Yes I found that suspicious about Drone Scene. Suddenly there was this Grey Arrows thing.
Look, all I’m saying is that to a newcomer, this blizzard of overlapping organisations (throw in the CAA for good measure) is a bit confusing. Maybe I’m just slow. Humour me! I’m just trying to do things properly and looking for the ‘official’ way to determine where I can fly safely and legally. Maybe the answer is, “there isn’t one”. I asked a simple question and got piled on. Still no-one has explained Altitude Angel’s actual authority over anything.
You’ll have been aware, I assume, that the UK Government spends (sometimes wastes) fortunes with private software development companies?
I’m trying to determine the reason NATS/Altitude Angel needs to be highlighted.
Even before computerisation and the internet, Commercial International Aviation has safely navigated our skies for over 80 years thanks to a private company founded by Captain E.B. Jeppesen that provided the first printed air navigation charts, and a bazillion subsequent updates.
Did a damned good job and probably saved a shit load of lives in the process and the following 80 years.
I’m new to flying but have been sailing for some time. Mostly the charts we use (and now GPS of course) are published by private companies - but underpinned by official United Kingdom Hydrographic Office data. Is there an aeronautical equivalent?
I don’t see any ‘pile on’ here, just a few people trying to answer the ‘simple’ question you asked with straightforward responses and you not finding any of the answers detailed enough.
I’m not sure what you’re hoping the answer to be, but you do seem to understand the situation as you’ve provided a few analogies yourself in this thread.
From the NATS press release you linked to in your first post:
“We continue to support the safe use of drones and encourage drone pilots to use safety apps that meet the minimum criteria outlined on the Drone Safe website, which includes Drone Assist.”
If you don’t want to use any of those apps because they are third-party then NATS have a (very) basic map of airspace restrictions on their website but you’ll also need to check for NOTAMS before every flight (and learn to read them in raw format because as far as I know every website/app which translates them into plain English is also third-party).
Yep the Jeppy as well known as any famous book amongst aviators…try and find a plane without a copy.! Based in Frankfurt Airport for Europe…(or in my day- was).
They’re the people that NATS have been outsourcing their unified air traffic management (UTM) to since 2016.
As mentioned in some of the responses above, this isn’t anything new, nor is it a takeover (or handover) of any sorts.
The only a change to what we, the drone community, have always called “the NATS app” or “the drone assist app” is simply the logo and branding.
It’s still a very “official service” and because NATS still outsource to Altitude Angel their data should still be considered a source of truth.
I’ve probably never heard of the IT company that my local dentist, my local GP surgery, my local chemist, etc oursource all their data management to. But it doesn’t concern, or confuse me.
You have nothing to fear from this announcement @Avianskipdiver
Ah, those were the days. When you decided how ill you were by how much of a queue you were willing to put up with. Not like now, where you need to know two weeks in advance that you’ll want to see a GP, or else join the telephone scramble at 8am for the handful of “emergency” appointments they have reserved for that day.
I would imagine that utilising the Altitude Angel name here in the U.K. over the NATS Drone Assist was a marketing idea. We saw back in December last year that AA had teamed up with BT regarding Project XCelerate which has a Drone 8km flight trial this Summer…
