OK so you’ve got your A2CofC and Article 16!

As a new drone pilot I wanted to get my accredited tests in place as soon as possible and to start getting some practical experience under my belt. This forum has been great for answering all sorts of queries. However I have another question. I have seen videos posted of flights over heavily urbanised areas and also flights which extend for quite some distance. I would be reluctant to make such flights given my inexperience. While we don’t intentionally fly over uninvolved persons, yet at distance we can’t always see, especially in urban areas. Drones are electronic / mechanical devices which can develop faults in mid flight, bird hits could also bring a drone down. So how advisable is it to make such flights?

If its a sub 250g drone then fly it in any urban areas you wish as long as it isn’t in a flight restriction zone without permission.

Here is a perfect example I used my DJI Mavic Mini to capture this image:

It’s of Coventry Cathedral and the Holy Trinity Church. Situated in Coventry city centre.

I’m curious as I’ve not taken the A2CofC myself, but surely if you have taken this course these questions should of been answered within the course Itself or am I missing something in regards to what the A2CofC actually is?

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Much like cars can.

The same way it’s advisable to make such car journeys?

You might be over thinking things @Will-R :slight_smile:

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You should always keep visual line of sight to stay within the code. So if you stay within the code it’s quite simple. It’s not advisable.

The videos you’ve seen are likely not staying within the drone code unless they’ve done something to their craft to make it highly visible or are in communication with a spotter. Although I think the spotter is officially meant to be within hearing distance.

We’re not the drone police though. You make your own choices regard where you are, the craft you’re using, the conditions, the land owner. There’s too many variables for us to pass comment on if a flight is/was legal or not unless the pilot has given such information in the video information.

This :point_up_2:

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It’s a great shot! A2CofC largely focus on safety and the avoidance of risk to persons. Mind you even with a sub 250g drone, I don’t think I would fancy being hit on the head with one :wink:

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“Good 2 Go” is a really useful resource too, run a few scenarios through it @Will-R as the sub 250g drones coupled with the changes in regs last year are an absolute game changer for our hobby:

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But cars don’t generally drop out of the sky and hit your head.

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Me neither, but I’d take a 250g drone to the head over a 2.5ton Land Rover any day :slight_smile:

Neither do drones.

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Nor do drones :man_shrugging:t2: unless you’re flying FPV :rofl:

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Everyone harps on about the A2 C of C as being this great thing.

While ever it has no supervised flight test I liken it to giving my 17 year old her full driving licence after passing her multiple guess theory test.

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Yes makes sense, thanks.

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Money for old rope :+1:t2:

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In all seriousness though, it’s driver error that’s 99% times more likely to hurt someone than a mechanical fault will.

But again, I’ll come back to:

:+1:t2:

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Like @PingSpike says Stop over thinking the rules… just abide by the one fundamental rule “Don’t be an idiot” and get your arse out there and fly your £1000’s worth of amazing machinery and show us some of your images and videos! :ok_hand:t2:

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Yes that’s possible, thanks

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It was covered in the A2CofC course which I did. However not at great length. I think the expectation is that most doing it will already have some understanding of the rules as set out by the CAA. (Often from the old drone code or DMARES). A lot of the course covers technical issues, weather, risk evaluation, radio frequencies and battery science but the course syllabus is set by the training establishment- under CAA oversight.

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While I don’t regret doing it and did learn quite a bit, to some extent I have to agree. Certainly if flying sub 250g it’s overkill but I see the OP has heavier aircraft so it could grant him more freedom, albeit not as much as article 16. Not sure that I would renew it now I’ve sold the M2P.

Definitely the best advice is to get out and fly, as no course is a substitute for experience and practice.

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I’m surprised that in all of the responses no one makes reference to the advisability of carrying insurance to cover for the possibility that the drone might drop out of the sky for some reason or other.

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