Drones are not permited at
forestry commission land,
english heritage sites,
national trust sites,
over populated areas ie towns/citys
parks
beaches
etc etc
I am having trouble finding anyware left to fly !
where does everyone else fly ?
I notice some of the sites in the “where to fly section” are over some of the above
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Welcome to GADC, Gary!
Fly? Nah - we just talk about it …… 
But, seriously, remember that these organisations do not own the air above the land they like to prevent us using. They can only prevent you from taking off from their land.
Yes - within their land are often things we’d dearly like photograph and video, and provided you take off from outside what they control, and you can fly close enough to it whilst maintaining line of sight and whilst 150ft above their property - fundamentally they cannot stop you from doing so.
Even outside that, there are still plenty of places one can fly - even if one has to look a little harder than we’d like for them and think a little laterally.
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Have a look in the Members Section, GADC Drone Information Pack
https://greyarro.ws/t/gadc-drone-information-pack/3696
There are several Documents there that may enlighten you to places that you can fly.
I suggest that a few of them maybe handy to print off and carry with you when you fly.
Especially the “Official Notification From CAA” that explains what the CAA have to say about it !
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Be responsible… make sure you have some liability cover… Just in Case.
Most of the land and parks where I live is owned by Parks Trust. No Drone flying ….
Pick the time you fly, I fly either early mornings or early evenings.
As already said. They only have the power to stop you taking off or landing on their land. As long as your flying at 150 Ft and not over buildings Roads or people you can Fly where you want. NFZ permitting.
Take a short drive out of your town and find a farm … Knock on his door and ask him you can take a few videos of him in his tractor on his land or how he feeds his animals … “For your Sons Project” offer to send him a DVD of the footage, or give him a youtube link. Or just ask him outright if hed mind you flying over a few fields… you’d be surprised…
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Most beaches between high and low water mark are crown property. Drones have been given permission to fly from or around any crown land from the crown estate. There is a letter confirming this, I thought I had saved it, now I can’t find it. There is also a crown estate web site which tells you where all the crown property is, beaches, estuaries, rivers and so forth where you can fly from.
I was flying over Spurn Point in East Yorkshire when an RSPB official trotted over to tell me what I was doing was illegal, drones are not permitted on or over their land and insisted I land my drone/UAV immediately.
He changed his tune when I told him that.
A.They don’t own the airspace.
B. I’m actually stood on and flying from Crown property.
C. I’m flying perfectly legally according to the code and registered my flight with NATs, flying not above or below the maximum or minimum and would he like to point out the actual ‘criminal’ offence I was supposed to be committing. (He couldn’t).
I then pointed out that HE was committing an offence by wilfully distracting a pilot while operating an aircraft. I said I would gladly land safely but it would be HIS details I would be reporting…He told me he was really just checking that I knew what I was doing and was satisfied by my answers that I did, so allowed me to carry on and trotted off.
Sadly in this world there are too many people who try to excercise authority when they shouldn’t be.
I have the following advice
Always have the moral high ground. You can’t go wrong if you follow the correct rules, and no jobsworth can then stop you doing what you enjoy.
PS. The same thing happened near the Humber Bridge. A Council official came to speak to me (they’d seen me on cctv). He was very civil and was just checking that I wasn’t up to no good.
He had a different attitude entirely and we had a really good chat about drone code and permission to fly etc, showed him the photos and video, he was very impressed.
I would have loved to see the RSPB guys face when you made him look silly…
you are right to many jobs worths in this would want to stop people doing what they enjoy…
For my first project, I took some shots of the local village church. I contacted the vicar to ask permission explaining how I would adhere to the ‘drone safety code’ (and giving details) and she was more than happy to give her permission and was interested in seeing the results. I also knocked on the door of the nearest house to explain what I was doing and they were completely unbothered by my presence. So, my advice for local flying is to network with the landowners and emphasise that you are aware of the rules for safe flying. Above all, have fun.
That is an EXTREMELY good point @Brian
ANY drone pilot should take that on board !, and tell anyone that distracts them while they are flying, to wait until you have landed.
I had the same situation myself only weeks ago while filming a Lighthouse.
I told the very irritated person to “Wait ,while I land my drone”.
(my Mavic Pro was flying over the edge of a cliff, at the time!)
(ironic, I have the Guy, in a audio recording on my phone, from that day!)
Angry or not !, tell them quickly that you will be very happy to talk to them
once you have landed then you can show him any paperwork he may want to see.
As has been said MANY times before, take the time to do an assessment of the surroundings, buildings, people, Trees, etc.
Then tell anyone who may be in the immediate area, ask permission (if required), and warn them of your flight.
Some people may get agitated that you cannot land your drone quickly.
It may well be that your drone is at a distance, don’t let them hurry you !.
If that happens, check your drones position, put the drone into a hover,
and tell them to WAIT !!!.
Patience costs nothing !
I cannot stress enough!
Print out the paperwork in the GADC Drone Information Pack (Members Area)!
It may save you having a red face in the future !
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I met our my local unfriendly, misinformed, “know it all” park keeper for the first time whilst flying in my local park earlier in the year.
He was extremely rude and threatened me with violence to the extent that I registered a crime number and wrote to the Council about his behaviour.
I had checked the by laws before flying because like many councils their model aircraft restrictions apply only to UAVs that are powered by combustible fuels and there are no restrictions on battery power devices.
Needless to say I fly there quite regularly without hassle now. It’s always worth checking the bylaws.
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Well done Paul for standing up to him, using the moral high ground from your position of authority.
There are too many people who are only interested in following ‘process and procedure’ and not using common sense. If the official had used his common sense, he would have checked his facts first and the episode would never have occurred, now HE is on the receiving end of it.
Good one.
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