Sadly, yeah, that's been my experience of the CAA too. Maybe we'll get some clarity from DJI in the New Year, but my feeling is that given certification will presumbly cost money and it's highly likely that there will be a complete range refresh between the end of 2025 and 2028, existing models, including any shipped going forwards, are probably going to end up as legacy.
New UK drone regs
- Thread starter Split-Infinitive
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Geeksvana covers a lot of this in some recent YouTube releases. There’s also a thread on forum.dji.com with wording from the CAA that corroborates that. Basically, the CAA have seen sense and C labels are recognised. A 253g Mini 5 Pro is classed as sub 250g. BUT, you can’t add 3rd party accessories so a Mini 4/5 Pro cannot have a strobe fitted for filming at night as that takes the drone outside the certification. (The status lights turn off on C0 Mini 4/5 pro’s when recording and a green flashing light is required at night.)
Felix le Chat
Well-Known Member
Again: following precedent, DJI may give us the option to reclassify the mini 5 pro as C(or UK)1. With the C1 class drone regulations being relaxed so that they can be flown in sub-category A1... as suggested by the CAA.
But... I get the feeling that the A2CofC is going to end up the minimum mandatory requirement.
The ability to reclassify a mini 5 (and 4) pro as C1 would be good as C1 Mini 5/4 Pro continue to show green lights while recording.
It really is bonkers that the ability to show green lights while recording is taken away when a Mini 5/4 pro is classified C0. Needless complication!!
It really is bonkers that the ability to show green lights while recording is taken away when a Mini 5/4 pro is classified C0. Needless complication!!
Felix le Chat
Well-Known Member
No, that’s DJI’s doing! Something about the lights not being required under C0 but required under C1 so they turn the off a C0 drones lights during video recording so there isn’t any unwanted light from the rear facing lights showing. Totally forgetting that they’ve marketed the drone as being suitable for low light/night time operation and that a green flashing light is required at night.
Yeah, definite design SNAFU over the strobe light directional control/blocking there on DJI's part there.
From a safety perspective though, flying at night under C1 regs is better than C0 anyway, so I suppose that might also have played a part in the design decision. From DJI's perspective, they've given the user the best possible footage (no intemittant green colour cast) and specified a safer mode of operation at night, so all good. If the user then decides to fly a C0 regs mission without the strobe lights on and gets busted, that's entirely on them, rather than DJI.
The thing is that there is nothing different between a C0 Mini 5 and a C1 Mini 5 than a couple of line of code and a sticker.
Unless you video at night within a metres of a reflective surface you’ll never see the lights in a video. Also the lights stay on for stills so why not for video?
Unless you video at night within a metres of a reflective surface you’ll never see the lights in a video. Also the lights stay on for stills so why not for video?
Johnmcl7
Well-Known Member
I thought the C labels were only going to be temporarily recognised between 2026 and 2028 but after that they wouldn't be and only the UK classification would be recognised, has that changed?
That's my reading of the CAA's text, but there's some ambiguity there too as they don't explictly state this either - it's just implied by the "C labels will be recognised during the transition period" part, but there is nothing stating "C labels will not be recognised from 2028". My assumption is to err on the side of caution and expect that a drone with only a C-label, even if it shipped in 2028, would go straight into the relevant Legacy class though.
All of this is also dependant on manufacturers putting both C and UK markings on all drones before the end of 2028. If they don't, then it's going to get very confusing for drone-using tourists going between the UK and EU, even if they do take the time to check the local rules, and confusion is the last thing anyone needs with drone operations.
Look at post #30 in this thread on the DJI forum. The highlighted section is apparently from someone above the general email help level of the CAA as they realise that messages put out by them have been giving different advice dependant on the level of or lack of knowledge of the helpdesk responder.
Johnmcl7
Well-Known Member
That post confirms what the CAA already said that from the 1st January 2026, the European class marks would be followed in the UK but it doesn't mention anything about what happens in 2028. The CAA still states that the European class marks will only respected up until the end of 2027 after which point, only the UK classes will be used and drone with EU marks will become 'legacy' drones:
European C class marks
If your drone or model aircraft has a C class mark on it, the manufacturer has declared that it meets the European class standards.Until 31 December 2027, you can fly a C class aircraft as if it is the corresponding UK class. For example, you can fly a C1 class drone as if it is a UK1 class drone.
Class marks | UK Civil Aviation Authority
Overview of the UK class mark regulations for drones and model aircraft
Also the e-mail from the CAA sent just five hours ago also references drones non-UK marked drones from 2028 onwards becoming 'legacy' drones in respect to remote ID which also suggests the same for their restrictions.
It doesn't make any sense for them to produce their own UK class system if they're going to continue to honour the EU class system, they said specifically in their response in that while they acknowledged it's what users wanted instead the CAA wanted their own class system so they had the freedom to make the rules they wanted. They keep U-turning on the rules they want though so wouldn't surprise me if they change their mind again but I'd only accept something official on their website as proof.
