New rules for EU and UK drones

[Colin McDonald]

From BBC News:

Drone users face new rules across Europe and UK https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-55424729

New rules are coming into force on Thursday to govern how pilots can operate their drones.
They harmonise the rules across all EU member states, Norway and Iceland - and will also be mirrored by the UK.

They make it clear where drones can be flown, as well as making it easier to trace owners. The distinction between commercial and recreational use has been removed, potentially paving the way for more drone uses.

Drone legislation has been confusing and varied nation to nation. DJI, one of the world's biggest drone makers, welcomed the changes.
"It streamlines different processes and allows customers to travel from country to country without having to worry about different rules in different foreign locations," said Christian Struwe, the firm's director of public policy.

Under the rules, even small drones will need to be registered with the relevant aviation authority, which in the UK is the Civil Aviation Authority. This is to ensure that authorities can trace who owns a drone if they are used in an irresponsible way or flown somewhere they are not allowed to be used. Under the rules, there will be three new types of drone category: high, medium and low.

•Low-risk or open-category drones will not require any authorisation but will be subject to strict operational limitations

•Medium-risk or specific-category drones will have to have authorisation from the national aviation authority on the basis of a risk assessment

•High-risk or certified-category drones will need to follow aviation rules, and this will apply to future drone flights with passengers

The low-risk category, which accounts for the majority of hobbyist drones, will be managed through the CE mark, which is a process for products sold in Europe to ensure they meet health, safety and environmental standards.

But drones within this category will also have additional rules about where they can be flown:

A1 - drones weighing less than 250g (0.55lb) can be flown over people

A2 - drones weighing more than 250g but less than 2kg must be flown at least 50m (164ft) away from people

A3 - drones weighing more than 2kg must be flown well away from people

UK-based users are still required to have passed the CAA's official theory test and to have obtained a flyer ID to be allowed to fly any drone weighing over 250g within 150m of people.

[Paul R Johnson]

So carry on for most of us, I guess - I'm a casual leisure flier - I don't do drones for work, mainly because I'm lacking the grace to fly them artistically, but my licence just got renewed so all is good for me. Of course, the people who currently fly them badly and unlicensed will just carry on as they've always done. There are thousands of illegally recorded videos on Youtube - nobody does a damn thing, so another useless unenforceable procedure I'm afraid.

My office is next to a railway line - which means I can't even take off from my own property!

[Christopher Young]

It's tightening up everywhere including down here in Oz as of Jan 1st. Just updated and upgraded my rego to remain legal.

The future for the USA looks even worse as existing drones will have to be retrofitted with transponders to broadcast their location and owner/registration details. "Hey there Big Brother!" it had to happen.

Chris Young

https://www.theverge.com/2020/12/28/...ht-over-people

[Steve Game]

Originally Posted by Christopher Young

It's tightening up everywhere including down here in Oz as of Jan 1st. Just updated and upgraded my rego to remain legal.

The future for the USA looks even worse as existing drones will have to be retrofitted with transponders to broadcast their location and owner/registration details. "Hey there Big Brother!" it had to happen.

Chris Young

https://www.theverge.com/2020/12/28/...ht-over-people

So despite forum poster(s) last year placing reports of drone sightings as 'phantom', not only have the CAA tightened up the rules along with other EU authorities, it seems like the FAA is also inevitably taking a more serious view of high-handed drone use in the US and putting more effective measures in to isolate illegal drone operations. Unregistered drones will still be used by those engaging in illegal activities, but improved detection, tracking and ultimately disabling of unregistered drones will enable them to be progressively taken out of use by confiscation or destruction.

[Paul R Johnson]

My broadcast drone colleagues, who spent a fortune on getting trained are furious, and even worse have discovered they still have to do paid refresher courses to keep their licence current, even though their privileges have been watered down. The only thing everyone agrees on is what a mess!

[Donald McPherson]

I am now thinking of selling mine.