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Regulation changes 2022

keat63

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Guys

A few years ago I was a member of a model aero club, flying fixed wings. Not really having enough time to dedicate to the sport, and having no where to fly other than my local air field, i eventually gave it up.
However, for a number of years ive been threatening to purchase a drone.
I have a very cheap toy drone (200g ish), and i'm seriously considering to purchase a mavic pro.

I've a few questions around the new regs.

I've undertaken the CAA theory and can obtain an operator and fliyer ID, but i'm more concerned with the new open categories.

I think I'd be happy with A3 and not having to undergo any formal qualification, as i don't think i'd want to fly it anywhere congested.
Maybe once or twice over my house I guess (shhh)

Anyhow, I've a question surrounding the A2 category.

On one of the UK police web sites, I've been reading and trying to digest the rules.

It states:

drones 500g - 2kg can be flown in open A3 --great, but goes on to say that they can also be flown in A1 and A2 until December 2022.

What's happening in December 2022, what If I spend all this money on a Mavic Pro, undergo the A2 then find myself stuck in 2022.

Any thoughts ?
 
@keat63 after December 2022 the mavics will all be classed as legacy drones and the 150M rules will apply regardless of what qualifications you have ,the ability to fly it the A2 will end,its only the Mini drones that will still be able to fly as they do now ,but as an aside you will need the A2 C of C to enable you to fly the new C rated drones when they become available
 
That's what I was sort of edging towards if i'm being honest.
I'd suggest that A2 is probably not appropriate for me, based on the fact that I won't be able to use it in 18 months time, unless I update to a newer classification of craft.
I suppose it would be nice to fly over my neighbourhood to get an aerial view, but how many times does anyone do that. ?

On a similar note.

I understand why these regulations have come about, although i'm not entirely sure that I fully agree with them.

Of course there has to be some rules, especially when it comes to safety, but I'm not convinced that the regulations are going to solve the idiot problem.

Anyone can buy a drone from the bay, take down to his local airport and fly it straight across the runway, or the wrong way up the fast lane of the M1.

Yet a law abiding citizen who uses his UAS appropriately, is being penilised with rules and regulations.
 
Under the A3 classification, it says far from people, not in residentail or commercial areas.
Lets assume, I'm flying under A3 rules in the countryside and someone walks within my safe area.

I guess technically I'm now breaking the law ?

Then I found this on another web site.

'In all open categories you are not allowed to fly over assemblies of people (in the UK this is usually taken as 1000 people or more).'
 
@keat63 under the new rules as i have said before all drones are now classified ,by weight and the damage they could inflict if they collided with something or someone,and finally by the risk factor that flying in a particular spot could pose to others ,it is unfortunate that because of a few reckless individuals ,we have all now got to be subject to more rules ,but really most of them are just common sense, and if drones at the point of sale were not allowed to be purchased without having obtained knowledge of the rules,and being able to show proof of having that knowledge that would help to make the hobby safer
but we all know thats not going to happen anytime soon ,it is not the drone that is dangerous,but the person piloting it
 
The regulations are aimed at ensuring that you, the flyer/operator understand what it means to execute a flight operation in a safe and lawful manner and your responsibilities and obligations in doing so.
It is more about what steps you can undertake to ensure that you remain legal and safe in the event of unforeseen uninvolved people encroaching on your minimum distance rather than punishing you for it.
So in your example, have you performed appropriate recconaissance (Google maps or whatever) of your intended flight area to ensure that you can maintain the safe distance at all times e.g. away from footpaths? Do you need to erect a cordon? If you do have someone wandering off a footpath into a field towards you, do you have a planned escape direction which will enable you to achieve the minimum safe distance again?
If this is not possible, do you have the ability to safely land your UAS before the wanderer gets closer?
Do you have an observer who can make the wanderer aware of the danger and encourage them back onto the footpath whilst you focus on safely operating your UAS?
It's very much about prompting you to consider and plan for these so that you can avoid unintentionally breaking the law as much as possible.
The unforeseen can and will happen, you just need to be prepared in the appropriate manner rather than panicking in the moment.
All of the above should apply whether you have a DJI mini, Mavic pro or a shiny new C1 class drone in the future, it's just that the legacy cutoff at the end of 2022 will make it more difficult but not impossible for Mavic Pro owners to fly in some areas.
 
With regards to the overflying, the regulations again are aimed at reducing risks.

