Flying from back garden and now have Drone Police on my back

[FLDave]

Sounds like a “time if the month issue” to me.

Time of the month for the OP or the other party? This type of post surfaces periodically.

 

[Nee2458]

Sorry looking for some help here.

I took off from my back garden earlier tonight, and flew up straight to 400ft and flew directly to a graveyard, it’s a new housing scheme on the edge of town so not built up. As I was heading towards the graveyard I flew over the corner of someone’s house (more than 50m away from my house), while still maintaining 400ft, and they are now creating mayhem on the private housing scheme facebook page, stating I hovered above their house which is a blatant lie !

I even sent them my flight path which shows I didn’t hover, and I only covered a corner of their house, then they sent me the 150m rules etc but I feel like I haven‘t done anything wrong flying at that height, and at the moment shaking and raging.

I am flying a Mavic 3 Classic and a member of the UK FPV Club, and also have my A2CofC, and could mention flying under Article 16

Can anyone please help with this as I’m trying to find a document which helps my case, this was my first flight with the new drone to test.

Presumably being a member of FPV covers me, as per below

https://fpvuk.org/files/FPV-UK-Article-16-Operational-Authorisation-Infographic-v1.1.png

Hi , I personally would fly from a different location keeping my identity private , I fly anywhere keeping to the general rule of thumb and away from close proximity to anyone so not to make any issues , I move to where no one knows me problem solved

 

[Nee2458]

Hi , I personally would fly from a different location keeping my identity private , I fly anywhere keeping to the general rule of thumb and away from close proximity to anyone so not to make any issues , I move to where no one knows me problem solved

 

[Nee2458]

Never too heard of drone police

 

[1911tex]

Compare this to the Chinese "weather" balloons flying across our USA!

 

[lostit]

This isn't a post about privacy or trespass, he flew a 250g> in a built up area in the UK, he's in the wrong. Posting his evidence on Facebook would be self incriminating.

 

[Hamlet]

@leebroath There have been some incorrect statements and advice in the previous replies. I am in the same situation as you with an Air 2S, A2 CofC and FPV membership. I produced some draft pictures for FPV UK so am familiar with the Article 16 rules. In a nutshell, unfortunately you cannot fly a Mavic 3 from your back garden.

Note that you cannot mix and match A2CofC and Article 16 rules during a flight - you need to decide before you take off which rules you will be flying under. In your situation:

1. With A2CofC, under A2 Transitional (>500g and <2kg) you can fly in a built-up area but no closer than 50m horizontally from uninvolved persons. This rules out flying from your housing estate.
2. With FPV UK membership, under Article 16 you can take off 30m from uninvolved persons and then overfly them above 30m. This is great in the countryside with paths etc but as you will know from the FPV Handbook "The aircraft must not be flown......in a built-up area (an area substantially used for .....residential purposes)". There is an exception for primarily recreational areas in a built-up area, with a risk assessment - but that does not apply here.

So, irrespective of other height, overflight or privacy considerations, under CAA rules (including the Article 16 OA) you cannot take off from your back garden. I would suggest taking off from a spot on the road which is more than 30m from the houses under Article 16, or more than 50m under A2CofC. Out of respect I would not fly if anyone was visiting the graveyard even though you could overfly them under A16.

 

[leebroath]

@leebroath There have been some incorrect statements and advice in the previous replies. I am in the same situation as you with an Air 2S, A2 CofC and FPV membership. I produced some draft pictures for FPV UK so am familiar with the Article 16 rules. In a nutshell, unfortunately you cannot fly a Mavic 3 from your back garden.

Note that you cannot mix and match A2CofC and Article 16 rules during a flight - you need to decide before you take off which rules you will be flying under. In your situation:

1. With A2CofC, under A2 Transitional (>500g and <2kg) you can fly in a built-up area but no closer than 50m horizontally from uninvolved persons. This rules out flying from your housing estate.
2. With FPV UK membership, under Article 16 you can take off 30m from uninvolved persons and then overfly them above 30m. This is great in the countryside with paths etc but as you will know from the FPV Handbook "The aircraft must not be flown......in a built-up area (an area substantially used for .....residential purposes)". There is an exception for primarily recreational areas in a built-up area, with a risk assessment - but that does not apply here.

So, irrespective of other height, overflight or privacy considerations, under CAA rules (including the Article 16 OA) you cannot take off from your back garden. I would suggest taking off from a spot on the road which is more than 30m from the houses under Article 16, or more than 50m under A2CofC. Out of respect I would not fly if anyone was visiting the graveyard even though you could overfly them under A16.

Yep it’s been fully acknowledged that I was in the wrong

Thanks for the information

I was reading the information on the FPV page wrong, and will in future take off from a park, or clearing

 

[Xitor]

I decided not to post in the the Facebook site, as my other half is part of the Admin Team

The rules are to stop messages being posted if one person is being singled out, which was obviosuly me.

The messages were then between my other half and the 'Karen'

I'm not posting anything on the site anyway, as I'd probably hear from all the other Karens and it's just opening a can of worms. I'll just not be taking off from the back of my garden again, and it will all blow over.

Better than me, I would have at least posted something like, "For context this is the same person that complained about my daughter riding her bike by her house."

 

[IBL]

I feel really sorry for you, that this neighbour is making so much trouble about just flying over the corner of her property. I’m happy to have more “normal” neighbours here in The Netherlands. But, after the first time I launched my Mavic 3 from my back garden, I decided not to do that anymore. I was flabbergasted about the noise that thing makes. Even at 400ft it sounds like someone is using an orbital sander on a piece of wood in the sky. So, from then on, I only launch my Mini 3 PRO from my back garden. That thing you don’t hear anymore once it’s above 200ft. Just to prevent problems. I use the Mavic 3 only in rural areas or when I want better quality footage. The Mavic isn’t discrete at all.

