£16.50 for licence to own a drone in the UK

[Winfam]

As usual the CAA is milking the drone licence for all its worth. Not content with 16.50 per drone (that is reasonable) but every year!!!
Plus the CAA has a history of jacking up Commercial drone operator's licence prices by 40-50% year on year, I suppose us law abiding flyers can look forward to something similar in the future.

 

[Porky]

You may believe you're legal, but can almost guarantee not all regs are being adhered to.

I’m always legal, I’m a good boy I am?

 

[zocalo]

Maybe there is an interesting way that we could create one 'company / organisation' that [on paper] owned [Operated] everybody's drones ... That way the company would pay one £16.50 'Operator' fee, and the 'members' would just need to pass [free of charge] their drone pilot registration. Any lawyers out these that see holes in that? Please comment ...

I believe the BMFA and some of the Drone flier's associations are already investigating the possibility. Might be a bit premature though, given nothing is final yet, and I suspect there will be liability issues - e.g. an operator having some responsibility for the actions of their pilots.

 

[FoxhallGH]

I believe the BMFA and some of the Drone flier's associations are already investigating the possibility. Might be a bit premature though, given nothing is final yet, and I suspect there will be liability issues - e.g. an operator having some responsibility for the actions of their pilots.

Yes - but as a member, BMFA already provide me with 3rd Party Insurance (and all I had to do was sign the cheque!). If that's the case, maybe that part of it is already in place??

 

[Geoffsh]

we all knew this was coming,simply because of the idiots who choose to fly outside the rules,lets hope those who dont comply get there UAVs taken from them and face fines or worse,maybe then people will get the message,and fly within the rules,to me the biggest problem is going to be enforcement,who is going to ask people if they are registered,the police are already overstretched as it is, maybe it will be council enforcement officers who will be the ones who do it lets hope whoever is tasked with the job has the correct training so they can be correct when they make a judgement

Let's hope it's not some private company paid on results!!!!

 

[Icelandman]

There seems to be a justification based on a huge £1Million+ p.a. cost to host and operate a basic on-line database for 170,000 users. That database could be held on a medium sized USB memory stick for goodness sake! The question here is 'who has conned the CAA into believing that this registration process needs an IT server farm like you'd want for a mission to Mars!?'
While the £16.50 may not seem like much, there are precedents being set here that I think we need to be aware of:
1) There are several 'Human Rights' issues being violated e.g. Universal Declaration of Human rights ... "Article 20: We should all have the right to form groups and organise peaceful meetings. Nobody should be forced to belong to a group if they don’t want to. " Articles 22, 24, 27 and 30 can also be referenced in this situation ... What is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?
2) Drone operators / pilots are not the party here that is 'asking' for this registration - it is being imposed - yet - it is us that are termed the 'Users' in this 'User Pays' scheme. What about the Airport Authorities, Prisons, Airline Pilots Association etc. who have been lobbying for this 'Tax' ... Don't they have some responsibility to bear the cost??
3) There are lists of comparable annual registrations, and this would be one of the most expensive ... I believe that the only annuall registration fee exceeding it is a TV license. After all - it only costs £9 p.a. to keep a shotgun!
4) As an IT professional, I believe that the costs that the CAA are trying to justify to set up and maintain a website and database are ludicrous! I'd expect Amazon to be spending that sort of money on their e-commerce IT, but a small database with on-line access and a QA 'qualify' section - is pretty much off-the-shelf now ...
5) How many license numbers are we going to need ... Operators pay and have a reg' number, Pilots don't pay but have a reg' number - and owners/operators that fly have a reg' number.

It looks like it might be time to set up a UK Drone owners club that we all pay £1 p.a. to to 'lease' our drones from that club as the Operator (as an operator can pay £16.50 operate as many drones as he/she wants under that single reg' number), and just sit the free Pilot's reg' exam ... The annual party would be loads of fun!

The party sounds a great idea!

What, no libertarian voices in the group?

It's one thing to over-regulate and another thing entirely to soak us for it. Here is an old image related to the US tax code from 2011. It never gets smaller and taxes only go down when you die.


View attachment 71120

Taxes go down if you happen to be a billionaire!

 

[Porky]

Let's hope it's not some private company paid on results!!!!

Can you imagine that, I’ll go home after every flight to tell the wife I’ve been fined again....??

 

[Icelandman]

Let's hope it's not some private company paid on results!!!!

CAA consulation

From the BBC:

“Every drone and model aircraft owner in the UK could be charged £16.50 a year under plans by the aviation regulator.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is consulting on introducing a licence fee to cover the costs of operating the new drone registration scheme.
From November, drone owners would have to register their details on a database and drone flyers would complete a free online safety test.”

