Advice on a flying location in the UK please

[Storyline]

I am uncertain about where it is not permitted to fly in the UK other than the obvious things like staying LoS, not close to people or over property and the 400' maximum altitude. So I would be grateful for hear what people think about the wisdom/legality of this idea please.

In my city we have the occasional visiting cruise liner, some of which are quite spectacular such as that huge one, the World and the Cunard Queen series. It is difficult to get any good photos of these in location as they berth within a secure area so an airborne solution would be great.

My outline plan would involve taking off from a public (City Council owned) car park which is quiet and with few pedestrians. Then climb up to say 50' and fly the short distance to the river which the car park adjoins. The ships berth about 200' downstream from here so I would fly at say 75' higher than the ship and about 100' away from it out over the river. Then fly sideways slowly along it's length then climb to say 200' and move further out over the river and get some shots of the ship with the city behind it. Finally fly back over the river and to the take off point and land. I should imagine the whole flight would be under 10 minutes but when I know what the ship is I can look up it's dimensions and then set up a Litchi mission which would give an accurate time and I might even use that for the main part of the flight. I would also like to climb quite high and fly directly over the ship and take some images looking vertically down but doubt that would be allowed.

I have got PL insurance and would have a written flight plan in my logbook.

So is it a workable plan ?

 

[Meta4]

I should imagine the whole flight would be under 10 minutes but when I know what the ship is I can look up it's dimensions and then set up a Litchi mission which would give an accurate time and I might even use that for the main part of the flight.

If it was me I'd stick to freehand flying rather than using Litchi.
I'd consider lighting and time of day to be able to shoot the lit side of the ship and avoid the shady side where possible.
And if you don't already know about it, install Marinetraffic on your phone and use that to show what ships are in port and coming and going.
Click on individual ships and it will show their speeds and even the actual wind strength they are recording - all great data for flying.

 

[AeroJ]

It would be easier to advise if we could see where you were trying to fly on google maps...

 

[Storyline]

If it was me I'd stick to freehand flying rather than using Litchi.
I'd consider lighting and time of day to be able to shoot the lit side of the ship and avoid the shady side where possible.
And if you don't already know about it, install Marinetraffic on your phone and use that to show what ships are in port and coming and going.
Click on individual ships and it will show their speeds and even the actual wind strength they are recording - all great data for flying.

Yes, thanks for your feedback. Three good points there

I agree about Litchi. I am still getting used to it and for me it has always been completely reliable once you have worked out it's sometimes unusual behaviours ! However I have been discussing with someone that it can play unexpected tricks and I will not be a position to fine tune the flight with trial and error - no errors allowed

I have thought about the light and I am lucky in that it will be with the sun more or less behind the aircraft and lighting up the ship. I hope the new Master Airscrew props I have coming from the states are as quiet as people say as then I can fly during the morning golden hour. I don't want to make a racket for the passengers on that side at 08:00 hrs ! Seriously though I find the Mavic quite quiet anyway and out over the river above the ship I doubt anyone will even know it is there.

I know about Marinetraffic thanks and I will check. I know the river well as I used to keep a boat in the marina there. That is now berthed in Scotland but if it was here I could get some great photos but would probably still want some aerial footage. Nevertheless thanks for the tip, I should be aware of any movements. Port Control put out a VHF broadcast 2 and 3 hours before high tide listing all the movements on the river so I will be sure to listen to that. With any luck the good light might coincide with low water when there will not be any shipping nearby. Many years ago it was all very relaxed and friendly on the river, still with highly professional and capable staff but these days Health & Safety have got involved and that atmosphere has largely disappeared off the marine VHF channel. You get the feeling people have to watch their back more. I know if I reported the flight just out of courtesy they probably would not know what to do but feel that they should do something. Then things could become ludicrous possibly. Such is progress

 

[4wd]

You are probably over-thinking it, a short flight over a river is pretty safe with few hard to see things you might overlook.
Try to do it at a quiet time like early or late.
I'd mainly be concerned about curious onlookers distracting you perhaps deliberately as you came back to land.

 

[choo choo]

In case you are wondering about taking off near a shore or river bank in the U.K. Her Majesty the Queen wishes to encourage the use of this new technology and has given permission for drones to be flown from any Crown estate land between low and high water mark.
I’m having difficulty downloading the original letter onto here, but if you go onto the Crown Estate property website, you can see a copy and download it in case anyone challenges you.

 

[zakb01]

In case you are wondering about taking off near a shore or river bank in the U.K. Her Majesty the Queen wishes to encourage the use of this new technology and has given permission for drones to be flown from any Crown estate land between low and high water mark.
I’m having difficulty downloading the original letter onto here, but if you go onto the Crown Estate property website, you can see a copy and download it in case anyone challenges you.

I think this is what you mean: Metal detecting and drone flying | The Crown Estate

@Storyline, regulations regarding your flight: Recreational drone flights | UK Civil Aviation Authority in particular article 95, 2(c) or in simpler terms, the “drone code” - you may not fly within 50 metres of any vessel, vehicle or structure which is not under the control of the pilot and within 150 metres of a built up area - so it’s very location dependent.

 

[choo choo]

I think this is what you mean: Metal detecting and drone flying | The Crown Estate

@Storyline, regulations regarding your flight: Recreational drone flights | UK Civil Aviation Authority in particular article 95, 2(c) or in simpler terms, the “drone code” - you may not fly within 50 metres of any vessel, vehicle or structure which is not under the control of the pilot and within 150 metres of a built up area - so it’s very location dependent.

That’s the one. Obviously the OP will adhere to to the drone code when flying.

 

[Storyline]

Useful new replies - thanks guys

I had forgotten how pro tech Her Maj is. I remember years ago in the early days of the net a new company launched called GetMapping and I think they used low level aerial photography rather than satellite imagery. Anyway, one of the early founder investors was the Queen which helped raise their profile.

I will keep over 50m from the ship, in fact to get the shots I want I will need to be much further away I guess. It is the 150m rule that concerns me as I might be within 150m of a structure, albeit small.

My feeling is that it depends on a) being seen by anyone in authority & b) if seen then how broad minded is that person. If I am unlucky enough to get a jobsworth and they want to be awkward then they will probably be able to find a way to make trouble.

Dammit, I am going to give it a go. Nothing ventured nothing gained and you can't go through life being fearful of things that might never happen. I think I have moral right on my side. I am not going to put anyone or anything in danger so that just leaves the issue of privacy and to address that, anyone could take a photo of one of these cruise ships at numerous places they berth and from a closer position than me.

There is another way and that is that all ports that can handle these big cruise ships are very keen for them to come as the passengers spend money locally. I could approach our local tourist office and try to do the whole thing 'officially' but that could start a whole health and safety/risk assessment and take forever. I am going to nod in that direction though by wearing my bike hi-vis gear