 

[Rojan]

This is how much I flew over her house, from the flight path, also shows how far off to edge of scheme

View attachment 160132

Read the last but before you swear at me , but I think you broke all of the rules from that map! You overflew a residential zone (the housing estate, not just the corner house).
You overflew 2 roads.
You overflew a place where people are likely to gather ( graveyard)
You flew BVLOS.
You didn,t obey the 1:1 rule (horizontal distance should be equal to or greater than the vertical distance from an object or people).

Now, having said that the rules might be slightly different in the UK (I have my CAA reg. etc. but haven’t flown in the UK yet and will refresh myself on the rules before I do) but they were and mostly still are similar to the EU rules..
But…if the CE marking rules are accepted in the UK, a M3 Classic is in the unrestricted class, so some of these rules no longer apply although this changes slightly as it has a camera, but provided you avoided filming in a way that invades privacy, at 400 feet there’s not going to be a likelihood of recognising anyone! You definitely broke some rules though!

I’m lucky, I can fly at 120m from the house and not even encroach on another garden, let alone a house!

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

IMO, your best option is to apologise profusely,

Was thinking that is a good idea in this case, be the bigger 'man' than she has been in the past.

I don't think the Police or CAA is going to be prosecuting anyone over such a minor infraction, at least in a first case scenario.
At worst you might get a 'please explain' call, but the OP can probably explain and show the FPVUK diagram and its errors he now understands . . . should be all

 

[old man mavic]

You missed the Mini 1 and Mini 2 both have the same rules regarding the ability to fly over most of the UK

yes you are correct of course ,but my answer was more to do with the most accomplished drone available today ,in terms of camera ,and flight capabilities, and lets not forget the Mini se ,or even the recent Mini 3

 

[hiflyer201]

same here I live out in the country...and in sport mode I can still hear it ripping the air as it zips by overhead @ 400ft

The only time I can't hear it is when I've momentarily lost track of it and I'm starting to get a little..uh.. anxious.

 

[Drone Pilot192]

Sorry looking for some help here.

I took off from my back garden earlier tonight, and flew up straight to 400ft and flew directly to a graveyard, it’s a new housing scheme on the edge of town so not built up. As I was heading towards the graveyard I flew over the corner of someone’s house (more than 50m away from my house), while still maintaining 400ft, and they are now creating mayhem on the private housing scheme facebook page, stating I hovered above their house which is a blatant lie !

I even sent them my flight path which shows I didn’t hover, and I only covered a corner of their house, then they sent me the 150m rules etc but I feel like I haven‘t done anything wrong flying at that height, and at the moment shaking and raging.

I am flying a Mavic 3 Classic and a member of the UK FPV Club, and also have my A2CofC, and could mention flying under Article 16

Can anyone please help with this as I’m trying to find a document which helps my case, this was my first flight with the new drone to test.

Presumably being a member of FPV covers me, as per below

https://fpvuk.org/files/FPV-UK-Article-16-Operational-Authorisation-Infographic-v1.1.png

Fpv UK only allows you to fly in recreational areas so not over residential property. I've used article 16 for years now and I'm a a2 cofc qualified.

 

[dkl_uk]

I got about half way through the replies before I gave up reading through the speculation and borderline nonsense.

The rules with your A2 CofC, state:
Keep at least 50m away from residential, recreational, commercial and industrial sites. 50m is the minimum distance. Be prepared to increase the distance if you need to do that to fly safely.

Article 16 however completely bypasses this by allowing you to assume every uninvoled person has a 30m bubble around them, not a 50m cylinder like with the A2 CofC.

By flying at 120m/400ft over your estate, you adhered to the Article 16 exemption. Only the most perseverent person would argue that when you took off you were within 15m of an uninvolved person nearby, like a neighbour.

I am sure, as per the FPVUK rules, you undertook a simple risk assessment (and filled it in) on the day and were happy that flying over a residential area and a road was OK at that given moment...

In the future, just walk across the road and nobody can say anything to you.

 

[dkl_uk]

Fpv UK only allows you to fly in recreational areas so not over residential property. I've used article 16 for years now and I'm a a2 cofc qualified.

This is wrong.

Article 16 allows flight in a built-up area for recreational purposes as long as a simple risk assessment has taken place.

 

[leebroath]

This thread is very contradictory

One min I’m believing someone, then the next….

No wonder people get confused

 

[dkl_uk]

This thread is very contradictory

One min I’m believing someone, then the next….

No wonder people get confused

This is all you need to know:

Flying from back garden and now have Drone Police on my back

Sounds like a “time if the month issue” to me. Time of the month for the OP or the other party? This type of post surfaces periodically.

mavicpilots.com

 

[Hamlet]

This is wrong.

Article 16 allows flight in a built-up area for recreational purposes as long as a simple risk assessment has taken place.

Sorry that is not quite correct - I think you have confused the Article 16 wording. It is for recreational flights only and not in built-up areas. There is an exception for recreational areas within a built-up area eg a large enough park, with a risk assessment. That does not allow you to fly over a housing estate! As it happens I did discuss with the Chief Exec of FPV UK flying within the confines of a back garden staying more than 30m from the neighbouring houses (or 15m with a risk assessment).

I'm afraid you were also wrong about A2CofC. In A2 transitional under 2kg you can fly in built-up/residential areas with 50m separation from uninvolved people. This doesn't help the OP in this situation but is correct.