Height is very difficult to judge from the ground, you might still be able to see your drone, just, and yet be well above 400ft. There are several other things to think about what is your drone going to do if it runs out of power or fails? Is it going to land/fall somewhere safe? Are you far enough away from people, buildings and more importantly airfields if you lose control of your drone? Also bear in mind that you can be several miles away from an airfield and still be a hazard to manned aviation. It is a criminal offence to endanger the safety of an aircraft in flight. avoiding collisions, you should never fly a drone near an airport or close to aircraft.ensure any images you obtain using the drone do not break privacy laws.not to fly your drone over a congested area, never fly within 50 metres of a person, vehicle or building not under your control.to keep your drone in sight at all times and stay below 400ft.to understand that the operator is legally responsible for every flight.to know how to fly your drone safely, and do so within the law.The new Drone Code is available to download at along with a useful Drone Assist App created by the CAA and air traffic control body National Air Traffic Service ( NATS) to help individuals understand their responsibilities.ĭJI Phantom 3 Advanced with a camera. This is the law and you can, and individuals have been, prosecuted for breaking it. If you are using a drone for personnel use then you are governed by the Civilian Aviation Authority ( CAA) Air Navigation Order 2016, specifically Article 241 (endangering the safety of any person or property), Article 94 (small unmanned aircraft ) and Article 95 (small unmanned surveillance aircraft). So if you or members of your family are one of the many owners of a drone, or are thinking of buying one then you need to read on. Likewise for a fixed wing aircraft but at greater speeds, hitting the canopy or disappearing into an engine intake. Whilst there is work ongoing within the aviation industry to fully understand the implications of a drone hitting an aircraft, it doesn’t take much imagination to understand the likely consequences of 3kg of metal and plastic, including the lithium-polymer battery, hitting a helicopter windshield or, perhaps worse, the tail rotor at 100mph. Military aviation is not immune, there have been near misses with Chinooks at Benson and Odiham, likewise for fixed wing aircraft at Cranwell, and in 2016 a Navy Lynx at 2000ft missed a drone by an estimated 30 to 50 feet. In 2016 there were over 50 reports from pilots of commercial airliners that their aircraft had almost hit a drone. So, drones are here to stay, but what is the problem? In simple terms, for the vast majority of drone users, there isn’t one, but there are those who operate their drones too high or too close to airfields. Those who work at height now use them to get information before climbing or instead of climbing, survey companies use them and large parcel delivery companies have an aspiration to use them for deliveries. Whilst most people use them for personal recreation, they are also very popular with photographers and those that use photography in their business, like estate agents or the media. Not only are they affordable and capable, but they are great fun to fly or operate, and have great utility. These range in size from small light weight models to gas-turbine powered scaled replicas, capable of very fast speeds and weighing close to 10kg.ĭrones are readily available on the high street and internet, and are being sold in their thousands, and it is not hard to see why. It ought to be mentioned that legally, model aircraft are also considered drones. This is where the operator will fly the drone using a normal controller but will be viewing images transmitted by the drone either through a set of goggles or on a screen. In addition to the standard drones, controlled by a hand held 2 stick controller and operated by eye, increasingly there are those which are operated by what is called ‘First Person View’. Almost all of these drones, with the exception of the very small toys, have the capability to fly to several thousand feet. These drones weigh in the region of 3kg, perhaps more if purpose built or exceptionally capable. For several hundred pounds, you can purchase a drone which has full HD video, a range of beyond 1km and decent battery endurance. About £100 will get a Quadcopter with a camera, whilst not of ‘professional’ quality these drones can weigh in the region of 1kg and can have a range that takes them beyond the operator’s line of sight. At the bottom end of the market are models that are simply toys, small very lightweight, with limited range and endurance. Most of the commercial drones come in the form of Quadcopters, Hexacopters or even Octocopters, and vary in price and capability. A Black Hornet nano helicopter unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
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