Hey forum!
I am a newbie here, more of a lurker than a writer.
I’ve got my mini2 this summer and made a video about Thames shore, check it out:
Apparently, PLA kindly asked to notify them 3 working days in advance about one’s intention to fly a drone over the river (Use of drones/unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) | Port of London Authority). I’ve seen a letter with an explanation from the CAA somewhere, where they say no one actually needs to ask the PLA, but I decided to have some experience with that kind of bureaucracy.
Basically, I’ve filled a form on the site (see link above), uploaded The Map Of The Operation (they have nice maps on their site, all in pdfs. so I used some online service to extract a picture from the pdf, draw in pain The Plan and made a pdf back again). The risk assessment form I’ve used was from the fpv.uk. Plain simple - either the drone would hit something or something would hit a drone, but I can’t remember exactly, tbh.
I’ve submitted two applications. First one was unanswered (but they say its ok, if no one followed up), on the second one someone called me at 7am on Saturday and asked a few more questions - why am I flying (I like to fly) and what is my company (I don’t have one). In return, I was gifted a “license” to fly (no charges, as usually they ask 300£ per hour). On condition I’ll call a control room before the flight and right after.
So I went to a shore, called the control room, surprised a nice person on the other end, send him The License and was thanked in return. I flew 30ish minutes, landed and called then again, saying I am off to a pub. And that is it.
Anyways, nice to meet you all, please consider this post as an introduction as well.