Who is going to police this? How will it affect visitors to the UK (I live in Iceland but my kids are in the UK)? When I visit the UK and want to fly my drone who is going to check I have a licence and have paid a registration fee? What about all the drone users who do not register and still fly? The chances of getting caught are pretty slim are they not? I always fly my drone within the law here in Iceland and have only made one error and that was flying too near to birds on cliffs in March! (No flying near nesting sites! Yes but it was March! They start nesting in April/May!). This registration will not stop rogue drone flyers.

 

[old man mavic]

on a personal note i am going to continue to fly within the rules,as i have done for the past two and a half years and get my UAV registered when the time comes the same as i do for driving my car,at least if you do so you reduce the chances of falling fowl of the law,and i hope that those who dont get punished.and before anyone responds with just being a goody goody that is not the case,i am just making sure that i can keep flying my UAV without having it taken from me and continue to enjoy my hobby into the future

 

[zocalo]

on a personal note i am going to continue to fly within the rules,as i have done for the past two and a half years and get my UAV registered when the time comes the same as i do for driving my car,at least if you do so you reduce the chances of falling fowl of the law,and i hope that those who dont get punished

Same here. Doesn't mean I need to be happy about the setup though.

 

[old man mavic]

Same here. Doesn't mean I need to be happy about the setup though.

correct i dont like the proposed charge and said so when i replied to the consultation,i dont like the fact that every year my car insurence goes up because of those who dont bother the list could go on and on

 

[AVInteractive]

I can assure

There seems to be a justification based on a huge £1Million+ p.a. cost to host and operate a basic on-line database for 170,000 users. That database could be held on a medium sized USB memory stick for goodness sake! The question here is 'who has conned the CAA into believing that this registration process needs an IT server farm like you'd want for a mission to Mars!?'
While the £16.50 may not seem like much, there are precedents being set here that I think we need to be aware of:
1) There are several 'Human Rights' issues being violated e.g. Universal Declaration of Human rights ... "Article 20: We should all have the right to form groups and organise peaceful meetings. Nobody should be forced to belong to a group if they don’t want to. " Articles 22, 24, 27 and 30 can also be referenced in this situation ... What is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?
2) Drone operators / pilots are not the party here that is 'asking' for this registration - it is being imposed - yet - it is us that are termed the 'Users' in this 'User Pays' scheme. What about the Airport Authorities, Prisons, Airline Pilots Association etc. who have been lobbying for this 'Tax' ... Don't they have some responsibility to bear the cost??
3) There are lists of comparable annual registrations, and this would be one of the most expensive ... I believe that the only annuall registration fee exceeding it is a TV license. After all - it only costs £9 p.a. to keep a shotgun!
4) As an IT professional, I believe that the costs that the CAA are trying to justify to set up and maintain a website and database are ludicrous! I'd expect Amazon to be spending that sort of money on their e-commerce IT, but a small database with on-line access and a QA 'qualify' section - is pretty much off-the-shelf now ...
5) How many license numbers are we going to need ... Operators pay and have a reg' number, Pilots don't pay but have a reg' number - and owners/operators that fly have a reg' number.

It looks like it might be time to set up a UK Drone owners club that we all pay £1 p.a. to to 'lease' our drones from that club as the Operator (as an operator can pay £16.50 operate as many drones as he/she wants under that single reg' number), and just sit the free Pilot's reg' exam ... The annual party would be loads of fun!

you

There seems to be a justification based on a huge £1Million+ p.a. cost to host and operate a basic on-line database for 170,000 users. That database could be held on a medium sized USB memory stick for goodness sake! The question here is 'who has conned the CAA into believing that this registration process needs an IT server farm like you'd want for a mission to Mars!?'
While the £16.50 may not seem like much, there are precedents being set here that I think we need to be aware of:
1) There are several 'Human Rights' issues being violated e.g. Universal Declaration of Human rights ... "Article 20: We should all have the right to form groups and organise peaceful meetings. Nobody should be forced to belong to a group if they don’t want to. " Articles 22, 24, 27 and 30 can also be referenced in this situation ... What is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?
2) Drone operators / pilots are not the party here that is 'asking' for this registration - it is being imposed - yet - it is us that are termed the 'Users' in this 'User Pays' scheme. What about the Airport Authorities, Prisons, Airline Pilots Association etc. who have been lobbying for this 'Tax' ... Don't they have some responsibility to bear the cost??
3) There are lists of comparable annual registrations, and this would be one of the most expensive ... I believe that the only annuall registration fee exceeding it is a TV license. After all - it only costs £9 p.a. to keep a shotgun!
4) As an IT professional, I believe that the costs that the CAA are trying to justify to set up and maintain a website and database are ludicrous! I'd expect Amazon to be spending that sort of money on their e-commerce IT, but a small database with on-line access and a QA 'qualify' section - is pretty much off-the-shelf now ...
5) How many license numbers are we going to need ... Operators pay and have a reg' number, Pilots don't pay but have a reg' number - and owners/operators that fly have a reg' number.

