Flying within Westminster

Legal & Privacy
1

I’m looking to request authorisation to do some filming within the City of Westminster (Charing Cross/Trafalgar Square area, within the R157 FRZ) and am looking for advice so as to not leave any stone unturned; it is however the first time I will be flying in an area requiring authorisation and subject to restrictions. I will be flying a Mini 3 Pro for which I am the registered Operator and is stickered with my Op ID.

According to their own guidance, Westminster require the following, and I’m adding notes to each with my questions/comments:

  • Copy of CAA permission – preferably supplied with application [Is this just my Operator ID? Because I can’t for the life of me find anywhere to submit an authorisation request on the CAA website]

  • NATS (National Air Traffic Control) Permission – Non-standard flight application, if required [this is fine and I can see where to submit this]

  • Risk Assessment and Method Statement – based on location, may include flight plan [also fine]

  • Stewarding plan [also fine, will have crew with me]

  • Area of control map. [not sure what they mean by this, is this the actual area I expect to cover with the flight?]

In terms of the NATS request, is there a prescribed way to submite a flight map? Or just a case of screenshotting google maps and overlaying take off spots and highlighting areas where flight is expected?

Many thanks in advance and apologies for the perhaps basic questions - a couple of searches did not return the answers or posts regarding Westminster and I figured it might be of help in the future, too, should others be interested in filming above central London!

1 Like
2

You may want to also look at the Westminster City Council webpage regarding drones. Their PDF is also informative.

3

Hi there, thanks! Those point I posted are from the pdf you mention :slight_smile:

4

In that case I’d advise you’d be better utilising the key contacts on the very same PDF. :+1:

5

I should point out in case it’s not obvious by reading that none of those questions are specific to Westminster as such (though some are specific to NATS) but context is given to provide a full picture.

Any advice on how to ensure those requirements are met from a more experienced operator who’s gone through similar processes would be hugely helpful! I figured thanks to the wealth of experience and knowledge, not to mention helpfulness, found on here this might be the best way to make sure my first round of applications went smoothly :slight_smile:

6

Just out of curiosity, is this for commercial or recreational purposes?

7

Thanks for the replies! Commercial, hence my wanting to make sure belt and braces are in place!

I am registered with coverdrone and would be undertaking a temporary insurance for the relevant day(s) of course as I wouldn’t be able to rely upon my Grey Arrows one for the purpose.

8

Why?

2 Likes
9

Well I had missed that! Thankfully dronecover registration is free and can be paid as ad hoc, which in my case now means never :slight_smile:

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