Johnmcl7
Well-Known Member
I wouldn't be surprised if no manufacturers bother to follow the UK class system (I've seen it with other devices) because it's not worth their time. I'm just fed up of the CAA being able to make their minds up on anything for several years now and just leaves us in limbo. Potentially there's a significant difference in restrictions between a C1 Mavic 3 and a C2 Mavic 4 however if the CAA don't change their mind in a couple of years they both become legacy drones with the same restrictions.
Perhaps I'm being harsh but I just don't think many non-commercial users bother to check the rules out now and certainly not as it's becoming increasingly complex to work out what on earth the rules are for this moment in time. Even here, we can't agree on what the rules are.
If I'm understanding the options correctly, if I want to stick with the Mavic 2 Pro and take the A2 to get lower restrictions that would only apply to January 2028 at which point it reverts to A3 regardless....as long as the CAA don't change their mind again as they've done previously with this decision. Although the drone would need Remote ID by that point so may not viable anyway.
I could buy a Mavic 3 original or classic which could fly with the lowest restrictions until 2028 at which point it would revert to A3 again assuming there's no more U-turns or get a Mavic 4 Pro and have the better drone that would be no worse off in 2028 if they don't change their mind.
This is one of many times I really dislike Brexit.
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Felix le Chat
Well-Known Member
The current UK situation seems pretty straightforward to my reading.
Jan '26: anything new sold subsequent to that date in the UK has to be marked UK specific.
Anything else (older larger drones... anything without an EU class mark) is a legacy drone and has to be flown according to open category: sub-category A3 rules.
During the new 'transition' period ('26 to '28) weight class equivalent to C1 drones (900 grams and below... +/-4grms) can be flown under the same regulations as C0 drones.
During the same transition period: unmarked C0 and C1 equivalent legacy drones can still be flown O/C: sub. cat A1.
Seeing as the CAA is still following the lead set by EASA (green night light is a big clue) I'd say that there isn't likely to be any other major deviations from Brussels diktats.
Johnmcl7
Well-Known Member
I don't see that as straightforward and that doesn't look correct either, where have they said that unmarked C1 equivalent drones can fly in A1? The CAA site states the drones must have the C1 classification:
European C class marks
If your drone or model aircraft has a C class mark on it, the manufacturer has declared that it meets the European class standards.Until 31 December 2027, you can fly a C class aircraft as if it is the corresponding UK class. For example, you can fly a C1 class drone as if it is a UK1 class drone.
Class marks | UK Civil Aviation Authority
Overview of the UK class mark regulations for drones and model aircraft
There is no reference to equivalence to C1 regulations as being valid and the only equivalence I can find in the original CAA response was between EU marked and UK marked drones, not unmarked drones.
And I'm still struggling to understand where A2 fits into this because it's oddly missing on the CAA page:
Where you can fly | UK Civil Aviation Authority
Introduction to the Open Category rules and requirements
As I understand it, A1 has few restrictions (aside from flying over people), A2 you had to maintain 50m to people/buildings and A3 is 150m. This page shows the new rules for A3 which reduce the distance to 50m for people and residential buildings while maintaining the original 150m distance for industrial/commercial buildings which makes it similar to the old A2 rules apart from the industrial/commercial buildings. The page states that A2 allows you to fly near people but doesn't specify what that distance is nor mentions any reduction in the distance from buildings.
In terms of the CAA following the EU, they explicitly mentioned several times the whole point of the UK classification system is to be able to diverge from the EU rules, you don't need any clues when it's in black and white. It doesn't matter if the rules are exactly the same as the EU because the UK drones will still need the UK classification system, it's just it will end up being even more pointless. It was a legal requirement for bikes in the UK cycling at night to have lights that met a a certain British Standard except it reached the point where no lights on sale met this standard because companies didn't bother certifying their lights for the small UK market. So they had to change the rules adding they could meet the British Standard or an equivalent EU standard which I believe is still the case even after Brexit.
I can see exactly the same happening here and if companies don't take up the UK class system then the CAA will have to change their mind on this...again. I didn't take the A2 CofC previously because they said my drone would be stuck in A3 rules anyway as a legacy drone, I've lost track of the U-turns they've made over this already.
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The overwhelming sense I'm getting here is that the CAA is making it up as they go along and, every time some issue/situation that hadn't occurred to them comes up, change direction (again) to try and fix it. As things stand, I think we have a reasonably good idea for the next two years, but only guesswork about what happens around some rather key points once we actually get to 2028 that impact buying decisions being made right now. e.g., the post linked above to the DJI forum, directly quoting a CAA representative, only covers the transition period and does not state anything specific about what happens from 2028.
