Please be aware that the experiences written about in this post refer to the UK Civil Aviation Authority and may not be the same in your country. And sorry for the length of this post. But please read to the end.
A friend and I set up a name to post our aerial footage and photos under on Facebook.
We've recently found that the CAA (Civil Aviation Authrority) are not happy with our practises so thought I would share our experiences with you guys so the same thing doesn't occur for you. I'm interested to know if people were aware of the rules and regulations before purchasing, after or even not at all until reading this post...
With the ever growing popularity of Phantoms and similar devices the CAA are soon going to have a lot of issues on their hands. They've contacted us with a potentially very real £2,500.00 fine for the way we have been operating. I'm sharing this so that others are not faced with the same.
A small fact; the seller we got our original Phantoms from has sold a minimum of 800 since the start of the year. We now both fly DJI F550 Flame Wheels.
Now we stated to the CAA that we had not been charging for anything we had been doing no matter how commercial it appeared to be. However they said that we had been breaking other rules as laid out in CAP393 Articles 166 and 167. I only see rules broken in Article 167, but also feel these rules are out of date for modern equipment such as the Phantom with GPS.
CAP393 Article 166: Small unmanned aircraft
The next document is the one that to us seems more like a tax on the device instead of the requirement for a licence.
CAP393 Article 167: Small unmanned surveillance aircraft - Meaning, ONLY IF A CAMERA IS ATTACHED!!!
The CAA should really think about defining what a congested area is. They complained that we flew over a 300 acre derelict mental asylum that has been empty, closed and disused for over 16 years.
And also let me state again. 167 rules only apply when a camera is attached. So the whole thing about a licence being required is BS, it is most definitely a tax.
A friend and I set up a name to post our aerial footage and photos under on Facebook.
We've recently found that the CAA (Civil Aviation Authrority) are not happy with our practises so thought I would share our experiences with you guys so the same thing doesn't occur for you. I'm interested to know if people were aware of the rules and regulations before purchasing, after or even not at all until reading this post...
With the ever growing popularity of Phantoms and similar devices the CAA are soon going to have a lot of issues on their hands. They've contacted us with a potentially very real £2,500.00 fine for the way we have been operating. I'm sharing this so that others are not faced with the same.
A small fact; the seller we got our original Phantoms from has sold a minimum of 800 since the start of the year. We now both fly DJI F550 Flame Wheels.
CAA Document CAP658 Chapter 14 states: Aerial Work is a flight which is considered to be undertaken for ‘valuable consideration’. 'Valuable consideration' is defined as any gain you may make from the work undertaken.
So if because your Phantom etc is flying, you are better off at the end of the day than when you started, you have probably been doing aerial work. You may ignore any gain of nominal value – a pint of beer for instance, but not accept a crate of the same.
Even if your device is less than 20kg you are still required to have Operating Permission and a Pilot Qualification
(BNUC-S) or equivalent. This qualification in the UK ranges from £1200 - £1500.
Now we stated to the CAA that we had not been charging for anything we had been doing no matter how commercial it appeared to be. However they said that we had been breaking other rules as laid out in CAP393 Articles 166 and 167. I only see rules broken in Article 167, but also feel these rules are out of date for modern equipment such as the Phantom with GPS.
CAP393 Article 166: Small unmanned aircraft
(1) A person must not cause or permit any article or animal (whether or not attached to a parachute) to be dropped from a small unmanned aircraft so as to endanger persons or property.
(2) The person in charge of a small unmanned aircraft may only fly the aircraft if reasonably satisfied that the flight can safely be made.
(3) The person in charge of a small unmanned aircraft must maintain direct, unaided visual contact with the aircraft sufficient to monitor its flight path in relation to other aircraft, persons, vehicles, vessels and structures for the purpose of avoiding collisions.
(4) The person in charge of a small unmanned aircraft which has a mass of more than 7kg excluding its fuel but including any articles or equipment installed in or attached to the aircraft at the commencement of its flight, must not fly the aircraft:
(a) in Class A, C, D or E airspace unless the permission of the appropriate air traffic control unit has been obtained;
(b) within an aerodrome traffic zone during the notified hours of watch of the air traffic control unit (if any) at that aerodrome unless the permission of any such air traffic control unit has been obtained; or
(c) at a height of more than 400 feet above the surface unless it is flying in airspace described in sub-paragraph (a) or (b) and in accordance with the requirements for that airspace.
(5) The person in charge of a small unmanned aircraft must not fly the aircraft for the purposes of aerial work except in accordance with a permission granted by the CAA.
The next document is the one that to us seems more like a tax on the device instead of the requirement for a licence.
CAP393 Article 167: Small unmanned surveillance aircraft - Meaning, ONLY IF A CAMERA IS ATTACHED!!!
(1) The person in charge of a small unmanned surveillance aircraft must not fly the aircraft in any of the circumstances described in paragraph (2) except in accordance with a permission issued by the CAA.
(2) The circumstances referred to in paragraph (1) are:
(a) over or within 150 metres of any congested area;
(b) over or within 150 metres of an organised open-air assembly of more than 1,000 persons;
(c) within 50 metres of any vessel, vehicle or structure which is not under the control of the person in charge of the aircraft; or
(d) subject to paragraphs (3) and (4), within 50 metres of any person.
(3) Subject to paragraph (4), during take-off or landing, a small unmanned surveillance aircraft must not be flown within 30 metres of any person.
(4) Paragraphs (2)(d) and (3) do not apply to the person in charge of the small unmanned surveillance aircraft or a person under the control of the person in charge of the aircraft.
(5) In this article 'a small unmanned surveillance aircraft' means a small unmanned aircraft which is equipped to undertake any form of surveillance or data acquisition.
The CAA should really think about defining what a congested area is. They complained that we flew over a 300 acre derelict mental asylum that has been empty, closed and disused for over 16 years.
And also let me state again. 167 rules only apply when a camera is attached. So the whole thing about a licence being required is BS, it is most definitely a tax.