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Government Consultation on Drone Flying in the UK.


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That's very useful - thanks for posting.

So nothing really changes for us? Can carry on flying a 2.5kg RC model at the patch? Can effectively spec-out with a 0.26kg DLG (chance would be a fine thing!)? Can soar a 1.5kg glider off any of the usual slopes? Can launch a rubber-powered FF scale or duration model as before?

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They seem to be shaping up to what came to France last month. Pass a test, register the aircraft, get insurance.

You must produce the paperwork to officialdom on demand.

One thing, I will find to be useful, when I fly away from the club, is I am required to find out if I can fly a location before use. I have free use of a government supplied online interactive map, giving height restrictions for all of France. But we have a blanket 150 meter ceiling, accept at certified official model aircraft sites.

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The government seems keen to give us a “soft touch” through our past good conduct. However I was dismayed to read that the DOT assumed that training and proficiency tests by flying bodies are paid by the government, 2.29

Edited By cymaz on 07/01/2019 21:54:44

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That being said., the government may say if you have an A or B ( or equivalent from the other bodies) test then you have shown competency. They will still like to get some money out of us, so a fee for registration is a good bet.

Edited By cymaz on 07/01/2019 22:55:21

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This is a statement of government policy following a public consultation - summarised by the minister to the HofC yesterday. The only new thing in it is expansion of the exclusion zone around 'protected airfields' (all airports and some others - there is a list on the CAA website) to more than the 1km already in force. They have produced a diagram that seems unnecessarily complicated to me, given that the bit in line with the runway centerline only juts out of the circle by 0.4 km. They could just have had a 5km circle. Anyway, they will change the law on this soon and provided your site is more than 5km from a protected aerodrome there will be no effect on you.

The good news is that the document says the government still supports the exemptions that allow model flyers and FPV flyers to fly above 400ft as we always have. My fear was that the media frenzy around the Gatwick incident might jeopardise that.

The requirements for all operators of small unmanned aircraft over 250g (drones and conventional model aircraft) to be registered and for remote pilots to pass a knowledge test was put into the law last summer and is due to become active this November - so the die is already cast. And the document says that the government is not minded to allow a blanket exemption to model flyers. However, the exemptions already in force indicate that BMFA and others have already had effective conversations with the powers that be and no doubt they will try their best to agree some arrangements to make this as easy as possible for association members.

(Note that there is no government proposal to register individual aircraft).

So unless you are flying within 5 km of an airport/licensed aerodrome nothing has changed.

Keep calm and carry on!

Edited By Cliff Whittaker on 08/01/2019 10:40:05

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