Maybe that's because they are working on the hope that vendors will start adding UK-class markings, and are leaving the door open to a further extension if they don't bother or approvals get caught up in red tape? If so, then that shows a lack of any kind of regulatory endgame *from* 2028 that they are working towards, or have confidence in achieving, - just they they have put in place something that will exist *until* they get there. What comes after 2028 is still open to wide interpretation and guesswork, which is clearly a problem for people looking to buy new drones between now and 2028.
There's another problem that still needs to be better clarified too (further rule/guidance changes incoming!): what happens if a tourist carrying drone without a UK-class mark but with an EU-class mark arrives in the UK in 2029 and wishes to fly it? There are three seperate issues here:
1. What the rules *say* (which, it not clearly worded, equates to "might imply").
2. What the rules actually *mean* (YMMV on whether the CAA will ensure #1 and #2 are equivilent).
3. What the pilot *believes* they mean (which also potentially includes crossing a language barrier).
Legally, the position might well be that the C-mark is no longer recognized (which is how I interpret things as currently written), and in that situation you must fly in A3/legacy. Or maybe it won't be, and C-marks will continue to be recognised until the relevant specs diverge, assuming they ever do. The pilot, however, is going to find a lot of stale information online and could well believe that they can legally fly in A2, or even in A1. They'll probably get away with it if they do, but that's hardly the point - there's ambiguity there and the CAA can completely clear it all up with a single line definitively stating what the position will be post-2028 for drones that lack the UK-mark.
So, with the post-Xmas sales imminent, which will no doubt include a few good deals on drones, will the CAA give us a late present and make that all clear in time, or not? My credit card wants to know!
Maybe that's because they are working on the hope that vendors will start adding UK-class markings, and are leaving the door open to a further extension if they don't bother or approvals get caught up in red tape? If so, then that shows a lack of any kind of regulatory endgame *from* 2028 that they are working towards, or have confidence in achieving, - just they they have put in place something that will exist *until* they get there. What comes after 2028 is still open to wide interpretation and guesswork, which is clearly a problem for people looking to buy new drones between now and 2028.
There's another problem that still needs to be better clarified too (further rule/guidance changes incoming!): what happens if a tourist carrying drone without a UK-class mark but with an EU-class mark arrives in the UK in 2029 and wishes to fly it? There are three seperate issues here:
1. What the rules *say* (which, it not clearly worded, equates to "might imply").
2. What the rules actually *mean* (YMMV on whether the CAA will ensure #1 and #2 are equivilent).
3. What the pilot *believes* they mean (which also potentially includes crossing a language barrier).
Legally, the position might well be that the C-mark is no longer recognized (which is how I interpret things as currently written), and in that situation you must fly in A3/legacy. Or maybe it won't be, and C-marks will continue to be recognised until the relevant specs diverge, assuming they ever do. The pilot, however, is going to find a lot of stale information online and could well believe that they can legally fly in A2, or even in A1. They'll probably get away with it if they do, but that's hardly the point - there's ambiguity there and the CAA can completely clear it all up with a single line definitively stating what the position will be post-2028 for drones that lack the UK-mark.
So, with the post-Xmas sales imminent, which will no doubt include a few good deals on drones, will the CAA give us a late present and make that all clear in time, or not? My credit card wants to know!
Felix le Chat
Well-Known Member
We'll have to wait until after Jan 2nd to find out. I've fired an email off to someone I've had previous dealings with at the CAA, asking five key questions and requesting a straightforward response. If I get a coherent answer: I'll cut and paste it here.
Johnmcl7
Well-Known Member
I think you're hitting the nail on the head there and that really summarises my frustration with them, this has been going on for years now and why I don't have any confidence they'll stick with the rules they're proposing now.
I still can't figure out what the new A2 rules are (they don't seem to be specified on the current CAA pages or the proposal) but also I'm aware my Mavic 2 is aging and looking at other posts, may end up crashing with a battery failure. In which case, I'm not even sure what I'd replace it with because that's dependent on what rules the CAA stick with.
Exactly the same boat here. I'm shooting an increasing amount of video, but I'm still mostly a stills guy and use the drone more as a kind of "specialist lens" like my Tilt/Shift, fisheye, and others alongside my Canon 1- and 5- series bodies. My M2P works fine, but is aging which must be making it more prone to an in-flight failure, and there are definitely photographic features and operational/safety improvements I find appealing.
Mostly, I'm in A3 anyway, although could definitely use A2, or even A1 on very rare occassions, but the functional benefits of an M4P outweigh the ability to fly in A1 with an Air3S for me. If I knew it wouldn't be an issue in 2028, I'd buy an M4P flymore immediately so I can get used to it ahead of a trip in early March, but it seems the CAA has other ideas (or lacks them entirely). At this rate, I expect the Air4 will get released with a UK mark in 2026 and I'll either end up going with that out of sheer frustration or keep crossing my fingers and cursing the CAA every time I loft the M2P until the M5 ships.
All assuming they don't change things around yet again, of course.
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