Hi all,
I am a complete novice, having bought my
Mavic Pro 2 in February 2020 in advance of travelling to Thailand to shoot some of the fabulous locations there. I decided to leave my drone at home following Dubai passing the buck as to whether I could stay 3 nights, without intending to fly my drone, and not risk it being confiscated by them. Then Covid 19 prevented any further practice at flying my drone.
On getting my drone, I immediately registered and took the theory test here in the UK; all good. Although a hobbyist, I have full insurance cover for over £1m public liability etc. (needed for the planned trip to Thailand) and I genuinely wish to fly legally and responsibly at all times.
I have, and use, the AirMap,
Drone Buddy Pro and Drone Assist apps. I also have Sky Wise and I am registered to receive drone related updates.
So all good! Where could I possibly go wrong? Well I too live on the Northumberland Coast and agree with other posters about the ridiculous blanket bans on flying a drone. I have only this week learnt of the existence of SSSIs and discovered my drone flights on the beach at Cresswell are, for some reason not permitted and whether flying my drone near/around Bamburg Castle legally, I find impossible to check. I have found car parks either end of the castle which do not fall within the designated SSSI’s and CCA have no restrictions. So provided that I comply with the drone code, no problem, except I cannot find out if these areas are within the Bamburgh Castle Estate (in which case permission is expressly refused).
Apologies for this long post, but I just cannot understand the logic and fairness of these SSSIs blanket bans. I totally get the possible distress that a drone could cause to birds and other wildlife. I also understand Bamburgh Castle having had incidents where drones have caused damage to their (listed) property.
But ……. my drone flying above fauna and other plants, does not cause any damage and, as previously pointed out by others, potential distress to animals is seasonally dependent. When flying my drone, I am required to be registered, have passed a theory test and comply with the drone code at all times.
Dog owners, on the other hand, do not need any of the above, or equivalent, and are free to let their pets run free through such fauna and nesting birds and disturb/worry/attack other animals, with the only reliance being placed on their being handled by responsible owners; which the vast majority being just that.
As a responsible drone pilot, I feel that I and other drone pilots, are being treated unfairly and discriminated against. Is there any organisation/group to which we may subscribe to promote and protect our rights?