Curious if I can fly in this area (UK)

[RotatingBirds]

I'm currently thinking of buying a drone, maybe a Mavic 2 Pro, not sure yet.

However, thought I'd best check if I can fly where I live and am now unsure.

I don't want to reveal my exact location (privacy reasons and as mentioned I'm in the UK) but from looking at this map:

No Fly Drones

No Fly Drones Your free unmanned aircraft flight planning tool for UK Drone Operators

www.noflydrones.co.uk

I'm inside an area denoted as a 'Danger Area and HIRTA' - nearest edge of this area is about half a mile from me.

this of course denotes possible interference with my drone and equipment. However, is that also a no fly area for a drone (no higher than 400 feet of course) assuming I don't suffer from any interference?

I also looked at the same area on SkyDemon - it's denoted as a 'Danger Area'
VERTICAL Surface to 12000 ft
Active: weekdays

Also, about a couple of miles from me is an encircled area denoted as a Prohibited Area and Flight Restriction Zone

SkyDemon denotes this as an ATZ for the area
VERTICAL Surface to 2015 ft

So I'm wondering if I am allowed to fly a drone (weekdays as well as weekends) in the 'Danger Area' / HIRTA.

I know that the RAF do training in the area (not down to 400 feet of course!) and I sometimes see a jet fly nearby, even hear them in the far distance at times. I have a bad feeling that my drone plans are about to go out of the window ........ but I always adhere to the law so wanted to check here first.

Thanks

 

[DavidJL39]

An Hirta not strictly a no-fly zone and sofar as I know there’s no protocol for seeking consent to fly in such an area. The risk / danger is as you say that there could be some problem in maintaining the transmission link between controller and drone so the wiser course is to operate outside the zone. It might not be wise to assume there is not going to be any effect on your control system. That said I have conducted a low level search mission on the outskirts of such an area,


Military flying can sometimes be as low as 250 feet so it’s unwise to assume they dont come down to 400 ft.

Prohibited means what it says, it’s highly likely that your Mavic will itself not allow you to fly there.

Flight Restriction Zones offer the possibility of flying provided you obtain consent.

 

[RotatingBirds]

Thanks for the reply. So it sounds like it should be 'okay' to fly in the 'Danger Area' / HIRTA (with the slight chance of interference). I guess during weekdays I could limit the altitude to 200 ft just to be 100% in case a jet screams overhead at 400 ft or less (which, as mentioned, I've never seen in my many years of living here).

I'm not planning to fly high or far anyway, have to maintain line of site of course as per the rules.

I don't live in the Prohibited area so won't be flying there anyway (and even if I did live there I certainly wouldn't fly a drone there).

BTW, initially forgot to say that I'm in the UK in case it's relevant.

Also, is there a chance that the DJI firmware or software will have any inbuilt restrictions for my location bearing in mind what I mentioned in my first post?

 

[DavidJL39]

Thanks for the reply. So it sounds like it should be 'okay' to fly in the 'Danger Area' / HIRTA (with the slight chance of interference). I guess during weekdays I could limit the altitude to 200 ft just to be 100% in case a jet screams overhead at 400 ft or less (which, as mentioned, I've never seen in my many years of living here).

I'm not planning to fly high or far anyway, have to maintain line of site of course as per the rules.

I don't live in the Prohibited area so won't be flying there anyway (and even if I did live there I certainly wouldn't fly a drone there).

BTW, initially forgot to say that I'm in the UK in case it's relevant.

Also, is there a chance that the DJI firmware or software will have any inbuilt restrictions for my location bearing in mind what I mentioned in my first post?

Yes there is a high chance that the DJI operating system will have the Prohbited Area geofenced.

The system might also require you to provide authorisation to “unlock“ entry into a flight restrictions zone although this seems to depend on which airfield you are near. There are two (civilian) airfields fairly close to me which don’t seem to be picked up by the DJI system!

 

[RotatingBirds]

Thanks. I've no intention of flying in the prohibited area.

Is it possible that the 'Danger Area' / HIRTA would also be geofenced? Because if not then flying on my own property would hopefully be okay (with the very slight chance of interference).

 

[Skyfli]

This no fly zone site is just made by some geeza! Anyone can add whatever they like.
I’m calling BS on it.

