Hi from London, UK

[restj90]

Hello, I got myself a Mavic 2 Zoom a while ago and have used it mostly on holidays, as I find it harder and harder to actually fly legally in England.
I am registered in the UK with both an Operator ID and a flyer ID, as per the current legislation.

Recently, I've been seeing fewer and fewer spaces in England that one is able to fly in. I use both the Drone Assist NATS app and DroneBuddy, as I find them more accurate and with weather forecast as opposed to the map in the DjiGo4 app.
I am disappointed that I can't get out more, due to the stringent legislation.
Under the current legislation, the following are all NO-FLY zones:
- Cities - come under built-up areas so no
- Country Parks - most have bylaws now that specifically stipulate no drones + hard to find with no people in order to be <50m away
- English Heritage Sites - private land, so no + most specifically stipulate no drones
- National Trust - no, just checked recently
- Private land, which is most of the land in England, probably no because it's private land so can't physically get on it since it's well, private; if you park and launch close then still no, because you'll most definitely be somewhere considered illegal
- Beaches -> hard to find a spot where you can be <50m away from anyone, as everyone walks their dogs all the time even on crappy weather days, not to mention on good/sunny days, so no

The only places where one could fly:
- In the middle of the sea, as I do a bit of sailing
- One country park in London (can't remember the name now), which had no rules stipulating drones specifically, although the odd-passer by still gave me "the look" as I was doing smth illegal, even though I was keeping minimum 50m away

Am genuinely interested if anyone has a list of legally flyable zones that they would recommend <100 miles away from London.
I was looking at

Where to fly your drone in the UK

Wondering <a href="https://dronescene.co.uk">where to fly your drone in the UK</a>? Share and discuss great places to fly your drone and organise regional meetups.

greyarro.ws

and

Where To Fly Your Drone in the UK

Find great new places to fly your drone in the UK and share your favourite flying locations with other hobbyists.

dronescene.co.uk

Some of the data is inconclusive and honestly, I would rather prefer if the CAA would come out and instead of saying where we CAN't fly, just give and let ppl maintain a list of where we CAN.
Rant over, I am sure other members also feel this frustration.

 

[Thomas B]

Welcome to the forum from the deserts of Arizona! Enjoy.
Come to AZ. 80% of the land is national forest, state trust land (ok to fly), or BLM.

 

[dirkclod]

Thanks for the rant in intro’s.
Welcome to the forum.
I hope you will find our site helpful and look forward to any input , photo's/video's you might post .

 

[restj90]

Thanks for the rant in intro’s.
Welcome to the forum.
I hope you will find our site helpful and look forward to any input , photo's/video's you might post .

Welcome to the forum from the deserts of Arizona! Enjoy.
Come to AZ. 80% of the land is national forest, state trust land (ok to fly), or BLM.

Thanks for the warm welcome and apologies for the rant. I am quite passionate about my hobbies but seems govts all over the world are approaching many of them with a “ban everything” blanket and “figure it out for yourself” instead of teaching ppl to be responsible and enjoy their passions.

The USA and AZ state is defo on my list of to-visit with the drone once all this covid19 cr*p is over with!

 

[dirkclod]

Everyone as you will see here is very passionate about
our hobby/addiction. Believe me we understand. ?

 

[wjkrysak]

Welcome to the forum. Sorry about your flying space freedom. I am in Southeast US and check flight maps to find more and more restrictions. You will find plenty of empathy and support, and information from your local UK flyers on this forum. Wish you the best.

 

[old man mavic]

welcome to the forum

 

[Lastrexking]

Welcome to the forum. It is pretty restrictive here in the UK, but - it depends how you look at it. All of the organisations you've listed stop you taking off from their land. They have zero control over the airspace though. So, technically you could take off from a farmers field (they generally don't care), and as long as you stat within the proximity rules you can fly (within reason) in most places.

Also, from June you can get the A2CofC which will allow you to fly closer to buildings and people. So, as there will also be no distinction between recreational and commercial, you could even make some money if you felt like it.

 

[Dedal]

Welcome.

 

[restj90]

Welcome to the forum. It is pretty restrictive here in the UK, but - it depends how you look at it. All of the organisations you've listed stop you taking off from their land. They have zero control over the airspace though. So, technically you could take off from a farmers field (they generally don't care), and as long as you stat within the proximity rules you can fly (within reason) in most places.

Also, from June you can get the A2CofC which will allow you to fly closer to buildings and people. So, as there will also be no distinction between recreational and commercial, you could even make some money if you felt like it.

