Who's going to fly drones in Europe in 2020?

[wco81]

No, that's not right mate. Currently, registration in the UK doesn't make you compliant in any country except the UK.

All this will change from July 1st when the new EASA (EU and UK wide) rules come into force, and all drones with a camera will need to be registered regardless of weight.

But the question is will you be able to submit an application to register and have it be approved so that on July 1, you will be in compliance? Seems like there's very little explicit acknowledgement by individual EU country agencies that they're working towards compliance and enabling registration which would be in compliance.


As far as the UK, would they even bother trying to produce a compliant regime with the knowledge that in 6 months, they may no longer have regulatory alignment with the EU?

 

[Lastrexking]

But the question is will you be able to submit an application to register and have it be approved so that on July 1, you will be in compliance? Seems like there's very little explicit acknowledgement by individual EU country agencies that they're working towards compliance and enabling registration which would be in compliance.


As far as the UK, would they even bother trying to produce a compliant regime with the knowledge that in 6 months, they may no longer have regulatory alignment with the EU?

The CAA have stated that the UK will continue to apply the EASA, and all future EU air traffic rules post Brexit.

As for registration on July 1st, the current UK registration scheme complies with EASA requirements and it’s an instant process once the online forms and test are complete.

 

[zocalo]

As far as the UK, would they even bother trying to produce a compliant regime with the knowledge that in 6 months, they may no longer have regulatory alignment with the EU?

I'm increasingly sceptical about just how serious the UK is about this as well. Despite the CAA saying they were going to align with EASA regulations regardless of Brexit, I suspect they were probably thinking more of commercial air traffic rather than drones. The amount of official effort expended on attempting to raise public awareness of the current requirement to register larger drones in the UK is still pretty much zero. There also seems to be continuing confusion over enforcement - e.g. there does not seem to be a definitive answer as to whether anyone other than the police has any authority to check your registration, and I've not heard of any one having their IDs checked yet either.

One possiblity is that we could currently be in a kind of grace period, with the real efforts due to kick in in time for full EASA compliance in July when it applies to camera drones regardless of weight (which *is* still supposed to be happening - any regulatory non-alignment is quite likely to be on a case-by-case basis anyway). Time will tell: July 1st is now just over four months away, so I'd expect more formal information on the new requirements than the CAP issued by the CAA fairly soon, and at least *some* effort to raise awareness of the need to register to start shortly thereafter.

It has to be said though, I'm not holding my breath.

 

[wco81]

Turns out nobody is going to Europe in 2020, at least most of the people outside of Europe.

Note the updated timeline, now registration becomes mandatory at the end of this year.

Drones - regulatory framework timeline | EASA

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www.easa.europa.eu

So instead of June 2020 being the start of operating in the "limited Open category" it will be from 31 December 2020 to 1 January 2023:

Drone user can start operating in limited ‘Open’ category. Between 31 December 2020 till 1 January 2023

Essentially the timeline is pushed back 6 full months from the original timeline.

However, it seems the definition of open category is more detailed than before.

Here's the original:

Drone user can start operating in limited ‘Open’ category. Between June 2020 till June 2022:

• Drones with a weight less than 500g may be operated in an area where reasonably it is expected that no uninvolved person is overflown
• Drones with weight up to 2 kg may be operated up to 50 m horizontal distance from people
• Drones with weight up to 25 kg may be operated at 150 m horizontal distance of residential, recreational and industrial areas, in a range where reasonably it is expected that no uninvolved person is overflown during the entire time of the operation

Here is a detailed brochure of what open category is now:

https://www.easa.europa.eu/sites/default/files/dfu/EU_UAS_Regulation_introduction_and_open-category.pdf

There are subcategories (A1, A2, A3) and it now specifically mentions an altitude limit of 120 meters, which I don't recall seeing before. Also VLOS in all categories.

There is a mention of Geographic Zones to be defined by Member States but not much details.

 

[wco81]

Is anyone going to try to register their drones soon under these new EASA rules?

 

[joy_streamer]

Is anyone going to try to register their drones soon under these new EASA rules?

Hello. Are there any news on that topic? I recently bought DJI FPV and got UK CAA A1 & A3 license. Can I fly in Spain with it? I know there is a requirement to label the drone with fireproof label which I did. Appreciate your help!

 

[wco81]

Hi I haven't tried flying in Spain.

But I registered in France this year and flew there, Switzerland and Austria this year.

I didn't really fly when there were a lot of people around so maybe I didn't really put it to the test.

But as I read the laws and researched their restricted zones, I should have been okay. Nobody ever challenged whether I should be flying where I did, no authorities or bystanders.

I know that in Austria, they used to require several hundred Euros to film anything in the country before they adopted the EASA rules.

Switzerland also went along with EASA, even though they're not in the EU.

In some instance, I also checked with local tourist offices or like mountain resorts, for instance going up cable cars.

In some cases they said you can't fly in those areas despite what the drone maps showed and in other cases it was fine.

 

[joy_streamer]

Thanks for the fast reply! Did you have to pass any extra tests in order to fly in EU? Did you have to register separately for Switzerland and Austria besides France? I found a Spanish based AESA web site and registered there. I’ve attached registered paper. As I understand it’s a confirmation from my side that I will fly responsibly and safely. Do you think it would be enough?

 

[wco81]

I only registered in France. And I did have to pass an online test to get registered at the Fox Tango site.

You can take the test in English.

As far as I know, I could use the pilot number that France issued to me in most other EU countries without registering in each country.

But I have been doing some research for other countries and for instance, for Portugal and Greece, you have to apply for permission to fly in certain areas.

Portugal wants you to register on their site and submit GPS coordinates and dates and times when you want to fly in specific areas. Then they will either approve or deny.

Greece appears to have similar requirements though if you search on the forum, there are people who say they've flown in Greece and other than getting approval from airports and aerodromes, they didn't do much else.

I would definitely do research for drones in each country. There are several sites which try to document procedures in different countries.

 

[EsaT]

Thanks for the fast reply! Did you have to pass any extra tests in order to fly in EU? Did you have to register separately for Switzerland and Austria besides France? I found a Spanish based AESA web site and registered there. I’ve attached registered paper. As I understand it’s a confirmation from my side that I will fly responsibly and safely. Do you think it would be enough?

Unless drone is below 250 grams, you need to pass A1/A3 online test.
(free after operator registration at least here in Finland)
Also above 500 gram drones are operated under more restrictive A3 category rules, unless having more demanding test involving A2 "license":

Open Category - Low Risk - Civil Drones | EASA

The ‘open’ category is the main reference for the majority of leisure drone activities and low-risk commercial activities. As a drone operator, remember to check if you need to register yourself. See the registration FAQ. The ‘open’ category is in turn subdivided in three sub-categories – A1...

www.easa.europa.eu

Single registration/operator ID and test is valid for all EASA countries:
EASA Member States

 

[joy_streamer]

I found Spanish based resource Registro de UAS Certificados | Sede AESA but online process section doesn’t work and there is no English option.
I decided to use French based website AlphaTango that was recommended previously. It is pretty straightforward and free. So I passed online exam there and got the certificate. I hope since it’s EU based I will be okay to fly in Spain. There is another website with online training Drone License (A1-A3 and A2) • Drone Class. Their certificate works in all EU countries but I’m not sure I want to pass it now since it costs 99€.