I’m new to the site, I’m Ade wave… I recently moved to Ashford, to an apartment from rural Kent so the only free spaces to fly now in the area are parks.
I have a Flyer and Operator ID, an well aware of the safety aspects so am sensible.
I’m not speaking of busy parks, like right now its freezing out there and I can guarantee that the park (HUGE) is empty. There’ll easily be more than 150m between me and the nearest cycle track or roadway.
Within a ‘built up area’ if the flying site is within an area which is only used substantially for recreational purposes (for example playing fields or sports pitches) and a risk assessment has been carried out. Again, the BMFA can assist with this.
I’ll call them up next week and get that checklist of things to include in the risk assessment. I’d rather be safe than sorry and land a fat fine.
It’s frustrating that all these RA’s both at work and now hobbies need to be taken as they’re there to protect those who are literally Darwin Award Superstars, not us… lol
You could also look at FPVUK so you can fly using article 16 with a simple risk assessment. They have Risk Assessment forms to download and fill in. I believe there are a few members on here that have done that.
I had a look on there and can’t find it… The closes thing I found for planning on their site was relating to some third party software tool to handle the planning?
Remember that if you are flying in the A2 Transitional with a ‘Legacy Aircraft’ between 500g-2 kg the separation distance from uninvolved people is 50 metres.
Though I think that 50m can be a little too close at times, I prefer to be in the middle of nowhere as generally speaking kids and pets anywhere earshot of a drone will come running without even thinking. (kids mean anything up to 20+ these days lol)
As must as I appreciate they look like they’re for “business activities”, I’m more than 99.9% sure that they apply to hobby activities… if anything in more stringent way. I’ll update what I find as I go through it for the benefit of others… My limit for deep diving topics is nearing its end today haha…
Both really apply to specific category flights only
PDRA are existing risk assessments used when applying for operational authorisations (OA)
SORA is a methodology for risk assessment that the CAA wish to introduce to replace the one currently in use.
For OAs issued under Article 16, the risk assessment has already been done.
The assessment you are asked to do when flying in recreational areas in congested areas is just a simple consideration of the hazards around you.
Risk assesments are good for ass covering and proving you have thought about the task at hand.
As for drones it sounds like Article 16 may be a quick fix then decide if you want to go after further courses. The article 16 risk assesment is quite simple as the same basic information can be applied to most suitable areas you want to fly. Once you fill out your own information at the top the risks and mitigations can be taken from the examples that they provide. Sometimes all you need to do is take one you already used and change the date and location and youre good to go.
A16 doesn’t apply to me as mines 858g, so way over the 250g limit but still falls under A1. I’ll do RA’s anyway as, as you said, it covers my ass. Plus I’ve ordered some cordon tape and tent pegs to mark out an exclusion zone… That way if people ignore them outside of my RA, I’m in the clear.
wave… I recently moved to Ashford, to an apartment from rural Kent so the only free spaces to fly now in the area are parks.