Indeed, although try to explain to Karen that now you now have a A2CofC, gone through CAA DMARES and the many many many other Acronyms, all so that you can fly "a distance of 30m/50m horizontally from uninvolved people. Or up to 5m in 'low-speed mode'. I bet you're gonna get a hammering either way. That relates to what I was saying, for the average person they will be as ignorant as ever to all the new rules and regulations because instead of making them simpler and well defined, they chose to go with 100 acronyms and certifications.

Good point about the control over airspace, that's pretty much in line with what I am thinking.

you could even make some money if you felt like it -> that's the ONLY positive I am seeing from all the announced changes. from a psychological / population awareness PoV, remains to be seen.

 

[Lastrexking]

Indeed, although try to explain to Karen that now you now have a A2CofC, gone through CAA DMARES and the many many many other Acronyms, all so that you can fly "a distance of 30m/50m horizontally from uninvolved people. Or up to 5m in 'low-speed mode'. I bet you're gonna get a hammering either way. That relates to what I was saying, for the average person they will be as ignorant as ever to all the new rules and regulations because instead of making them simpler and well defined, they chose to go with 100 acronyms and certifications.

Good point about the control over airspace, that's pretty much in line with what I am thinking.

you could even make some money if you felt like it -> that's the ONLY positive I am seeing from all the announced changes. from a psychological / population awareness PoV, remains to be seen.

The Karens can all do one. They're free to call the Police. I've got all the paperwork, and public liability insurance.

That said, in ten years of flying drones in the UK, I've never had anything negative happen.

 

[restj90]

The Karens can all do one. They're free to call the Police. I've got all the paperwork, and public liability insurance.
That said, in ten years of flying drones in the UK, I've never had anything negative happen.

public liability insurance

can you recommend a good provider? is this for personal or commercial?

That said, in ten years of flying drones in the UK, I've never had anything negative happen.

Am happy to hear that!
For me, it's more about the feeling/enjoyment of it, if I'm doing smth and people look at me like I'm doing some class A drug, then it somewhat takes the fun out of it

 

[Lastrexking]

can you recommend a good provider? is this for personal or commercial?



Am happy to hear that!
For me, it's more about the feeling/enjoyment of it, if I'm doing smth and people look at me like I'm doing some class A drug, then it somewhat takes the fun out of it

I'm a member of FPV UK - one of the benefits is the you get liability insurance included for recreational flying.

FPV UK The Drone Association with £5m Public Liability Insurance

Flying a drone? Become a member of FPV UK to get advice, support & £5 million public liability insurance covering the UK and Europe

www.fpvuk.org

 

[Herbie D]

Hello, I got myself a Mavic 2 Zoom a while ago and have used it mostly on holidays, as I find it harder and harder to actually fly legally in England.
I am registered in the UK with both an Operator ID and a flyer ID, as per the current legislation.

Recently, I've been seeing fewer and fewer spaces in England that one is able to fly in. I use both the Drone Assist NATS app and DroneBuddy, as I find them more accurate and with weather forecast as opposed to the map in the DjiGo4 app.
I am disappointed that I can't get out more, due to the stringent legislation.
Under the current legislation, the following are all NO-FLY zones:
- Cities - come under built-up areas so no
- Country Parks - most have bylaws now that specifically stipulate no drones + hard to find with no people in order to be <50m away
- English Heritage Sites - private land, so no + most specifically stipulate no drones
- National Trust - no, just checked recently
- Private land, which is most of the land in England, probably no because it's private land so can't physically get on it since it's well, private; if you park and launch close then still no, because you'll most definitely be somewhere considered illegal
- Beaches -> hard to find a spot where you can be <50m away from anyone, as everyone walks their dogs all the time even on crappy weather days, not to mention on good/sunny days, so no

The only places where one could fly:
- In the middle of the sea, as I do a bit of sailing
- One country park in London (can't remember the name now), which had no rules stipulating drones specifically, although the odd-passer by still gave me "the look" as I was doing smth illegal, even though I was keeping minimum 50m away

Am genuinely interested if anyone has a list of legally flyable zones that they would recommend <100 miles away from London.
I was looking at

Where to fly your drone in the UK

Wondering <a href="https://dronescene.co.uk">where to fly your drone in the UK</a>? Share and discuss great places to fly your drone and organise regional meetups.

greyarro.ws

and

Where To Fly Your Drone in the UK

Find great new places to fly your drone in the UK and share your favourite flying locations with other hobbyists.

dronescene.co.uk

Some of the data is inconclusive and honestly, I would rather prefer if the CAA would come out and instead of saying where we CAN't fly, just give and let ppl maintain a list of where we CAN.
Rant over, I am sure other members also feel this frustration.

Welcome from sunny, although locked down New Zealand.