It looks like it might be time to set up a UK Drone owners club that we all pay £1 p.a. to to 'lease' our drones from that club as the Operator (as an operator can pay £16.50 operate as many drones as he/she wants under that single reg' number), and just sit the free Pilot's reg' exam ... The annual party would be loads of fun!

A shot gun licence is far more than £9 PA it's £79.50 and I can assure you as I also have a hobby shooting there is far more bureaucracy, media flack and hassle than flying a drone, but I feel the pain TWICE !

 

[Peter Hughes]

Plenty of justified complaints being made.
What I don’t see is much mention of taking part in the CAA consultation which asks for people’s thoughts on fees etc.
Pointless complaining if you’re not prepared to take part in the process.

 

[zocalo]

Plenty of justified complaints being made.
What I don’t see is much mention of taking part in the CAA consultation which asks for people’s thoughts on fees etc.
Pointless complaining if you’re not prepared to take part in the process.

+1. I've posted the relevant links here multiple times, in this thread and others, to encourage just that. I have seen a few others say they've commented, but definitely the more the merrier!

Its a fairly simple form that doesn't ask too many questions and you don't have to provide contact details or lots of detail if you don't want to, so there's not much excuse.

 

[Hiwayman]

Any comment about whether or not existing PfCO holders have to register?

 

[Soledamcer]

CAA consulation

From the BBC:

“Every drone and model aircraft owner in the UK could be charged £16.50 a year under plans by the aviation regulator.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is consulting on introducing a licence fee to cover the costs of operating the new drone registration scheme.
From November, drone owners would have to register their details on a database and drone flyers would complete a free online safety test.”

CAA consulation

From the BBC:

“Every drone and model aircraft owner in the UK could be charged £16.50 a year under plans by the aviation regulator.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is consulting on introducing a licence fee to cover the costs of operating the new drone registration scheme.
From November, drone owners would have to register their details on a database and drone flyers would complete a free online safety test.”

Everyone is overlooking the education aspect. If it's anything like the PfCO, we'll have to learn geography, geology, meteorology, aeronautics, topography, aerodynamics etc etc. It's way over the top for what we actually NEED to know. That £16.50 won't stick for long either, it will go up faster than the average UAV.

 

[Soledamcer]

+1. I've posted the relevant links here multiple times, in this thread and others, to encourage just that. I have seen a few others say they've commented, but definitely the more the merrier!

Its a fairly simple form that doesn't ask too many questions and you don't have to provide contact details or lots of detail if you don't want to, so there's not much excuse.

It's simple because it only talks about the price, with no mention of anything else the document implies.

 

[charliesRig]

It states "owners"
.
What if you borrow a aircraft are you still subject to the "Owner Tax"?
.
It's a shady tax because every UK
" Drone" owner
must be a tad bit shady to be
In this hobby.?
.
We have it too here in the USA
.
And it goes by another name FAA registration and yes it will go up.!

My next drone will probably be purchase by the dog
The dog only deals in cash.
.....and only
buys second hand .
and yes she is a bit shady

I won't own it but probably borrow it from time to time
.
.

 

[old man mavic]

It states "owners"
.
What if you borrow a aircraft are you still subject to the "Owner Tax"?
.
It's a shady tax because every UK
" Drone" owner
must be a tad bit shady to be
In this hobby.?
.
We have it too here in the USA
.
And it goes by another name FAA registration and yes it will go up.!

My next drone will probably be purchase by the dog
The dog only deals in cash.
.....and only
buys second hand .
and yes she is a bit shady

I won't own it but probably borrow it from time to time
.
.

a good idea @charliesRig it would be like a car, the registered keeper is not the same as the owner,but you would still need a licence to drive it as would the person flying the UAV

 

[charliesRig]

a good idea @charliesRig it would be like a car, the registered keeper is not the same as the owner,but you would still need a licence to drive it as would the person flying the UAV

.
That what your good omm you have solid advice.!

Me : I'm a half empty glass Guy

.Is it.?
Would you.?

Thats funny I watch a few cop/drama show on the TV and notice
they pull over a lot of people operating motor vehicles without a Licence or insurance
and the theme is
" If your ownest with the officer" No pentalties.!!

people that play by the rules Have to pay the pentalties.!
.
Having a moral compass is expensive......

.cR
.