A2 CofC and 2 Pro vs Mini 2 New Rules

[pogbellies]

Hi, after some of your thoughts here again.

I‘m a relatively experienced operator, having owned and flown a Phantom 3 Standard and currently a Mavic 2 Pro on a recreational basis. I have current operator and flyer IDs and insurance.

With the new UK rules coming into force after the 31st Dec I am giving serious thought to ditching (not literally!) the 2 Pro and getting a Mini 2. My logic is that it seems, having read the CAP722 that I can get much better use of the Mini in terms of where I can use it and proximity to people, than I can with the 2 Pro.

I know that the 2 Pro is far superior in every respect as a flying machine and photography/video platform but if we are massively restricted in where we can fly it, that is of little value.

Am I missing something here, would the A2 CofC give equivalence in terms of restriction, because from what I am reading, it doesn’t appear to give anything more than I can do presently under the existing rules. Additionally after two years, I would have to buy a new quad or face greater restrictions.

Appreciate your thoughts...

 

[old man mavic]

Hi, after some of your thoughts here again.

I‘m a relatively experienced operator, having owned and flown a Phantom 3 Standard and currently a Mavic 2 Pro on a recreational basis. I have current operator and flyer IDs and insurance.

With the new UK rules coming into force after the 31st Dec I am giving serious thought to ditching (not literally!) the 2 Pro and getting a Mini 2. My logic is that it seems, having read the CAP722 that I can get much better use of the Mini in terms of where I can use it and proximity to people, than I can with the 2 Pro.

I know that the 2 Pro is far superior in every respect as a flying machine and photography/video platform but if we are massively restricted in where we can fly it, that is of little value.

Am I missing something here, would the A2 CofC give equivalence in terms of restriction, because from what I am reading, it doesn’t appear to give anything more than I can do presently under the existing rules. Additionally after two years, I would have to buy a new quad or face greater restrictions.

Appreciate your thoughts...

i was faced with the same dillemer and decided to take my A2 CofC, simply because i would like to take advantage of the new C rated drones ,when it comes time to replace my aging fleet MPP 2 years old 600+ flights MM 1 year old 150+ flights and because the UAVhub training provider I used, had a good deal of a £110 reduction for the A2 CofC course ,i will be taking my exam tomorrow, there will be a two year transitional period for lagacy drones till the end of 2022,so my reasoning is that by then i will have got a good length of flight time on my drones, and can then move on to the latest offerings ,another good thing is the A2 CofC certificate lasts for 5 years ,and who knows what will be happening that far ahead

 

[pogbellies]

i was faced with the same dillemer and decided to take my A2 CofC, simply because i would like to take advantage of the new C rated drones ,when it comes time to replace my aging fleet MPP 2 years old 600+ flights MM 1 year old 150+ flights and because the UAVhub training provider I used, had a good deal of a £110 reduction for the A2 CofC course ,i will be taking my exam tomorrow, there will be a two year transitional period for lagacy drones till the end of 2022,so my reasoning is that by then i will have got a good length of flight time on my drones, and can then move on to the latest offerings ,another good thing is the A2 CofC certificate lasts for 5 years ,and who knows what will be happening that far ahead

So, in short, you also believe that the restrictions even under the A2 CofC are tighter than those applicable to the Mini and Mini 2? As you also have the Mini you are in a better place than I.

I guess in terms of the risk that makes sense but it also doesn’t make any allowance for the additional training.

I saw the UAVhub offer and it does seem to be a good deal, we’ll have to see what Christmas brings!

 

[old man mavic]

@pogbellies as far as the MM or M2 are concerned, then they are the least affected by the new rules ,but to take full advantage of the very close 5 m flying and the reduced 30 m distance then you will need the A2 CofC and the new C rated drones to be able to fly them, maybe the M2 will be enough for many people, its also the ability to fly over built up areas that makes having the certificate worthwhile and apart from anything else the added knowledge that the course brings can only be a good thing

 

[pogbellies]

After re-reading the new CAP722 it looks to me like it would be worth getting the Mini 2 anyway, as if I am reading it correctly I can fly it in congested areas, recreational areas and other places where I would not even be able to fly a C2 class with an A2 CofC. Am I reading this correctly?

 

[old man mavic]

the MM or Mini2 is going to be a good drone to own after 31st Dec 2020 simply because of its low weight but to get the advantage of the 5m rule it needs to be a c rated drone ,even the new M2 will always be a legacy drone, having the A2 C of C will not change that

 

[pogbellies]

Yes I get that but its not so much the desire to fly close to people that appeals so much as the ability to fly in built up areas and recreational areas that opens up a lot of interesting places. Unless I'm misunderstanding the rules as it seems to have much more opportunity than the M2P.

 

[pogbellies]

Looking at the rules again from 1789, I am struggling to understand how they will apply to the Mini 2. Its classed as a A1 C0 legacy (not a toy), which grants flight over uninvolved people (but not over crowds) and there is no restriction on horizontal proximity to residential, commercial, industrial or recreational areas, as shown for A3 category. Yet presumably the Drone Code still applies which states "Never fly closer than 150m to built up areas or overfly built up areas" ?

Will the new rules supersede the Drone Code or will it be the case that we must take the most restrictive regulation, does anyone know?

If the drone code still applies after Jan 1, other than flight near/over uninvolved persons and no need for qualifications, is there any advantage to the Mini 2?

 

[nathankw]

> If the drone code still applies after Jan 1... is there any advantage to the Mini 2?

As a new DJI Mini 2 owner who very much hopes to be able to fly in more places this is a crucial issue for me.
All the blogs and videos have implied that the new EASA regulation supercede the current drone code. But it would be good to see that officially stated.

