Hello, my name is Ben Lovegrove and in this video I’m going to summarise some of the
main points of the UK Government’s 2018 consultation on the use of drones in UK airspace.
Many drone pilots, business owners, and hobby flyers are concerned about the proposals.
Feel free to post any questions or comments below this video and I or someone else will
try to respond.
The consultation ran from the 26th July to the 17th September 2018.
It received 5,061 responses and the results were published on 7th January 2019.
The UK Government wanted to ask what people thought about things like age restrictions
and whether the 1km flight restriction around protected aerodromes is sufficient.
They also wanted feedback on how drone flying should be policed and what penalties and enforcement
notices should be available to the authorities.
They wanted people’s views on the idea of a pre-flight notification system called FINS
(Flight Information and Notification System).
And they also wanted to discuss counter drone technologies.
All this was done while keeping in mind the benefits of the drone industry to the UK economy
and the potential growth of the industry in the coming years.
The result of all this is a 97 page document entitled “Taking Flight: The Future of Drones
in the UK” and published by the Department of Transport.
I recommend you read the document in full so that you absorb it directly, rather than
through my interpretation.
All I’ve done in this video is to quote some of the sections that seemed most relevant,
but you might have other ideas.
You can view and download it at this address:
www.gov.uk/government/consultations/drone-legislation-use-restrictions-and-enforcement.
The document begins with a foreword by Baroness Sugg, the Minister for Aviation, who says,
“Drones and unmanned aircraft present both exciting benefits to society, and challenges
we must address.”
She briefly mentions the advantages and benefits of UAS but also says, “drones can also be
misused, risking safety, security and privacy.”
Chapter 1 includes an executive summary, a definition of a drone (RPAS) and UAS, and
further definitions and summaries so that the terminology is clear and understood.
This chapter covers; Benefits of drones, Delivering the Government's industrial strategy with
drones; Summary of existing legislation on drones; Tackling drone misuse and raising
awareness of the rules; and Future Regulation.
Chapter 2 discusses the proposal for minimum age requirements.
At the moment there is no minimum age for anyone piloting a drone, although the CAA
requires a minimum age of 18 years old for the issue of PfCO (Permission for Commercial
Operations).
The document makes the distinction between an SUA Operator and the Remote pilot. These
distinctions have been formalised in a recent amendment to the ANO (Air Navigation Order).
The SUA Operator is the person who has management of the small unmanned aircraft.
The Remote Pilot is the person who operates the controls that fly the small unmanned aircraft.
It then lists the responsibilities of the SUA Operator and the Remote pilot and includes
a proposal for a minimum age requirement for SUA Operators.
Chapter 3 discusses the restrictions on small drone flights near protected aerodromes.
It describes the Inner Zone of an aerodrome as the area within and including the aerodrome
boundary.
It describes the Outer Zone as the area extending 1 km outside the aerodrome boundary.
Under the amendment to the ANO that came into effect on the 30th July 2018 flights of SUA
are prohibited under these circumstances:
“The SUA operator must not cause, or permit the SUA to be flown and a Remote Pilot must
not fly an SUA in the Inner Zone of an aerodrome outside the hours of watch of the Air Traffic
Control Unit (ATCU) or Flight Information Safety Unit (FISU) (or if there are no such
units at the relevant aerodrome) unless permission from the operator of the aerodrome and, where
the flight is above 400ft, the permission of the CAA has also been obtained.”
“If the flight is taking place during the hours of watch of the ATCU or FISU, permission
must be obtained from the ATCU or FISU. The SUA Operator must not cause or permit the
SUA to be flown and a Remote Pilot must not fly an SUA (at any height) in the Inner or
Outer Zone of an aerodrome during hours of watch of the ATCU or FISU, unless permission
from the ATCU or FISU has been obtained. For flights above 400ft, the permission of the
CAA must also be obtained.”
The document then discusses proposals for extending the flight restriction distance
to 5 km but also includes ideas that include stepped height restrictions in the vicinity
of airports.
It points out that the CAA will be reviewing the effectiveness of the July 2018 amendment.
Chapter 4 covers the Model Aircraft Flying Associations & the impact of drone legislation.
In this section the review recognises the differences between model aircraft owners
and drone flyers, as well as the differences in their operation and control.
It affirms the organisation and best practices of model aircraft clubs and associations.
Chapter 5 is about mandating and/or regulating the use of a Flight Information and Notification
System(s) (FINS(s)) for certain drone activities and users.
It includes this description: “In line with this, the proposals being considered below
form part of DfT's longer term objective to facilitate the management of unmanned aircraft
in airspace, often referred to as Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM).”
“UTM is a system designed to enable the integration of drones into airspace, including
that used by other aircraft. There are numerous opinions and models of UTM, but such a system
could potentially enable ubiquitous awareness for drones or drone users of permanent and
dynamic airspace restrictions; awareness of other airspace users; conflict detection and
resolution between drones and other aircraft; and handle requests for permission to enter
or transit through controlled airspace. It is seen as an important step in realising
the full potential of drones, including routinely and safely flying 'beyond visual line of sight'
(BVLOS).
Then further on it lists three options for the deployment of FINS, having first described
who should have the responsibility of filing flight plans using this system.
Chapter 6 reviews Police Powers Relating to Drones and Fixed Penalty Notices.
In this section it is highlighted that the Police lack the appropriate powers with regards
to two key categories of scenarios: Enforcing the law which applies to the use of drones,
and investigating and prosecuting suspects; and Dealing with everyday situations, such
as car accidents, crime scenes or large event management where there may be a risk of terrorist
attack, or where drones may be used by the media or bystanders in a manner which is not
conducive to effective and safe management of the incident.
It then goes into detail about what the Government is proposing to do in order to give the Police
the required powers, including those to issue FPNs (Fixed Penalty Notices) for various offences.
Chapter 7 is all about Counter-Drone Technology.
The document then moves on to the threats and risks posed by drones and what can be
done in terms of detection and neutralising of drones that are flown illegally or with
malicious or criminal intent.
And Chapter 8 is a section on Commercial Drone Scenario Modelling.
This final section extrapolates current statistics to predict the growth of the UAS industry
and what impact that would have on drone numbers per business in the coming decades. So as
you can see, the document covers a lot of ground. But much of what it discusses are
proposals that may yet change. If you're concerned about restrictions on drone flying then perhaps
you should voice your concerns, not just in a comment below this video, but also in a
forum, like those provided SUAS Global. You'll find a registration link below this video.
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