I have been flying my drone for quite some time, always flying outside cities, urban areas and sticking to beaches to TOAL and keeping out of areas that might be near airports or Notams.
There is something that I have been very exciting to try but have never felt it was safe enough to try and it is flying next to the Tower of London. I have seen that from tower bridge it basically ends the restricted zone.
So as I found where I can take off and land, I have requested flight permission in an area where DJI app sees no restrictions. However, when trying to get approval from Drone Assist, I see that there are quite a few possible issues.
Heli-Route H4 helicopter and Restricted area EGR 160.
Obviously, dji app, doesn’t show this, only GEOzones from 60m upwards.
So, if I wanted to fly in this area, do I need to request permission to fly under 60m? If so, does Drone Assist counts as permission? What if I want to climb above 60 meters, do I have to unlock the restrictions on the drone, or would I be doing something illegal?
I’d be very carful flying there, has been a few reports of problems recent,
Watch the YouTube link in this thread & read, if you’ve not seen it already
Heli route doesn’t apply. Minimum altitude for helicopters is 500ft on the Heli route, maximum altitude for your drone is 400 feet. Still, be aware regardless, particularly of emergency service and military choppers.
There are other hazards to be aware of as already mentioned. It was me that lost a drone there recently.
I would recommend moving a little further along to the timepiece sundial. It’s very close to the dolphin statue but just that bit quieter with tourists. I found most wander down from tower bridge, get as far as the dolphin for a photo and then turn back. It can be nice and quiet when you take off, only to find the place is full of people taking selfies when you need to land.
Only thing to be wary is the flag pole which I have circled.
It’s solely down to the individual as it’s at their own risk, but I personally wouldn’t TOAL around the area of the sundial or the dolphin. It may have permissive access but it’s going to eventually attract the attention of the landowner or their agent acting on behalf of them.
I flew from Hermitage Gdns which is no issue TOAL’ing from.
I would pre-emptively unlock the DJI Auth zone around HMS President and download it before flying just in case as that “wall” seems to cause issues.
I though this was the issue as it is next to the prison HMS President, the one I surrounded it with yellow.
Then on either side. You have the two possible TOAL sites. The one closer I though it was a better option as it would have unobstructed view and because you do not need to fly close to the prison. While the second one, the one further away, might have issues with the building makers in yellow by blocking the signal, as was reported before.
You still think it is better the Hermitage memorial gardens? If so, do I have to request to unlock fly nearby? Or is it easier to use the closer TOAL point?
You can do it via the DJI fly safe website in advance. I might be wrong but I think you have to actually be inside the Authorisation Zone itself to unlock at the location. So you’re best doing it in advance.
Ive had it fail on-site. SMS never arrive, sometimes it just didn’t work etc.
I generally do it online the night before but then remember you have to download the authorisation to the drone before flight.
That way it it does hit a wall or a GPS inaccuracy puts it in there you should be able to self-authorise and fly out.
The time to be waiting for an SMS that might not arrive or some other issue isn’t when your drone is down to 20% battery over water and refusing to move.
All gone silky smooth. Thank you all for all your advice. The hermitage memorial garden was a very nice spot.
I should have worked out I would be shooting agains the sun, so next time would have to be an early trip. For the a first attempt to something new, it went well. The approval was done very quickly and I had no issues with HMS president.