So the DJI mini, as it is in the < 250g category, is able to overfly a person but not crowds as the impact of a lighter UAS dropping and hitting/missing a single person is far less than it having a large group of people.

The Mavic pro flown in A2 must maintain 50Metres so by definition no overflying of an uninvolved person is allowed as the mass of the device is considered likely to cause serious harm if it falls on someone. A3 again the same but with greater minimum separation. Overflying an involved person is allowed as they by definition are part of your operation and you have briefed them on what to do in the event of a failure (e.g. if I yell UAS fail, get out of the way of the falling drone!). Again, it's safer to keep the overflying to the minimum possibly required to achieve your operation goal and to move it to a safe position away from the person as early as possible, that way you reduce the risks again.

I would strongly recommend signing up to an A2 CofC course (I did mine with UAVHUB) as there is a lot of useful information regardless of which class of drone you eventually acquire because things like the weather etc are all going to be relevant considerations when planning and executing a flight operation. They also make it very clear which regulations are relevant to you under which differing circumstances rather than you having to rely on various possibly outdated pages on t'web :)
 
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With regards to the overflying, the regulations again are aimed at reducing risks.

So the DJI mini, as it is in the < 250g category, is able to overfly a person but not crowds as the risk of a lighter UAS dropping and missing a single person is far less than it having a large group of people.

The Mavic pro flown in A2 must maintain 50Metres so by definition no overflying of an uninvolved person is allowed as the mass of the device is considered likely to cause serious harm if it falls on someone. A3 again the same but with greater minimum separation.

I would strongly recommend signing up to an A2 CofC course (I did mine with UAVHUB) as there is a lot of useful information regardless of which class of drone you eventually acquire because things like the weather etc are all going to be relevant considerations when planning and executing a flight operation. They also make it very clear which regulations are relevant to you under which differing circumstances rather than you having to rely on various possibly outdated pages on t'web :)
I've just received my A2 CofC certificate, as above, there is a lot of useful info in the course content as well as allowing my to fly my MA2 near to buildings which is what I wanted to be able to do. I'll be upgrading to a CE marked drone once the rules change, but the MA2 will still be with me hopefully.
 
If I take to the hobby and purchase a 'C' class craft in the future, then A2 will be on my priorities list,

I've actually signed up for free lessons on the A2 course, which I'm reading through and trying to digest, but based on the fact that the mavic pro will be out of scope in 18 months' time, I'll probably just hold off the actual certification for now. See how it pans out.

I'm lucky, where I live I'm literally no more than half a mile from wide-open spaces in all directions, so can happily fly in the A3 class.

I've bought a used Mavic Pro, and expect this to be delivered in a day or two,
I've spent all weekend watching videos and tutorials on how to operate it and I'll be applying for my operator and flyer id this week.

Getting a bit excited.
 
I too just completed my A2CofC With UAVHUB. It was straightforward, easy to follow and pass, and is valid for 5 years. I would recommend it even if you don’t intend to change to a C class AC in future. Apart from the snippets you pick up in the training you also gain a certificate that may help you if some ill informed person challenges you when you are flying perfectly legally.
 
I'm fairly confident that all < 250g will fit in the A1 category after Dec 2022, thus making the mavic mini's quite an attractive drone as the possibilities with these drones are almost endless. Please correct me if I am wrong with this statement for any drone under 250g.

As I have an A2 CofC I'll probably get a C class drone to fly in the A2 category as soon as they become available, but I will always keep a sub 250g drone too, to allow me to fly in some areas that are not possible with an A2 category drone.

My reasons for eventually having two drones? I have a feeling that when these C class drones eventually come out, they will have more and better features than the mini's therefore better quality photos and videos, so any commercial flight in the A2 cat can be done with that C class drone. If a commercial job or hobby flight needs to be done closer to certain buildings or people - a sub 250g will have to do.
 
On my desk is a new Mavic Air 2, unboxed to charge it up while I read through the A2 C of C prep stuff.

Having splashed out on the best I could justify its rather annoying that it has an end of life date in 2022 since it doesnt have a CE mark.

My second irritation is the DJI App not being on the play store, so I have to buy a burner phone and keep the hooky stuff away from my real phone.

But my biggest annoyance is finding the place I am returning to for my first holiday in ages, a very photogenic place with an abundance of open space which I thought would be ideal for getting some practice flights is actually a HIRTA zone.

three strikes, maybe I should just go straight to Ebay with it....
 
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