Not sure what to do now. I was about to buy my first high end drone. I’m put off by the idea that it won’t meet the new regulations, resulting in me having to purchase a new one in order to be CE marked. How long will it even be before we see CE marked drones appearing on the market?
It will probably take some time to get this dogs breakfast of UAV legislation sorted out. Non-CE marked aircraft won’t be outlawed, just restricted in where they can fly. I’d buy the drone you want now, fly the &*"! out of it and enjoy yourself.
By the time the new legislation strikes you (and the rest of us) will probably lusting after the latest shiny with all the new features such as direct thought control and four hour flight endurance.
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That’s one way to go about it. I’ve thought about it. Depends on if I want to replace it within 2 years. Wasn’t planning on doing so.
I suppose another idea would be to just get the Mavic Mini instead. Because it weighs below 250g, the new rules state that it will permanently be in the A1 class of drones. That’s the lowest and safest class, meaning you can even fly over people. That is assuming that when the new EU law comes in, the UK law will change.
There’s not really a lot of difference between a drone such as the Mavic mini and the FiMI X8SE or Zino 2 is there? Mavic mini makes good video, and is fairly fast for such a small drone. Also has a similar battery life of about 30 minutes.
The only thing that was putting me off the Mavic mini was the assumption that it’s more likely to be blown away by the wind than a more heavier drone.
I suppose another idea would be to get the Mavic mini now. It’ll still be in the safest class of drones 2-3 years from now. Under 250g, it will be under A1. At some point, once new drones are made with the new classification marking, I could buy the next size up drone (sub 900g) and it will meet the new regulations for A2 flying.
Both drones would be within the lower levels of drone classification that way A1/A2. If I buy a drone that is above 500g today, it will be put into A3 classification within the next few years. Meaning you must only fly it far away from other people.
I wonder what distance they mean though for A3, when they say it must be far from other people. Because if it’s 50 metres, that’s the same distance as all camera drones are in the UK today anyway. Wouldn’t matter. Unless that UK rule is no longer used once the EU rules are in place. In which case it would be a restriction that newer similar models under the new classification system wouldn’t suffer from.
Anyone thinking the drone rules won’t be amended in the future is deluded.
The 250g weight will likely be reduced even more now that DJI have brought out a drone that weighs 248g and as other manufacturers catch on, the market will be flooded with quality drones around the just less than 250g mark.
I think EASA need to catch their breath and actually try and work out who and what they are trying to ‘protect’.
If PRIVACY is at the forefront then that is faintly ridiculous unless they can stop people pointing smart phones everywhere. There is existing regulation for if I hover my drone in front of someone’s window or over their garden which can be enforced.
The 50m away from people and 150m from buildings is ludicrous too. Why not limit the speed like with automobiles? If you want to fly fast, be >50m away from people and 150m from buildings. If you want to fly within 25-50m make it 15kph and if you fly closer it is slower still - eg. tripod mode on DJI - and bring in the same speeds for proximity to buildings.
For private property, you still can’t land and take off from their property but a minimum height to flyover can be legislated for, so that you are not intruding on people’s enjoyment. To be honest, people’s dogs and kids hooning around with no control is more annoying…
And finally, if they are worried about damage, then make a basic 3rd party insurance part of getting registered.
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The limit is 250g as that’s what was deemed as lowest risk to people and aviation. DJI were involved in the policy making along with EASA.
No reason to drop the weight.
That’s already in the regulations for C1 and C2.
I’ll try find it.
At the moment there are few high end drones that fall below 250g. I would suggest one of the reasons that it is thought there is a lower risk to people and aviation is due to the sparcity of this weight class. Once more drones are available in this class then I’m sure it will be reviewed, look at the amount of people who would like a Mavic Mini just because of the reduced regulations.
As for the speed limits, I’m not clear in which category these limits apply. If it isn’t in the open category then you are in the realms of being an operator, requiring further licencing etc.
The EASA drone rules also state that there are ‘non-aviation safety’ elements which cover the wider security and privacy/data areas.
I suspect it is these that are the driving force for the distances we must maintain from people and properties.
This should have absolutely nothing to do with flying a drone as you can buy a camera and zoom lens that far outstrips what drones could image.
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Basically some pen pusher justifying their job has concocted rules that will change year on year till the commercial company ie: amazon that don’t want amateur flyers having that air space! so they will carry on making it harder and harder for the likes of us using it.
well i hope it bites them in the arse and people ignore it!!
(health and safety ruins natural selection the idiots have now bred more idiots)
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has anyone also noticed that most of the rules are always complicated confusing, they open grey areas so they can change it to suit and always put you in the wrong! like most governing bodies, teflon shoulders 
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Personally I thought the EASA rules were pretty fair.
Could have been a lot worse.
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yes could of been worse could of been better tho !!
thing is i have watched top companies come out on big budget feature films and flaunt the rules
one lot I even said if I had been living in the flats where they was operating I would have launched a broom out of the window at their ten prop monstrosity that sounded like a Kango hammer on a school night at 10 o’clock
so if they aint policed how they going to police the rest of the drone community , answer they aint but they will have an excuse to ban drones because no one follows the rules!!!
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They probably know it’s going to be difficult to police like most other EU legislation.
Rules or legislation is not going to stop everyone breaking it, just like speed limits dont stop people speeding.
If 80% of people follow the new rules they have probably did there job.
I would like to wager its going to be nowhere near that
but don’t suppose we will ever know ( they lie 
) lol
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Well,i am going to wait until June/July,to see what happens with all these regs. I have decided to register now,for the £9.00 and ,if the rules are too harsh,IE restrictive,i will be selling my mp2,5 batteries ,case,standard and smart controller for a knock down price on here for a quick sale,and regrettably go back to playing golf and and playing with my R/C cars… 
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In the words of Fletcher in Porridge "don’t let the bastards drive you down " lol
anyway what’s the fine going to be ?
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£1000,I think ? 
yeh its that for a lot of things but i don’t know anyone who gets maximum fines we should be like the french if they don’t like it they strike and picket lol
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Also,forgot i will also offer members here at this fine club an Autel Evo,with 3 bateries and charging hub plus a very nice hardcase,plus other drones i have lying around…basically,anything i have that flies… 
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Very true!