Logged a flight with NATS & submitted fine @ 1.5 -2 hrs before I went to fly. There was another drone pilot close but our times didn’t overlap. He was something like 10:30 - 12:30 GMT & mine @ 1.5km away for 14:00 - 16:00 GMT.
15 minutes after launching @ 14:10 GMT 15:10 BST I had to land as a small private aircraft was flying & curling the area at @150m 
VERY low.
Luckily I always fly with strobes on & I think he saw me against the water as I was doing an emergency landing but seriously, what’s the point of registering when aviators don’t appear to check. Certainly don’t think he’s allowed to fly so low. 
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It is an advisory system.
It doesn’t guarantee you unhampered and exclusive use of the air between certain times.
Indeed - many flights logged are, for whatever reason, never undertaken. So to prevent others flying at those location/times would be pretty unfair.
Also, at significant “events”, several overlapping flights (by the same or different operators) can, and often are, logged. (Events like the demolition of ex power station cooling towers come to mind - and if you search GADC you will see screen shots of such overlaps.)
But, at least you are aware that someone else might be there, and they are aware that you may be there … which has to be helpful, no?
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Exactly what Dave said but also it’s a very important thing to do if you are a PfCO pilot not just with NATS but also with the CAA in an excel spreadsheet
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To add to the above reasons, it also demonstrates you’re a responsible drone operator.
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Always helpful & will always log. I didn’t expect to see a very low flying private light aircraft. I’m out of my normal area of flying & probably used to seeing the RAF flight corridors booked.
I appreciate people book & don’t fly. I’ve done it because of weather but I always delete the plan. This is the 2nd time in a week low flying private flights have forced my to abort & land 
If the plane was at 150m you had a good +30m buffer at the least.
Probably didn’t need to land, just lower your altitude if you’re concerned 
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150m is not that low compared to some of what goes on. If they are flying within the drone ceiling and not legitimately so (not emergency services, military training, TOAL, area with no people etc) then you could consider reporting them. It’s only a matter of time before there’s a really worrying near miss with a low-flying aircraft below the legal altitude limit.
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Do light aircraft create a second-by-second log of their bearing, speed and height such as most commercially built drones do? If not it is difficult /impossible to state the height of an aircraft with any accuracy or to prove it in a court of law.
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Unless it flys across a reservoir at quite literally eye-level to the by standers 
But yes, agreed, you could never judge how far away it is, or what height it’s at.
FlightRadar24 app in AR mode might offer more accurate insight 
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On that memorable occasion, if we had filmed the plane flying at or below drone height, then the GPS and altitude data from the drone plus local contour maps would have pinned it.
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Re height. I was flying GPS mode so assume my height from TO was @17-20m & was @ 3.5m above the water surface (I used to be a surveyor so have a reasonable eye for distances plus the info on my display as I look & started to descend close to the surface to bring home) he was bloody close.
Correct me but I thought under CAA ANO (3) The low flying prohibitions are as follows: © The 1,000 feet rule
Except with the written permission of the CAA, an aircraft flying over a congested area of a city town or settlement shall not fly below a height of 1,000 feet above the highest fixed obstacle within a horizontal radius of 600 metres of the aircraft. There wasn’t any other flight logged other than my fellow drone operator as mentioned at an earlier time.
I live in the lakes & see regular flight notification by the RAF
Surely if permission was granted by the CAA it would show on NATS 
I’ve kept this & the location of my previous moan quiet as I can’t prove it & I don’t know the tail numbers to report them. Should I have to??? I’m not here to report someone but hell, I’d be locked up if I’d have caused an accident. The fact they probably saw me hopefully might make him/her Think
Mind you they don’t require spotters do they so maybe not.
Rant over.
Gorgeous day mind 
I’ll have a peek at it cheers.
mi flight radar 247 doesn’t show the lighter traffic.
My home is 60m 200’ above Windermere (as per map contours) so seeing the jets fly up the lake just makes you think how high 400ft in a drone actually is. Scary.
I agree. I always log on NATS as quite close to Duxford. But I still get their leisure flights coming by at well below 400ft.
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May be next time we’ll be more prepared and if it does happen, film it.
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You can bet if that happens there’ll be even more calls to ban drones, even though it’s not the drone operator’s fault.
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Wow! How big’s your drone? 
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Only flying a Mavic 2 but I do put 4 strobes on as flying with a dark tree lined background or mountains behind it helps me keep VLOS
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It’s 1000 feet in congested areas, and the European rules (SERA) state that flights should be no lower than 500 feet elsewhere. However, the CAA have amended that rule to allow flights below 500 feet, so long as the aircraft is at least 500 feet from “any person, vessel, vehicle or structure”. To fly closer to those requires a specific permission from the CAA, although there are various further exemptions for gliders, air shows, helicopters etc.
We we’re at a small reservoir probably within 600m of a built up area & going off what I compared against my telemetry I’d of put the craft at between 200-300 ft. It was very close.
If I wasn’t looking at emergency landing & not loosing it into the water I would of been able to see his tail number, he was that low & relatively slow.
My gripe, there was nothing showing anywhere about their flight. Probably deviated on a whim ‘let’s go look over there’ thought.
If they decided to change their plan nothing anyone can do. Maybe the ADS-B or Casia or whatever else is proven should be compulsory Most of us will probably use spotters too but a light aircraft doesn’t. If you go off plan then some sort of technology would benefit.
Great seeing the other drone pilot registered. Just seams 1 rule for us & another for privateer flyer.
Any chance you can stick to metric or imperial, my head hurts
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