There are loads of similar thing on the www. Like surf guides that are made by surf newbies

 

[Dronernator]

Thanks. I've no intention of flying in the prohibited area.

Is it possible that the 'Danger Area' / HIRTA would also be geofenced? Because if not then flying on my own property would hopefully be okay (with the very slight chance of interference).

Google DJI fly safe Geo zone map. I believe that's a map view of their flysafe database which would stop you flying.

You also need to check Drone Assist and Altitude Guardian which show a lot more detail and other areas you really shouldn't be flying near.

 

[RotatingBirds]

Thanks ToBas, will investigate your recommendations.

Edit: checked DJI fly safe Geo zone map - no restrictions in my area for at least 30 miles in any direction ...... this surprises me given what I highlighted in my original post.

Edit2: Drone Assist says that I'm in a 'Danger Area'..

So that's just doubly confusing.

 

[WeeJubya]

I'm currently thinking of buying a drone, maybe a Mavic 2 Pro, not sure yet.

However, thought I'd best check if I can fly where I live and am now unsure.

I don't want to reveal my exact location (privacy reasons and as mentioned I'm in the UK) but from looking at this map:

No Fly Drones

No Fly Drones Your free unmanned aircraft flight planning tool for UK Drone Operators

www.noflydrones.co.uk

I'm inside an area denoted as a 'Danger Area and HIRTA' - nearest edge of this area is about half a mile from me.

this of course denotes possible interference with my drone and equipment. However, is that also a no fly area for a drone (no higher than 400 feet of course) assuming I don't suffer from any interference?

I also looked at the same area on SkyDemon - it's denoted as a 'Danger Area'
VERTICAL Surface to 12000 ft
Active: weekdays

Also, about a couple of miles from me is an encircled area denoted as a Prohibited Area and Flight Restriction Zone

SkyDemon denotes this as an ATZ for the area
VERTICAL Surface to 2015 ft

So I'm wondering if I am allowed to fly a drone (weekdays as well as weekends) in the 'Danger Area' / HIRTA.

I know that the RAF do training in the area (not down to 400 feet of course!) and I sometimes see a jet fly nearby, even hear them in the far distance at times. I have a bad feeling that my drone plans are about to go out of the window ........ but I always adhere to the law so wanted to check here first.

Thanks

The above screenshot is from my local area in DroneAssist.
Red Zones are define NFZ (you can see the main one around Gloucestershire Airport, with 5km + 1km further for each runway)
Yellow Zones are “be careful when you’re flying”
Blue Zones are “this will soon become a temporary NFZ”
All other areas are “you can fly here, if you keep to the drone code”

Added to this are extra NFZs that appear within the DJI app itself, such as around Gloucester Rugby Stadium. The drone will not fly into those areas!

So, You’ll probably have places to fly near you, but you’ll also have places you can’t!

HTH
GW

 

[Dronernator]

Thanks ToBas, will investigate your recommendations.

Edit: checked DJI fly safe Geo zone map - no restrictions in my area for at least 30 miles in any direction ...... this surprises me given what I highlighted in my original post.

Edit2: Drone Assist says that I'm in a 'Danger Area'..

So that's just doubly confusing.

DJI have very tight boundaries around the perimeter of no-fly areas and would let you fly in areas you shouldn't really. Drone Assist & Altitude are the ones I use, they also show things like towers, power sub-stations, etc

Here's a good example of DJI & Altitudes differences. Same location with 2 nuclear power stations being the reason you shouldn't fly. DJI lets you fly to the edge of their property but I'd take the advice of Altitude and stay well clear!

 

[gnirtS]

Pay NO attention to the "noflydrone" site. Its NOT official and absolutely anyone can just email them and get their garden/house/swimming pool/outdoor toilet listed as a no-fly zone.
Use the official NATs source which is DroneAssist (via Altitude Angel data). Definitely do not rely on DJIs inbuilt geomap as its horrifically inaccurate.

The noflydrone site can safely be ignored. Its dishonest in claiming there are no-fly zones.

Just make sure you have the correct filters applied on DroneAssist or you'll mistakingly think there are more nofly areas than there actually are.

