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Regs changes in the UK - Nov update

The rules will be the same whether you're making money from your flying or not. It's a reasonable approach to take because doing the same flight for commercial reasons rather than recreational doesn't change the risk profile of that flight.
 
OK...another angle I wish to explore. Making money. If assuming I will be flying with a kind of amnesty in the open category over 250gms until 2023 as it is presently proposed...Will I then be able to operate 'commercially' i.e set up a money for service business. Unless I have missed something in the million pages I cant seem to get a clear indication on that.
Take a look here under the “How to apply” section:

 
after the31st of December 2020, then the difference between commercial and hobby flying will be removed ,for aircraft under a certain weight ,so you will be able to make money with your drone without having to do a training course ,as long as you follow the separation distances for your particular drone, and there are no airspace restrictions, and the flight can be made safely within the open category rules, if it cant then you will need to fly them in the specific category rules and it lists the requirements that have to be met for each of the categories and the certificates you will need to be able to fly in each category
 
@nathankw did you also notice, that the online test has also gone from 20 questions, and is now 40 questions, with a 30 question pass mark
 
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@nathankw did you also notice, that the online test has also gone from 20 questions, and is now 40 questions, with a 30 question pass mark
Yes spotted that. Glad I completed mine a couple of weeks ago.
Mind you I might have a go at the new one, just to make sure I'm up to date with the new rules.

So does this mean that effectively the new rules are active now?
I mean if someone were questioned about flying their mini in a town centre they could just point to the CAA website and say "look - under 250g I can fly over people and in built up areas".

I can't see anywhere on the site where it says these rules don't apply until Dec 31st.
 
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36. Flying with follow-me mode active​

Some drones or model aircraft have a follow-me mode that means you can set your aircraft to follow you within a fixed distance.

You do not have to keep your drone or model aircraft in direct sight when follow-me mode is active and set to follow within 50m of you. You must still follow all of the other points.

Is one i hadn't seen previously. No VLOS in tracking mode within 50m. Its a while since i looked at the site but i dont recall that being present.
 
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CAP and implementing regulations all state Jan 1st.
Remember the Drone Code website isnt the actual regulation - its a simplified explanation of them not the actual legal text.
Yes true. Best to be patient!

But on what day do the regs actually come in? All the things I've seen specify Dec 31st.
Which admittedly seems an odd day for the new rules to come in.

But according the the EASA timeline:
Drone user can start operating in limited ‘Open’ category. Between 31 December 2020 till 1 January 2023

So, can we fly under new regs on New Years Eve?
 
the new rules will come into force from midnight on the 31st December 2020
 
Is one i hadn't seen previously. No VLOS in tracking mode within 50m. Its a while since i looked at the site but i dont recall that being present.
thats to allow you to have the drone follow you without you having to actually watch it all the time
 
i just said which midnight 31st Dec is new years eve ,and at 1 minute past midnight then it will be new years day and thats when the new rules will be in force
 
thats to allow you to have the drone follow you without you having to actually watch it all the time
Im aware of that - i meant i didnt see that specific paragraph and exception to the rules published before (although admittedly i last looked at it when the test first went live)
 
i just said which midnight 31st Dec is new years eve ,and at 1 minute past midnight then it will be new years day and thats when the new rules will be in force

You said "midnight on 31st Dec" but of course there's midnight when the 30th becomes the 31st and midnight when 31st becomes the 1st. So midnight on a particular date is inherently ambiguous.

12:01 on the 1st Jan 2021 would be entirely unambiguous and a logical time to start.

But all the references I can find simply say the new rules start on 31st Dec.
To my mind, that should mean they come in at 12:01 on the early morning of the 31st Dec itself.

I know it's only a day but would be good to clarify. Is there an official source which says anything clearer than just "31st Dec"?
 
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Just had a go at the new 40 questions test to see what it's like, and managed 38/40 without referring to any material. All the questions have been updated to align with the new regs. I found it required a bit more thought than the previous version of the test (20Qs) as there is a fair bit more to be covered (drone classifications, flight categories etc). I did find the previous version of the test very basic though. A good read thru the new "easy to read" version of the new rules (see post #65) will give you all the answers.
 
Looks like they're updating the dronesafe.uk website as well, down with a database error.
 
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