Flying In Folkestone (and What is a Blue Area?)

Hello,

I’m a newbie. I just passed my A2 CofC a couple of hours ago and I’ve only done a couple of flights to test out my drone (DJI Mavic Mini 3 Pro) as part of my A2 CofC self declaration form.

I am planning a trip down to Folkestone to see a friend on Wednesday and I had a couple of questions to the group:

  1. Firstly, does anyone have any recommendations for areas to get some good shots and for a newbie like me to get some practice in. ( I have pinned Mermaid Beach as an option, looks interesting from the air and I’ve been there once before, but I’m open to other areas.

  2. I noticed there is a blue flight restriction zone in the area - but I’m unfamiliar with this sort of flight restriction? It says it’s a “TEMPO DANGER AREA (TDA) EG D098B ACTIVATED” - and it is an “official ‘No Fly Zone’ (a Temporary Flight Restriction) and it applies according to the following criteria, in the region indicated by the boundary shown.” and that it is Active in 6 days, 8 hours
    Active: Monday, February 6, 2023 2:00:00 AM until Monday, February 6, 2023 4:00:00 PM (UTC).

If my interpretation is correct, this means that from the dates mentioned above this BLUE area will become a RED area?

Any and all help welcome : )

K

It will during the “active” time window you mention, yes.

Here’s a location to fly that was recommended by another member:

Out of interest, did your A2 course provider not cover NOTAMs and other airspace restrictions? :thinking:

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Thanks! I saw that spot too. I plan to check it out.

Yes my A2 course provider covered NOTAMs, but didn’t go deep into what each and every colour means and how to read some of the technical lingo (which for a newbie like me throws me off a bit). But I’ve reached out to them to ask for some more info and if they can unpack some of that info on me. So far they’ve been excellent and getting back to me with more detailed answers. But thought I’d ask here too / and also ask if anyone had any local knowledge of flying around Folkestone.

The aim of my flight tomorrow in Folkestone is to put into practice everything I learned in the course, and try prepping and planning a multi location flight in an area that I am less familiar with, and also hopefully get some nice footage and photos along the way.

Cheers!

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