political… but it is impossible to give any constructive non political comment as the whole situation is caused buy politicians making political decisions.

Odd really, they were very good at parties and drinks while people clapped …, yet it’s easy to see why some think they would struggle organising an alcohol festival in a brewery…

Tiss sad times…

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Same

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These eejits are not there to represent us, they are there to represent their special interests. This has been clear for some time now.

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A few thoughts for those thinking to make a business of it.

Estate agents- how many of them will actually pay you for the work when Mini 2 drones are so low-cost and easy to fly?

Photogrammetry/surveys: the most current tool for these is something like a M300 with a suitable payload, and the software to stitch the images. Images for photogrammetry are taken in a way which holds location info- GeoTiffs. If you’re using a typical package like Pix4D it needs a FAST machine to run on. Site size is also an issue (VLOS- you don’t want a bird hitting your drone and it ending up in a fresh concrete pour or worse) and if accuracy is needed you might need to budget for an RTK base-station (to go with your RTK-enabled drone… assuming your chosen drone works with RTK?).

It’s not as easy to get drones to pay as you would be led to believe, the market for all the easy stuff is saturated and the less-easy stuff typically needs higher end kit (and an OA to use).

If you are already a small business owner and understand what it takes to launch a new business, fair enough. If not, then you seriously need to understand how difficult it is to earn more than a it of pocket money. (And if all you want is pocket money- fair enough).

I’ve had my own business (non-drone) in specialist consultancy since I was made redundant in 2017, even with my sector track-record and contacts it was 2 years before it was bringing in a reasonable income, and even now it’s a constant challenge. The admin alone is a nightmare- dealing with VAT, corporation tax, PAYE, insurance, annual company fling etc etc etc.

Not saying don’t try it, just prepare for it to be difficult.

As a friend of mine (also a small business owner) is fond of saying- just remember, if it was easy, everyone would be doing it. For all small/micro businesses, you either need to be doing something difficult/niche (and in demand) or be doing easy stuff at scale or with low overheads to bring the cost down. Photographs of houses is in the “easy” box. Surveys and photogrammetry gets more towards the “difficult” end as to do it properly needs investment in kit (not just the drone), the right skills (not just flying the drone) and (most important of all) the right contacts.

Anyhow, that’s all for now, I need to pick my kit up and head out to a Premier Inn 200 miles away as I’m on site auditing in the morning. (Unsociable hours. Another part of the job).

GC

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See my other reply. There’s a lot more to starting a small (micro) business than flying a drone.

I wonder, maybe we need a sticky note “all about drones and small businesses” as this comes up alot.

GC

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When Canon released the EOS300D, the first sub £1000 digital SLR, there was a surge of folk thinking they were going to be professional photographers. They learned quite quickly that it was a bit more involved than snapping a few pics and uploading to a sharing site if they wanted to make a serious living out of it.

I saw a similar trend when DJI launched the Phantom 1 and folk were hanging those heavy CNC Gopro gimbals from them. They were usually shot down quite quickly when they saw what it took to be able to sell aerial footage.

I’ve been building and flying drones since around 2011, and I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been approached to do some paid work. I use the term paid loosely as the money being offered was more of a token gesture than an income, assuming I did the job in the first place, which I never did for the obvious reasons.

If I was still in employable health I’d be happy to fly for a company. They could take care of all the admin and insurance and marketing etc, and I could just concentrate on the fun and technical stuff. As it is it’s a personal achievement for me if I manage to get my socks on in the morning, so running my own business is something I’d best not consider, unless the customer doesn’t mind me turning up without my pants on.

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Now theres an idea for a niche business…

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Anyone fact check this that’s more intelligent than me?

These aren’t my words

“After the transitional period, the EASA countries’ Sub250g resorts to Legacy A3. That’s not the case with the CAA as they’ve stated that sub250g will remain in its own category and not become Legacy.
All this is irrelevant anyway as the petition won’t get anywhere near the required signatures. Even if it does, nothing will come of it.
Trust me”

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CAA have issued further open category class mark guidance.

It states:

Source: Drones | Civil Aviation Authority

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The TL;DR takeaways from what we kinda already knew :confused:

The updated one-pager:

https://publicapps.caa.co.uk/docs/33/CAP2012_Drone_Rules_Factsheet_V11.pdf

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Thanks for the takeaway list, your version of much clearer… :+1:

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