I like to be as law abiding as I can without being uptight about it so in the interest of “being a good UK Drone citizen” I tweeted NATS to ask how one goes about flying in a restricted zone.
The area in question sits between Cardiff airport and RAF St Athan - and in all honesty probably never hets overflown. So All I want is to be able to go to a max of 50m, maybe 75m absolute tops and a diameter of less than 300m. NATS pointed me at their application for such a flight and I have no issue filling it in except for the date…
So, have any of you filled in one of these for a hobby flight and if so how do you select a date range knowing that you have to give ‘at least’ 14 days notice? Hang on a mo, let me just get my crystal ball to check the weather then…oh yes, it’s Wales, it will probably be wet. Sarcasm aside, I went with a start date towards the end of this month and set the end date another month ahead. I have no idea how they’ll respond but hoping they will see sense and come back and say either:
a. that’s fine or
b. ring this umber on the day to double check.
Have tried to find a contact number for Cardiff airport being the one primarily affected (my estimation of St Athan’s circle is that I’d be ok with them. However, all contact references for Cardiff say - contact NATS, so I did and thus I am where I am …
My local Aerodrome is much quieter than Cardiff, but has a drone page with information and a flight application contact form. They require 24 hours notice. I have tried it yet but intend to soon, just to test it.