 

[RotatingBirds]

Thanks, Drone Assist says that I'm in a 'Danger Area'.

 

[gnirtS]

Thanks, Drone Assist says that I'm in a 'Danger Area'.

That doesnt specifically mean no flying.
Danger areas arent always active and arent always flight restricted.

 

[RotatingBirds]

Unfortunately that's pretty much all it says. How can I find out if I can fly a drone in the 'Danger Area'?

Also, as mentioned in my first post, do bear in mind that the RAF do training in the area (not down to 400 feet of course!) and I sometimes see a jet fly fly 'overhead' (in reality they're miles away, horizontally speaking), I even hear them in the far distance at times. I forgot to mention that there's also a weapons testing range some miles away.

 

[gnirtS]

IT depends on which danger area - NATs and MoD sites have details of which danger areas are hot and the times for a particular week for example.
Failing that there is a phone number for most ranges where you can ask the status.

(Example a lot of them are cold on weekends as the military generally only work mon-fri).

 

[RotatingBirds]

Thanks, I'll see if I can make some enquiries.

 

[Greekislandlover]

I would say there may be spots that have been geofenced to stop drones entering. I've had a warning that I'm approaching one in Dorset before. I've also had it where my route back to the take off point went past the harbour masters office in Sardinia and the drone re-routed itself round it as it was a small area.

 

[SMLP]

I hated all the inconsistencies with the different maps when I got my Mavic Mini it was stressing me out trying to make sure I was compliant.

First I checked the Drone Assist App:



At this point I was thinking "Just return the Drone and get your money back"

Then the UAV Forcast App:



Not as bad but clearly missing the airport south of Chester.

The DJI Fly app:



This made much more sense (and included the Airport in Chester)

Ultimately it is the fly app that controls where you can fly so if that allows you to fly or not. I email Liverpool Airport to ask for guidance for the main area I was going to fly in and got a private response from one of the staff that said what basically matched what the DJI Fly app says. The only other thing is that the massive red area show in the Drone Assist app is due to Helicopter travel around the region (not including a few other things like Schools, Government Offices etc). All of this backed by the Drone code. They said this before I informed them that my drone was 249g.

What I do now is Declare the flight on Drone Assist, Check Flightradar24 for any scheduled active helicopters flights, and keep a close eye on my bird so that is I get hit by interference I know what's going on.

I have also added the full KML data set showing everything into Google Earth so that when I plan to go somewhere I can check terrain and no-fly info ahead of time to be sure.



DATASET HERE: NATS-UK.ead-it.com

Now sure if any of that even helps; it was more me just ranting about all the crazy differnces in the map data..... but there it is all the same.

My advice, spend the money, get the Drone and find a place, it will be all good and fun (Well until November when the CAA send out the no-fun police for people)

 

[gnirtS]

There is only one accurate map so makes it nice and easy. Thats Drone Assist (or Altitude Angel online, same company).
Thats the official NATs app and only accurate map.
None of the others are useful and often US biased missing a lot of things. DJI Geo itself is an emergency last resort to stop you doing something really stupid. It misses most restriction zones and a lot of airports. It also misses from what i can see all UK NOTAMs and temporary restrictions (the majority anyway).

Be aware of FR24 as well, most low level traffic including helicopters wont show up on there because most arent equipped with or using ADSB.

You just need to know what DroneAssist is telling you. The big area is the Liverpool CTR. Its *not* a flight restriction zone. So you can fly there. It means controlled airspace is there. Thats not a problem for a drone user.
If it doesnt say "Restricted Area" or "Flight Restriction Zone" you're ok.

 

[Greekislandlover]

My advice, spend the money, get the Drone and find a place, it will be all good and fun (Well until November when the CAA send out the no-fun police for people)

I'm not sure about the No Fun people. I was in Canada last September, got the qualification to fly, put on the stickers and obeyed the rules. I was expecting the drone police to be behind every tree, but the reaction I got was exactly the same as here. Nobody minded, and a lot of people asked questions because they were interested.

I know the rules are changing, but they won't make much difference as to how and where I fly. I doubt if the CAA will be stationing people everywhere. I think the only thing that will stop flying is the drone's capability to be geofenced. Just read the drone code (current at the time) be registered and behave!