Most people with smaller drones are certified for A1 & A3. A3 states ‘You must not fly within 50m of uninvolved people’. A1 though says ‘You can fly closer to people than 50m, including people who are not involved in’. I have A1 & A3 and a DJI Neo 2 which is 160g, so under the 250g range that it talks about (I understand that currently it is rated as U0 which is not the UK standard, and on the 31st Dec 2027 it changes as this drone will be by weight and not class). In the promo video it shows the drone in follow me mode, and it flying feet away from uninvolved people.
My first question is, for the DJI Neo 2 drone that is 160g, does this mean, it can be flown in follow-me mode, or manually by myself and there is no documented minimum distance you need to keep from uninvolved people? I am not talking about crowds, as know these are a no-fly zone. I see videos of people saying that they need to stop flying or move away as uninvolved people are coming their way, but I can’t find anything about what the minimum distance away is.
My second question, which I believe is very clear (but would like confirmation), is section 6, about buildings. It states ‘You can fly drones and model aircraft that are below 250g, or UK0, UK1 or C0 class in residential, recreational, commercial and industrial areas.’. This means that I can fly it in my garden, and over my garden to other areas (I have farming fields behind my house), and on top of my house (to check my guttering), and it is legal again because it is under 250g, so there are no restrictions other than GDPR and photo/video recording that may show uninvolved people.
Thank you for any advice you can give.
Alan