 

[ShadowCat]

Hello, I got myself a Mavic 2 Zoom a while ago and have used it mostly on holidays, as I find it harder and harder to actually fly legally in England.
I am registered in the UK with both an Operator ID and a flyer ID, as per the current legislation.

Recently, I've been seeing fewer and fewer spaces in England that one is able to fly in. I use both the Drone Assist NATS app and DroneBuddy, as I find them more accurate and with weather forecast as opposed to the map in the DjiGo4 app.
I am disappointed that I can't get out more, due to the stringent legislation.
Under the current legislation, the following are all NO-FLY zones:
- Cities - come under built-up areas so no
- Country Parks - most have bylaws now that specifically stipulate no drones + hard to find with no people in order to be <50m away
- English Heritage Sites - private land, so no + most specifically stipulate no drones
- National Trust - no, just checked recently
- Private land, which is most of the land in England, probably no because it's private land so can't physically get on it since it's well, private; if you park and launch close then still no, because you'll most definitely be somewhere considered illegal
- Beaches -> hard to find a spot where you can be <50m away from anyone, as everyone walks their dogs all the time even on crappy weather days, not to mention on good/sunny days, so no

The only places where one could fly:
- In the middle of the sea, as I do a bit of sailing
- One country park in London (can't remember the name now), which had no rules stipulating drones specifically, although the odd-passer by still gave me "the look" as I was doing smth illegal, even though I was keeping minimum 50m away

Am genuinely interested if anyone has a list of legally flyable zones that they would recommend <100 miles away from London.
I was looking at

Where to fly your drone in the UK

Wondering <a href="https://dronescene.co.uk">where to fly your drone in the UK</a>? Share and discuss great places to fly your drone and organise regional meetups.

greyarro.ws

and

Where To Fly Your Drone in the UK

Find great new places to fly your drone in the UK and share your favourite flying locations with other hobbyists.

dronescene.co.uk

Some of the data is inconclusive and honestly, I would rather prefer if the CAA would come out and instead of saying where we CAN't fly, just give and let ppl maintain a list of where we CAN.
Rant over, I am sure other members also feel this frustration.

I have flown out of the old Croydon aerodrome site without problems as long as you are aware of your surroundings and of course the flight paths and zone restrictions you can fly best times early mornings or late evenings

 

[Aerial-Pixel]

Hello, I got myself a Mavic 2 Zoom a while ago and have used it mostly on holidays, as I find it harder and harder to actually fly legally in England.
I am registered in the UK with both an Operator ID and a flyer ID, as per the current legislation.

Recently, I've been seeing fewer and fewer spaces in England that one is able to fly in. I use both the Drone Assist NATS app and DroneBuddy, as I find them more accurate and with weather forecast as opposed to the map in the DjiGo4 app.
I am disappointed that I can't get out more, due to the stringent legislation.
Under the current legislation, the following are all NO-FLY zones:
- Cities - come under built-up areas so no
- Country Parks - most have bylaws now that specifically stipulate no drones + hard to find with no people in order to be <50m away
- English Heritage Sites - private land, so no + most specifically stipulate no drones
- National Trust - no, just checked recently
- Private land, which is most of the land in England, probably no because it's private land so can't physically get on it since it's well, private; if you park and launch close then still no, because you'll most definitely be somewhere considered illegal
- Beaches -> hard to find a spot where you can be <50m away from anyone, as everyone walks their dogs all the time even on crappy weather days, not to mention on good/sunny days, so no

The only places where one could fly:
- In the middle of the sea, as I do a bit of sailing
- One country park in London (can't remember the name now), which had no rules stipulating drones specifically, although the odd-passer by still gave me "the look" as I was doing smth illegal, even though I was keeping minimum 50m away

Am genuinely interested if anyone has a list of legally flyable zones that they would recommend <100 miles away from London.
I was looking at

Where to fly your drone in the UK

Wondering <a href="https://dronescene.co.uk">where to fly your drone in the UK</a>? Share and discuss great places to fly your drone and organise regional meetups.

greyarro.ws

and

Where To Fly Your Drone in the UK

Find great new places to fly your drone in the UK and share your favourite flying locations with other hobbyists.

dronescene.co.uk

Some of the data is inconclusive and honestly, I would rather prefer if the CAA would come out and instead of saying where we CAN't fly, just give and let ppl maintain a list of where we CAN.
Rant over, I am sure other members also feel this frustration.

Welcome to Mavic Pilots from Dayton Ohio USA! Enjoy your M2Z, Fly safe and have fun!

 

[2e0hxs]

it's a bit of a bummer for sure.

 

[mrjohnc1]

Welcome!

 

[eaglesurfing]

Welcome to the forum and enjoy.

 

[Steel63]

Greetings from Florida