National Trust Policy Correspondence

Yes.
I will share the responses shortly. Just need to get to a pc.

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After notifying Wimpole Hall that I would be operating over the Estate (as above) I had a very odd reaction. (See below)

On the other hand, the response from Anglesey Abbey was very helpful. The manager there reminded me that the Cambridge Airport RPZ covers part of the estate, so I needed to get the usual clearance from Cambridge Airport. He also suggested I let him know when I operate so that his staff are aware that the movements are likely to be OK, if they are noticed. He flies his own drone.

The Wimpole Hall response was initially to email me a letter refusing permission to operate, claiming that the operation would be commercial - despite the notification saying it was not. Therefore I would need to take out a license to film over their property.
After I replied to confirm that the flying would be recreational (hobby etc.) he responded to say:

“I don’t know the details of the project but in your first email you stated that it was for a study which would not be classed as recreational and so from my perspective it would need licencing. … If this is not in place and you decide to proceed, then our standard procedure is to notify the police. If I am mistaken then I am sure they will tell me.”

He did offer to work with me to agree a licence, and help with ideas for filming, which was positive, but clearly agreeing a licence would make the project not recreational - so would not be possible.

I guess that I should be prepared for the Police to show up and search for me if anybody notices my drone flying over Wimpole Hall next week! Maybe I should take an extra battery so I can film the arrival of the police and their search techniques. And take a GoPro as a bodycam to film any interactions just in case the police are not fully aware of the rules!

I have changed my letter that I am sending to NT properties as I cover the whole of East Anglia for my recreational contributions to Sustainable Habitat Information Project to be clearer about the recreational nature of my UAS operations:

HERE IT IS, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO USE IT, and to contribute to SHIP:

Dear Estate Manager,

I am a volunteer contributing to a recreational (non-commercial) project which is studying the interaction of the habitat of animals and plants in relation to human activity . I operate a small drone, operating up to 120m, to collect video recordings and information about radiant flux density in the visible spectrum.

During July 2022, I will be operating in the airspace around and above . I do not require access to National Trust Land to undertake my flights. I have been registered as a UAS Operator by the CAA, and operate under CAP722, as amended following “Unmanned aircraft (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020” in open A1 sub-category.

Images I capture are likely to include people, animals and structures on the , incidental to this survey. I intend to comply with all relevant privacy and other laws, and intend to minimize any impact or distraction to any robots or animals, including humans.

The video recordings are not for commercial use.
I do not intend to fly or film “on the estate”.
I do not require “access to the property”.

I have no obligation to notify you of overflights, as I am sure you are aware. I am informing you of this activity so that if a drone is observed flying overhead this summer, the reason for its presence could be legal, and not be as a result of somebody on National Trust property breaking your rules.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me by email, and please copy SHIP@komplainr.com

Ray
Sustainable Habitat Information Project

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Apparently Radiant flux density is measured in watts per square meter (Wm-2). where Φ is the radiant flux arriving at the infinitesimal area dA. As irradiance is the radiant flux per unit area, it can be expressed as mole of photons per area per unit time (µmol m-2 sec-1). :scream:

If one is challenged during filming on how the drone is actually capturing the above measurements, what would be the appropriate informed response? :face_with_spiral_eyes:

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I think what’s happened here is that you’ve been hoist by your own ptard somewhat. This project seems to be something you have dreamed up for yourself with the sole purpose of being able to issue correspondence with a bit of pseudo-scientific mumbo jumbo in the hopes that it will baffle the recipient.

A one page website, made with a free site builder and an email address on a different domain hardly make the operation look legitimate.

It does, however, raise the issue of whether “commercial” and “recreational” are too few categories to describe reasons for flying. Maybe we also need “scientific” and “charitable”.

Maybe, you’d be better off just stating from the outset that you will be visiting the site for recreational purposes.

Although I’m interested to know how you are doing your radiant flux density calculations. Do you need any special measurement equipment?

[edit: I see @D0c.Col pipped me to the post.]