If the drone code still applied and isn't amended then it makes a nonsense of the new system and would make much of the communication about it completely misleading - so hopefully that's not the case.

Has anyone seen anything that explicitly clarifies that the current drone code will no longer apply?

 

[colcol5411]

I agree completely..... it would be comforting get something official ...... I guess its a waiting game at the moment until its published and in our favour.
Is there anyone available to comment who is privie to any info. Surely the information can be revealed prior to 1st January 21 even though its not legally live so to speak until the 1st January.

 

[colcol5411]

Or will the uk just carry on with the current drone code ? ? .......I hope not.

 

[old man mavic]

when it becomes live then the rules will be amended to take into consideration the new set of guidelines ,these will be based on drone weight, and all the drones we currently fly will become legacy drones ,and will fly under the open category in either A1 or A2 depending on their weight,
after the two year transitional period then apart from the 250g drones, all our current drones will be only able to fly in the A3 category which will be even more restrictive ,the one big advantage of the new rules with the A2 C of C will be the fact that we will be able to fly over built up areas ,commercial areas, recreational areas, and uninvolved people ,as long as you are not closer than 50m ,so you will not have to inform your next door neighbor, if you want to fly from your garden as long as you go straight up 50m ,but even so i have no intention of flying from my property, i would rather go somewhere quiet and not upset people where i live,its only when the new classes of drone hit the market that the real benefit of having the A2 C of C will be realised ,and my next drone will have to conform to the new C class of drones

 

[colcol5411]

Thank you Oldmanmavic ......yes regarding the new uk rules that will in time, be updated i understand now. And I also agree that although legal, i will refrain from garden flying as I too believe it may upset nabouers ......especially if you not on the best of terms with them in the past for different reasons ? just nice to see the rules relaxed and to have the option/freedom of doing so.

 

[pogbellies]

when it becomes live then the rules will be amended to take into consideration the new set of guidelines ,these will be based on drone weight, and all the drones we currently fly will become legacy drones ,and will fly under the open category in either A1 or A2 depending on their weight,
after the two year transitional period then apart from the 250g drones, all our current drones will be only able to fly in the A3 category which will be even more restrictive ,the one big advantage of the new rules with the A2 C of C will be the fact that we will be able to fly over built up areas ,commercial areas, recreational areas, and uninvolved people ,as long as you are not closer than 50m ,so you will not have to inform your next door neighbor, if you want to fly from your garden as long as you go straight up 50m ,but even so i have no intention of flying from my property, i would rather go somewhere quiet and not upset people where i live,its only when the new classes of drone hit the market that the real benefit of having the A2 C of C will be realised ,and my next drone will have to conform to the new C class of drones

Thank you, that is what I had initially hoped but was not clear on. I too have placed a order for the Mini 2 but also hope to be doing my A2CofC in the new year.

I just hope that the rules aren’t amended again in the interim. There is also a glimmer of hope with the news that DJI may be able to retrospectively classify current models, albeit only through authorised agencies.

 

[old man mavic]

@pogbellies i would not hold your breath on that one,although it does seem wrong that the max flying speed of the bigger Mavics in tripod mode, is actually less than the proposed low speed that the new C rated drones will need ,the only thing missing is a switch on the RC to turn it on or off
of course it would be great if after obtaining the A2 C of C we could use tripod mode to be able to fly to the new rules fully

 

[pogbellies]

@pogbellies i would not hold your breath on that one,although it does seem wrong that the max flying speed of the bigger Mavics in tripod mode, is actually less than the proposed low speed that the new C rated drones will need ,the only thing missing is a switch on the RC to turn it on or off
of course it would be great if after obtaining the A2 C of C we could use tripod mode to be able to fly to the new rules fully

The switch on the side of the controller enables tripod mode, I think you may also need intelligent flight mode enabled in Go 4 but since I have this enabled anyway that is academic. At least this is the case on the 2 Pro, which as you rightly say easily meets the requirements of low speed mode, particularly with its plethora of obstacle sensors.

 

[old man mavic]

i can only get tripod mode on my MPP using the screen icons and selecting tripod mode

 

[nathankw]

More confusion. I've just come across this on UAVHub about the situation next year:
Drones that are under 250g flying weight can only be flown out to a maximum distance of 120m from the remote pilot but they can be flown over uninvolved people as long as it's not a crowd.
You also may not fly the drone any higher than 400ft (120m).

Why the A2 Certificate of Competency (A2 CofC) is the BEST qualification for recreational drone pilots

Many recreational drone flyers believe that the new regulations will 'ruin' the hobby for them, this is why I'm going to BUST THAT MYTH.

blog.uavhub.com

I've not come across the 120m distance limit anywhere else so I'm assuming (and hoping) that UAVhub are mistaken.
Has anyone else seen mention of this?

 

[pao1os]

More confusion. I've just come across this on UAVHub about the situation next year:
Drones that are under 250g flying weight can only be flown out to a maximum distance of 120m from the remote pilot but they can be flown over uninvolved people as long as it's not a crowd.
You also may not fly the drone any higher than 400ft (120m).

Why the A2 Certificate of Competency (A2 CofC) is the BEST qualification for recreational drone pilots

Many recreational drone flyers believe that the new regulations will 'ruin' the hobby for them, this is why I'm going to BUST THAT MYTH.

blog.uavhub.com

I've not come across the 120m distance limit anywhere else so I'm assuming (and hoping) that UAVhub are mistaken.
Has anyone else seen mention of this?

I just had another look through the latest CAP722 on the CAA's website and cannot find any reference to 120m except for height from the surface of the earth, they may of course have inside info as I know they are in contact with the CAA but based on the current publications, I would say its a misprint or mis-transcription... I hope so anyway!

 

[colcol5411]

I hope so too ?
120m is not a lot ..... no fun at all