Meetup at Maritime Steps in front of Greenwich Uni, Greenwich, London at 18:30 on Monday, 27th April 2026

Meetups
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I’m organising a meetup at Maritime Steps in front of Greenwich Uni :smiley:

When: Monday, 27th April 2026

Start time: 18:30

Approximate end time: 20:30

Suitable for drone types: Camera Drones & FPV Drones

Can you join us? If so, hit the relevant button to register your interest and be kept up to date:

      I'll be there!     Thinking about it

Additional notes:
Meetup: Greenwich Foreshore Sunset Flight
Host: Mike Dixson

Date: Monday, 27th April 2026

Flight Window: 18:30 – 20:00 (Post-flight drinks from 20:15)

Location: Foreshore in front of University of Greenwich (Old Royal Naval College)

Event Overview
Join me for an evening flight over the historic Greenwich waterfront. We will be launching from the foreshore to capture the sunset light hitting the Old Royal Naval College and the Thames. Sunset is approximately 20:15, so we should get some prime "golden hour" light.

Tide Alert
Low tide is at 17:41 (1.7m). By our 18:30 start, the tide will be rising. We will launch from the higher sections of the foreshore to ensure a dry landing. Note: Please monitor the water levels and your exit path to the stairs throughout the flight!

Mandatory Compliance & PLA Submission
As this flight is over the tidal Thames, you must have Port of London Authority (PLA) permission. This location is also within the London City Airport FRZ; please ensure you have checked NOTAMs and have relevant NATS approvals where required.

Links & Templates
DroneScene does not allow external links. I have posted the PLA Application Form link, the Flight Plan, and the RAMS Template over on the Grey Arrows Drone Club (GADC) forum. Please look for the thread titled "Greenwich Meetup - April 27th" to download the documents you need for your submission.

Post-Flight Social
After we pack up, we’ll head to the Trafalgar Tavern (or similar nearby) from 20:15 to talk shop and compare footage.

Please remember to wear your official Membership ID card to this club meetup — it helps other members recognise you straight away.

Official club meetup ID cards and lanyards are available from our shop:

Tagging regional group @group-london to let you all know :person_raising_hand:t2:

Hope to see you there!

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Hello from SE London - new to drones
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Submit a PLA (Port of London Authority Form ASAP): https://forms.pla.co.uk/index.php?r=survey

Flight Plan: https://drive.google.com/file/d/176fqJUBGy5iZ_iftG-RO0rMhj2UUAmje/view?usp=sharing

RAMS Template: TEMPLATE Drone Flight RAMS: Greenwich Foreshore

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I’m thinking about attending this meetup @7coloursummer :grin:

Can you join this meetup? If so, hit the relevant button to register your interest and be kept up to date:

      I'll be there!     Thinking about it

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8

Really :joy: :joy:

Don’t fall for that PLA nonsense that a flyer needs their permission!!!

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I’m thinking about attending this meetup @7coloursummer :grin:

Can you join this meetup? If so, hit the relevant button to register your interest and be kept up to date:

      I'll be there!     Thinking about it

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10

I’ll be attending this meetup @7coloursummer, see you then :grin:

Can you join this meetup? If so, hit the relevant button to register your interest and be kept up to date:

      I'll be there!     Thinking about it

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11

I’ll be attending this meetup @7coloursummer, see you then :grin:

Can you join this meetup? If so, hit the relevant button to register your interest and be kept up to date:

      I'll be there!     Thinking about it

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12

Fingers crossed I can get some more shots like this.

20260423171643226
202604231716432263840×1634 1.33 MB

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13

Thanks for organising this. I will likely come along but I don’t know if I will fly.

I think we discussed this last time you proposed a meetup in front of the Old Royal Naval College (ORNC).

My understanding is that there is no requirement to seek PLA permission for a flight over the tidal Thames.

Not even the PLA seems to claim this anymore (they used to).

What I’m not clear about is whether there is any requirement to notify them if you take off and land from the Thames foreshore. The PLA say you should but it may just be on the basis that they assume they own almost all of it. When I looked, I struggled to find any legislation or byelaws that told me I had to notify them.

Obviously, if you take off and land from the Thames foreshore owned by the PLA, you would need to seek permission from them as the landowner. However, the foreshore in front of the ORNC is owned by Crown Estates (per DroneScene).

In any case, I think the PLA ask for three working days’ notice so you may not hear back from them before Monday evening anyway.

The location is not within City Airport’s FRZ. The FRZ is quite a long way to the east (the big red area well to the right of the blue handshake showing the meetup location in the image below). You are actually closer to the Isle of Dogs airspace restriction area but still far enough away that you’ll likely lose VLOS well before you can fly into it (unless you have @uav_hampshire’s eyesight :stuck_out_tongue: ).

Meetup location on DroneScene
Meetup location on DroneScene920×684 287 KB

One thing you should be wary of (from experience of living a five-minute walk away from the meetup location) is how close you are to the end of London Heli-Route H4 (the yellow area just to the left of the handshake in the image above).

Lots of helicopters use that route, including, more recently, a large number of Chinooks. The Met Police helicopter is also a frequent visitor to the area. All of these should be above the height at which you will be flying but the Chinook doing circuits above the ORNC today was allegedly only flying at 500ft so there is not a huge degree of separation.

One final warning, the steps down to the foreshore can be very, very, very slippery.

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Thanks for organising another London meetup, Mike @7coloursummer :smiley:

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I’m thinking about attending this meetup @7coloursummer :grin:

Can you join this meetup? If so, hit the relevant button to register your interest and be kept up to date:

      I'll be there!     Thinking about it

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You won’t , neither is there a mention in their current proposed amendments to their byelaws.

Carry on, nothing to see here… :wink:

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Yeah the steps are very veyr slippery. Decent foot wear advised for sure!

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The PLA just phone to clarify something. I’m all approved :slight_smile:
I flew last week in the same spot on a whim and all was fine :wink: I figured I’d get my hand in at being all official this time :slight_smile:

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Why make their ego’s bigger with rules that have no official standing in by-laws or legislation. :person_shrugging:

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It gave him something to do :slight_smile:

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I’m thinking about attending this meetup @7coloursummer :grin:

Can you join this meetup? If so, hit the relevant button to register your interest and be kept up to date:

      I'll be there!     Thinking about it

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I was thinking about attending this meetup @7coloursummer but now I will definitely be attending, see you then :grin:

Can you join this meetup? If so, hit the relevant button to register your interest and be kept up to date:

      I'll be there!     Thinking about it

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I was thinking about attending this meetup @7coloursummer but now I will definitely be attending, see you then :grin:

Can you join this meetup? If so, hit the relevant button to register your interest and be kept up to date:

      I'll be there!     Thinking about it

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Looking forward to meeting you all this evening.

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