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With typos ;o(

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It is a lot of words to say “I’m doing this and legally I don’t need your consent to do it, this is a courtesy.”

PS: Overflight doesn’t suddenly have different rules if it goes from recreational to commercial, anyway. It is still airspace usage not land usage.

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It only becomes commercial if you make any financial gain from the footage or images.

Personally,I do not see the point of sending this letter, other than to get a response. It has long been established that no one except the CAA have any control over airspace. It may be courtesy to let them know you will be flying but you don’t need any permission(if normal airspace rules are observed).

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The purpose of sending the letter is (1) curiosity - to see what the attitude of NT and the NT staff is to legitimate drone flying (2) education - of the NT staff about what the rules actually are, so hopefully there will be less hassle for people flying drones over and around NT properties (3) recreational - to enjoy online and offline banter about an interesting subject (4) educational - to learn more about the law, the powers of the authorities, how the police behave, and the attitude of QUANGOs (5) political - to push back against encroaching busy-bodies (6) amusement - to have a laugh when responses come back that are amusing (7) documentation - because in my experience the best way to deal with a beauraucracy is to let them know you have had correspondence with them

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SHIP is certainly a recreational activity - wrapped in jargon. Just like hobbies such as birdwatching, walking, gardening, extinction rebellion - it serves no useful purpose - and thats the point - its certainly not a commercial activity.

I find that having a “reason” for something when speaking to officialdom is always easier. When an official says “why are you doing X?” You can answer “none or your business” or “collecting video for my hobby”. The environmental angle has proved a good one in the past because people often cut more slack to people with an environmental badge.

Religion would be a good one, and I certainly considered operating under a religious banner. If there was a drone worshipping religion - which somebody could establish - then people trying to stop us indulging in our hobby could be liable to “religiously aggravated hate crime” if they try to stop us, and also th epolice would have to potentially record “non crime hate incidents” if people thought that people are being hostile to our drone operation . The police say: " Where it is established that a criminal offence has not taken place, but the victim or any other person(opens an external website in the same tab) perceives that the incident was motivated wholly or partially by hostility(opens an external website in the same tab), it should be recorded and flagged as a non-crime hate incident."

The good thing about SHIP, is that it has a belief system and lots of mumbo-jumbo so is probably convertible into a religion or belief system at a later date.

Certainly it does not look commercial!

The purpose of the “camera” i/ CMOS sensor in a drone is to record radiant flux density at different frequencies, and record it at a high rate from many directions. The measurements are recorded in a file for future processing and visualization in the form of a “video”.

Interestingly, we can use our drones to see how well crops might grow, based on measuring the Photosynthetic Radiant Flux density:
Measuring method for photosynthetic photon flux density using a digital camera - PubAg (usda.gov)

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Ok :man_shrugging:

I see. Very interesting article thanks, but from my somewhat rudamentry understanding of the process it requires a reasonably controlled setup, still images and some sort of static control reference. I’m sure cleverer individuals than I could fathom it out; but I’m not sure that our local constabularly would agree, and if they could be bothered to investigate further, any lack of data and proof of findings might ring alarm bells. :laughing: Still, prompted debate and I actually learned something! Good luck with it!

So you are essentially one of those YT auditors with a bit of science thrown in…

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See the law doesn’t actually work in this way. The moment a case like this hits the courts you’ll be expected to demonstrate that you’re acting in good faith and your sincerity will be questioned. If reasonable doubt is brought on that, then the court will not be able to hold it as a hate crime or incident, and your credibility in the eyes of the court will be compromised in the rest of the case, too. People with experience of actual hate crime will also certainly not appreciate a stunt like that either.

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And I could see this thread being brought in to evidence.

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Was also on my mind, yes. :rofl:

A diligent defence barrister or solicitor is bound to find it.

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And it all started with an email to the National Trust :rofl:

Pastafarian headgear is allowed in UK licenses. « Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

Is it possible to distinguish between a religion and a parody? Thats a good question!