I will be giving a talk about the state of modern drone regulation within the Westminster R157 restricted flying zone. The catch is that it would be inside. I intended to hover the drone within an auditorium about 6 feet high - to help the audience understand what a modern, <250g drone looks like. (I find people have no conception of how small and quiet they actually are.)
Wishing not to break drone regulations on a talk specifically about drone regulation, I thought I better do it by the book. I submitted a non-standard flight application with those details over three weeks in advance, making it clear I would be inside both a building and the restricted flying zone.
Well to my surprise the non-standard flight application was rejected…“as there is no requirement under current Legislation for an NSF Approval in Principle to be issued; no ATC permissions are required.”
That stumped me because I had been looking around beforehand about whether there are exceptions for indoor drone flight. I couldn’t find any, which is why I thought I better apply. Does anyone here have any knowledge of legislation around that? Common sense of course, but laws are not based on common sense and nor are punishments issued with common sense in mind!
If there are exceptions for flying drones ‘inside,’ I’d be curious to know how that’s defined – as that opens a whole other can of interesting legal worms.
Well sure that makes sense, but I could not find anything written on this. Do you know of anything? The relevant NOTAM applies from the surface. Can I put up a gazebo in a park within an FRZ and hover under that?
People interested in all the ways London could be made better, whether that’s law, public services, or the arts etc. My feeling is that there are plenty of places in London safe to control a drone that currently prohibit it and I think London borough byelaws need to be looked at again with modern drone legislation and equipment in mind. Not just the decades-old ‘model aircraft’ clauses.
The drone part is purely my contribution based on my frustrations trying to fly near my home in south London where Lambeth, Lewisham, and Southwark all prohibit controlling a drone from their very spacious parks. Yes I can’t see any local authority wanting to relax any byelaw. Why would they give up control? But my hunch is that because the byelaw was created at a very different time without all the regulation, safety, and noise reduction technology we have now it may be unenforceable.
Lambeth (and the other places you mentioned) is centred directly adjoining London City Airport and LHR - and a bunch of heli R’s.
I live in London and fly elsewhere - what you’re doing in interesting but really isn’t going to impact any regulation relating to air safety in the capital in this localion. Some would say it’s like buying a couple of fishing rods and a pint of maggots then complaining to Royal Parks you can’t bait anywhere you want around the Serpentine!!!
