Thx a bunch for all useful info. As a new pilot and forum member I’d like to share a bit of feedback on my journey, and maybe somebody can figure out how to it less painful for newcomers. My story:
- got a Mavic
- a random youtuber told me there are laws - ouch!
- read UK Drone Laws 2022: Where Can I Fly? – heliguy™ 60 or 70 times, kind of understood it; also that extension to 2026 and EU/UK similarity/divergence
- got myself Drone Assist app as it’s referred somewhere in gov’t or CAA websites
- noticed Drone Scene website lists locations to fly in my area, wow nice!
- noticed greyarro.ws is a nice place to chat, alongside mavicpilots and inspirepilots
- learnt about https://rcc.bmfa.uk/article-16 - great addition to A2 CofC
- learnt there are other (one or two?) organisations that have Article 16 authorization from CAA
Then I had to be told by other forum members that
- Drone Scene is maintained by ppl on grearro.ws
- Drone Scene is referred to as an app on greyarro.ws
- Drone Scene is as accurate and as official as Drone Assist when displaying restricted areas
- …and in fact has more layers, more sources of information
- you can submit flight reports via Drone Assist
…and by sheer luck on another thread I leant that
- it is also possible to submit flight reports via Drone Assist - I did honestly try before but I didn’t know which icon to click
- you might be able to draw a geometrical shape and get a PDF confirming your submission there
Separately it took me serious effort to understand that “GADC” means “grey arrows drone club”.
Great many thanks for all those who created all this and to those who helped me understand. On the other hand it seems terribly inefficient to explain some of these things to each newcomer separately.
To me the above seems like a “must-see” FAQ that each new drone pilot in the UK should be made aware of. But sadly I don’t know how to reduce this communication inefficiency and make this info more easily available to newcomers.
P.S. all of the weather apps mentioned in this thread probably deserve a honourable mention on that hypothetic FAQ somewhere in small print