VLOS the new regulations... No more 500m

Oh and I forgot to add - I fly purely VLOS with my home build FPV as I don’t have a monitor to receive my camera footage yet!

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Actually there’s now no actual reference to being able to see the UAV. It says instead:

So it is being more careful in the wording. It’s about being able to control the UA, not actually see it. Being able to see the UAV if is of course kind of important when trying to do that, but it’s not the be-all-and-end-all of VLOS operations.

I’m not sure what else ‘visual’ means in this context :person_shrugging:

It’s certainly an odd bit of terminology… Which is why they then explain it. But in that explanation they never mention being able to see the UA. Just control it’s flight path. Which of course is difficult to do without seeing it. The stress being that it’s now about being able to control the UA, not see it.

Nah, I think if you take that section in its entirety it’s clear: you have to be able to see the aircraft sufficient to identify its orientation at all times. There’s not really any ambiguity there.

I’m not saying it’s ambiguous. I’m saying the stress is now on being able to control the UA, not see it.

AMC1 Article 2(7) Definitions

DEFINITION OF ‘VISUAL LINE OF SIGHT OPERATION’- ‘UNAIDED VISUAL CONTACT’

‘Unaided’, in this context means without the use of any other equipment, such as binoculars, telescopes,

cameras or any other such equipment.

This does not include corrective lenses, which may be worn.

Note:

Provision is made in Article 4(1)(d), and UAS.OPEN.060(4), for an UA to be flown in the Open category,

beyond the visual line of sight of the Remote Pilot (RP) (due to the RP using ‘follow-me’ mode, or when

making use of an UA Observer and FPV equipment).

Further guidance material on the use of FPV equipment can be found in GM1 UAS.OPEN.060(4).

DEFINITION OF ‘VISUAL LINE OF SIGHT OPERATION’- ‘CONTROL THE VISUAL FLIGHT PATH’

In order to control the visual flight path of the UA, it must be kept within a suitable distance of the RP

such that they can monitor the aircraft’s position, orientation and the surrounding airspace at all times

UK Civil Aviation Authority Official Record Series 9, Decision No. 16


AMC1 Article 2(7) Definitions

DEFINITION OF ‘VISUAL LINE OF SIGHT OPERATION’- UNAIDED VISUAL CONTACT’

‘Unaided’, in this context means without the use of any other equipment, such as binoculars, telescopes,

cameras or any other such equipment.

This does not include corrective lenses, which may be worn.

Note:

Provision is made in Article 4(1)(d), and UAS.OPEN.060(4), for an UA to be flown in the Open category,

beyond the visual line of sight of the Remote Pilot (RP) (due to the RP using ‘follow-me’ mode, or when

making use of an UA Observer and FPV equipment).

Further guidance material on the use of FPV equipment can be found in GM1 UAS.OPEN.060(4).

DEFINITION OF ‘VISUAL LINE OF SIGHT OPERATION’- ‘CONTROL THE VISUAL FLIGHT PATH’

In order to control the visual flight path of the UA, it must be kept within a suitable distance of the RP

such that they can monitor the aircraft’s position, orientation and the surrounding airspace at all times.

GM1 Article 2(7) Definitions

DEFINITION OF ‘VISUAL LINE OF SIGHT OPERATION’- ‘CONTROL THE VISUAL FLIGHT PATH’

Being able to control the visual flight path of the UA means keeping it within a suitable distance of the

RP, such that the RP can maintain control of the flight path of the UA, to avoid a collision with other

aircraft, people, obstacles or the ground. This distance depends on a number of factors, including:

The eyesight of the RP;

The size of the UA;

The visual conspicuity of the UA (colour, and contrast of the UA against the backdrop from the

viewpoint of the RP);

Any navigation lighting on board the UA;

The weather conditions (fog, sun-glare etc);

Terrain and any other obstacles that may obscure the view of the UA from the RP;

 Whether the operation is during the hours of daylight, or night. Although there are not specific

limitations on operating at night, the visual conspicuity of the UA and ambient lighting, may affect


the distance to which the UA may be flown from the RP.

This distance will likely vary on each flight depending on these factors, and the RP should be able to

identify at what point VLOS can no longer be maintained.

Just because the UA is still visible (for example, a dot in the sky), this does not mean that it meets the

definition of VLOS. A RP must be able to visually determine the aircraft’s orientation at all times. While

this may potentially be aided by navigation lights, the sole use of telemetry to indicate UA orientation

to the RP is not considered as acceptable

It all relates to the visual sight of the drone @Yith @JoeC

In the meantime, I’ll continue to do exactly as I have done since I picked up my mini2. @clinkadink explains it better than I could.

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definition

/ˌdɛfɪˈnɪʃn/

noun: definition; plural noun: definitions

  1. a statement of the exact meaning of a word, according to the author, that will be either redefined, or disputed, by others.
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I agree, it wont be policed…Till it goes wrong :scream:

So will the GVC test flight now have to change? As part of it is to fly out to a distance look away spin the aircraft then look back and reorientate?

:thinking:

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@Windswept you should have told your viewers that Grey Arrows Drone Club members get a 15% discount on the strobon crees at Flytron :wink:

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Ahh…this, I did not know. I’ll add it to the video description!

Thanks :smile:

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And yet, if you have “follow me” mode, you can use that without actually looking at your drone ( whilst in follow me mode) . I did ask on a few Faceache groups I’m on , why the CAA don’t trust us to use the handset/ controller video to know the orientation of the drone. The usual answers were, “ What if the controller/ camera/ feed, etc gets interrupted ? I do think the CAA have got to start trusting the technology we have at our fingertips a bit more, after all none of our civilian aircraft would work without a hell of a lot of technology. Someone even replied “ Ahh but what if a helicopter ( police or air ambulance) comes over where you’re flying your drone and you cause an accident ?” I simply replied that there’s nowt wrong with my hearing and would hear it well before it came within visual range. ( think that person was born deaf)

THIS :point_up_2::point_up_2::point_up_2::point_up_2:

The rules that are in place are just a very large fire blanket of ignorance used to cover all forms of remotely piloted craft. We didn’t have to put up with this crap twenty years back. And in the last twenty years the use of remotely piloted craft has got exponentially safer. We no longer use FM analog controllers on 35MHz with limited channel numbers, but instead we use 2.4GHz frequency agile spread spectrum systems with interference cancelling algorithms, as one example.

And it doesn’t stop there. You have conflicting rules depending under what authorisation you are flying with. Under Article 16 the only autonomous function we are permitted to use is automated RTH in the event of a failsafe. Where as previously stated BVLOS using object tracking (follow me) is apparently permitted under a different category. Wot da fudge.

Remotely piloted operations were at one time considered to be a totally harmless recreational activity, even though we were using dodgy radio gear and flying models with large amounts of cast metal in the nose. Today you have to be above a certain age, have to register, take an online test, plaster unique identifying serial numbers on all your models. We may soon have to adopt some form of electronic conspicuity, register our intent to fly along with a flight plan, and even be forced to subscribe to an UTM to obtain permission to takeoff, just to capture an overhead shot of a tree.

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All for a plastic toy :person_shrugging:

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I hear CAA have today updated CAP722 to “address some inconsistencies”.

Anyone got a TL;DR version of the updates?

It probably now says you can only fly a drone in your living room unless your house in semidetached if it is semidetached then your drone has to be under 250grms lol

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I was hoping for some clarification on end of terrace?