Hi Lee,
Im not around Redhill but familiar with the airspace around the area having flown as a private pilot around the Heathrow and Gatwick zones and as an avionics engineer working out of Farnborough and surrounding airfields.
Firstly I would recommend downloading AirMap if you haven’t already done so, as this gives the full picture of the prohibited flying areas around Redhill and Gatwick airports with their new limits and runway stubs. No flying in any of these.
Class D airspace (the light blue shaded areas around Gatwick and Heathrow in the image below) is fair game to fly in as long as you follow the drone code, however I think in any of these areas around both Heathrow and Gatwick you are likely to encounter heavy handedness from the authorities and could be considered as unwise!!
Outside of these areas check the local policies for drone usage, places like national trust and many parks have no drone policies, although be aware that many say that flight is also prohibited ‘OVER’ their property which, as long as you are following the drone code with respect to distance from people and property, they have no jurisdiction over. Private property owners can of course stop you taking off or landing on their property but its the CAA that control the airspace once you are flying and adherence to the drone code ensures the legalities (as it stands) of what you are doing while in the air.
The best advice however is to go flying in areas where there aren’t many people. This limits the likelihood of negative attitudes and allows you to get fully used to your flying machine. If you want to fly in areas that are busier, make sure you know the local bylaws for where you intend to fly and that you are fully up to speed with the drone code, raise a flight plan if you like on AirMap so others know where you are and when, and just be sensible.
I would also recommend a full preflight check every flight, with particular attention to things like where you are launching from, compass errors, wind direction etc. To ensure that you can conduct the flight profile safely, an out of control drone around your area is not a good thing to have!!
Ive never had any negative attitudes towards my flying, usually far more intrigue, and a friendly chat and a joke confirming that it wasn’t me at Gatwick over Christmas normally suffices to get people onside.
I would recommend signing up for the BMFA too, they champion all forms of model flying including multi-rotor and provide worldwide 3rd party liability insurance included in their membership fee of £39 / year.
Go and enjoy!!!
