Huge apologies to you all for this basic newbie question. I’m just about to bite the bullet and purchase my first drone however after looking at the UK done flying maps, if i’m reading it correctly half the country seems to be out of bounds and restricted. I like to mountain climb and visit places such as the peak district, lake district and Yorskshire mountains but most seem to be classified as sites of special scientific interest. Am i correct in that drones cannot be used in all these areas that would be great to explore? Alas i think I know the answer but wanted to double check. Thanks for any response.
Sounds like you’re looking at the wrong maps, less than 5% of the UK has airspace restrictions (approx, don’t quote me on that exact number, but you get the gist).
Thankfully no, you’re not correct
A lot of SSSIs are simply biological. Common sense must prevail though, avoid SSSIs where animals are nesting and breeding.
Check out Drone Scene if you’re looking for recommended places to fly:
Look at the reason for sssi status. It may be anything, geological, plant life, reptiles, fury animals etc etc etc. then use common sense, if it’s nesting season, migratory birds etc then avoid at the time’s likely to disturb , If it’s static such as geology , lizards etc then flying your drone is unlikely to have any noticeable impact.
Don’t apologise, we all started somewhere
The rules and regs are a lot to get your head around, but you’re in the right place for advice on flying responsibly and safely. As stated above check the air space on Dronescene (by far the best drone resource on the Internet) This will give you all the information you need before you fly.
And as always the best advice is to not get hung up on the rules to much just use your head be responsible and follow the CAA Drone code and enjoy your flying.
My biggest tip for you is avoid posting anything drone related on facebook, especially in local community groups as this will result in you pulling out all the karan’s and ken’s who know absolutely nothing about drone flying but they will tell you that they know everything and what you’re doing is wrong. when it isn’t.
Other than that get out and fly! keep your eye on the Meetups section for local meets you can attend or if you’re willing to travel I highly recommend meeting up with others to gain confidence. Or arrange your own meet up if you have a good location to fly, put up a post and invite others.
Enjoy the hobby it’s fantastic
One thing to remember that if you take off up high you are allowed to go 120m up. However if you fly out from your point and the land lowers you need to keep within 120m of the ground you are flying above. Do not be fooled. The drone height is from the take off. It can not calculate any difference in land height. So make sure you keep yourself low enough not to make mistakes as it would be hard to guage.
The yellow areas on Drone Scene or Drone Assist & similar maps are to highlight various ground hazards; you are allowed to fly over them but need to be aware of possible situations. A football pitch in a park, for example, may attract crowds that you must not fly directly over (see CAA Drone Code) on weekends when games are in progress but will be fine on weekday afternoons when the tumbleweed rolls through and Paris, Texas, is playing on your earbuds!
SSSIs are marked as ground hazards, and are designated for a variety of reasons, so it may be that it is to do with some geological feature or rare plant, in which case flying a drone over it will cause no problems. Birds and animals can be upset by drones, though, especially in breeding and nesting seasons, and should be left alone. But even in breeding seasons, flying at a higher altitude closer to the 400’ limit will usually mean that the wildlife will be unaware of your drone’s presence, or, if aware, not bothered by it. Clearly using your drone to film nests or dens close-up is not a good idea though! It’s mostly a matter of using your judgement and common sense within the framework of the CAA Drone.
Flying in mountain areas raises other issues though. Low altitude military pilot training often takes place in such areas, and perhaps surpringly drone flying is not restricted at all in these areas. Car park Notices request you not to fly drones while the training flights are in progress but do not forbid it. Personally there is no way I’d be putting my drone in the air on the Mach Loop for example, where fighter jets can and do appear around a corner of the valley not half a mile away at 600mph or so 200’ or less up. You have mere seconds to get out of the way, you can’t hear them coming because they are going nearly at the speed of sound, and there is going to be some serious turbulence in their wake; you’ll probably lose your drone. And of course nobody wants to be responsible for a Typhoon-shaped area of burnt heather on the side of Cadair Idris…
You may find that you are more restricted in TOAL (take off and landing) sites than by the yellow areas on the maps. It is (see Drone Code) your responsibility to find out if you are allowed by the owners or managing bodies of that piece of land to TOAL, and they often state on notices and if asked for this information that ‘drone flying is prohibited’. It isn’t, they mean that TOAL is prohibited, only the CAA, as the official body responsible for managing airspace in the UK, can prohibit flying, so you can TOAL outside the perimeter fence and overfly the site.
The National Trust, English & Scottish Heritage and CADW, their counterpart in Wales, Forestry Commision, and the Water authorities are all guilty of this sort of thing. You can TOAL from public roads and other public rights of way that pass through them to overfly.
Unless it’s a red FRZ or a blue NOTAM, fly your drone and enjoy it, sensibly with respect for privacy and nuisance, don’t bother breeding wildlife, TOAL where you’re allowed, and fly to the CAA’s drone code; you’ll be fine! And legal.
You can fly within airport red FRZ with permission obtainable from the ATC, I’ve not done this but apparently you apply online and when you want to fly, ring the tower, tell them what you are going to do. Ring them again when you finish so they know you’re not in their airspace any more. You can’t fly in red FRZs for prisons, military/security-related, or Royal residences. For NOTAMs, read the details of the individual notice; some do not affect drone-flying altitudes, and some have times when they are inactive.
Thanks for the response much appreciated.
Thanks for the response much appreciated.
Thanks for the response much appreciated.
Thanks for the response much appreciated.
Thanks for the response much appreciated.