I’m definitely going to renew my PfCO when it expires in July
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I hear you but 2022 only gives the drones a 2 year shelf life. Wouldn’t be so bad if I bought a year ago or so but just got it. When I buy tech I would usually hope that I can still use it after 5 years. I bought a Canon DSLR 7 years ago and still good today. I have seen the MPW vids which is helpful but there are still some very grey areas. E.g. actual distances with A3 cat. 150m distances are not ideal for commercial which means I would need a new drone. Hence the waste of money buying one now unless can make investment + back within 6 months, or better waiting for C2 Drone. Just annoyed that didn’t find this info easily and that the key websites have not made this clear.
@TORSO I’ve merged your topic with this one as it’s all heading the same way 
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Thanks, have been reading through
I really can’t comment but maybe contact the CAA and discuss your situation with them.
Their email is: uassector@caa.co.uk
I have a feeling that they may suggest for you to do a GVC course but I may be wrong!
Assuming that the C2 certification is applied to exactly the same model\specification as now (even if this requires a firmware update) then I see no reason that existing models can’t be granted C2 status.
For example my car was built pre Euro 4 emissions and not certified as such by about 6 months but it was retrospectively granted Euro 4 status as it was still the same model at the time the Euro 4 specification came into effect.
This should really be the same scenario for the C2 category, if the existing model receives type approval then all models (assuming they are the same or can be made the same through a software update) should be covered as C2.
I don’t really get your comment
I was just making the point that if an existing model receives official type approval at the start of the new regs to bear the C2 marking then all of those models (assuming they are still the same or can be made the same through minor update) should receive the C2 type approval retrospectively.
I can’t see that happening, I maybe wrong
In reality I agree with you and until DJI releases some C2 certified models it’s a mute point unless they are identical apart from the sticker but then it could get shakey on legal grounds if that’s the only difference.
Could be a good market for new stickers to place in the battery compartments lol
@miker33 What you say makes sense, but it’s not what the regulations say. There is no “type approval” for drones, to be compliant with the new regs they must be CE-marked with the appropriate labels applied “indelibly” at the time-of-sale.
I am optimistic that common sense may prevail and some mechanism for legacy approval might be introduced, but I can’t find anything in the regulations that allows for that.
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It’s not in the interests of manufacturers and distributors of shiny new kit to limit their sales by allowing retroactive approval of the kit that’s already out there.
Mind you, given the lack of knowledge of the general public and the inability of sharp-eyed professional pilots to differentiate between birds, drones and plastic bags I imagine that a lot of craft will be flown without CE marking and no-one will know the difference.
Until compulsory transponders are made mandatory 
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I see a black market for labels about to appear 
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Woah ok
I was just joking about the stickers, on the car front it wasn’t until someone took the local establishment to court on the exact fact I mentioned where the car was identical to the model in use when they applied the Euro 4 sticker that it was covered retrospectively.
I wouldn’t advice doing so
I’m a bit confused as to what this means for me.
I have a Mavic Mini, which must fall under class C0. (edit: actually I don’t think that’s the case, as they can go beyond 120m. Would it be C1?)
It has a camera, so will need registering, but what I’m not sure about is how the distances from people and buildings are changing.
From the table above, I would infer that I can fly as close to buildings as I want, as long as I do not endanger people or property. But is there a change to how far I need to stay away from people? It says I can fly over other people (but not crowds) but there doesn’t seem to be a distance requirement.
This is the problem, unless it’s marked as Cx then it won’t currently matter even if the model which does receive Cx is exactly the same apart from the sticker\label you will come under one of the more restrictive bands.
It will be compulsory for new drones in classes C1-C3 i.e. most mass-market gear weighing 250g or more. Not required in C0 (speed-limited) or home-brew, so for most drone owners this will in due course mean transponders are required and switched on unless you stay well away from people / congested areas.
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But in subcategory A1, there is a “legacy” drone type, which looks like it is designed for existing drones. Surely that’s the one that the MM would fall into?
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