{"id":1578,"date":"2016-11-02T19:34:36","date_gmt":"2016-11-02T19:34:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dronenodes.com\/?p=1578"},"modified":"2023-07-09T12:58:20","modified_gmt":"2023-07-09T12:58:20","slug":"drone-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dronenodes.com\/drone-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Drone Regulation \u2013 Operating your drone safely and legally"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In recent years the&nbsp;<strong>popula<\/strong><strong>rity of drones has risen dramatically<\/strong>.&nbsp;The technology is becoming cheaper, and&nbsp;<strong><\/strong>their uses more widespread.<strong><\/strong>&nbsp;<strong>Industries such as film, farming, and surveillance are all starting to make use of drone technology<\/strong>, not to mention the boom in&nbsp;<strong><\/strong>popularity of hobby drones.<strong><\/strong>&nbsp;But while their popularity is escalating there\u2019s still some confusion about&nbsp;<strong>drone law<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u200b<strong>Where can you fly them?<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>How high can you fly your drone?<\/strong>\u00a0And to make things even more confusing, each country has its very own set of drone laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To help clear up some of the confusion,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thedroneworx.co.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Drone Worx<\/a>, has put together a quick&nbsp;<strong>rundown of the dos and don\u2019ts of drone law<\/strong>&nbsp;in the US, UK, and the Rest of the World.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">UNITED STATES<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In recent years, the\u00a0<strong>US has become the world\u2019s biggest user of drones<\/strong>. Unfortunately, it\u2019s also made news because of its famously poor drone regulatory system. It is run by the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.faa.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">FAA (The Federal Aviation Administration)<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 and surprisingly, they apply the same laws for<strong>\u00a0all unmanned aerial systems.<\/strong>\u00a0That means that the same rules apply to hobby drones that can be used in your back garden to larger drones fit for commercial purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Up until recently, commercial drone use in the US was a confusing matter. This year, however, the rules regarding flying drones have been relaxed. Before this, commercial drone pilots needed a pilot\u2019s license to fly even small hobby drones \u2013 a rule that was met with a serious amount of criticism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What made things worse was that operators had to apply to the FAA on a case by case basis for permission to fly. As of August of 2016, commercial drone operators won\u2019t need to fulfill such demanding criteria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The rules now stipulate as follows:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>A drone can be flown as long as the pilot is over the age of 16<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The drone remains in the line of sight of its pilot<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It does not exceed over 400 ft above ground level<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It can only be flown at twilight if the drone has lights that can be seen more than three miles away<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Drones must weigh less than 25kg, and all pilots must pass an aeronautics safety test every 24 months<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The FAA has said it would provide \u2018privacy guidelines\u2019 for drone use<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Personal use is much more relaxed, just advising that the drone remains within sight at all times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">UNITED KINGDOM<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In fact, in the UK alone between January and October of 2014, there was an&nbsp;<strong>80% increase<\/strong><strong>&nbsp;in permit grants<\/strong>&nbsp;for flying a drone in the UK. The use of drones in the UK is governed by the&nbsp;<strong><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.caa.co.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CAA (The Civil Aviation Authority)<\/a>, and it\u2019s a place that started making regulations around drone use a lot earlier than other countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u200bWhen compared to other countries,&nbsp;<strong>UK drone law is fairly straightforward<\/strong>, and is generally covered by&nbsp;<strong>4<\/strong><strong>&nbsp;rules<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>A drone is not permitted to be flown within 150 meters of a congested area or an outdoor gathering of more than 1000 people.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>No drone should be flown within 50 meters of any individual apart from during takeoff.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Where there is a camera attached, the drone is classified as an unmanned surveillance aircraft, meaning that it cannot be flown within 30 meters of an individual.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>All drones must be kept within sight of the pilot at all times. To use a drone at greater distances, special approval is required from the CAA.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">DRONE LAW IN REST OF THE WORLD<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Many other areas of the world haven\u2019t yet seen a similar rise in drone popularity,&nbsp;<strong>meaning that there aren\u2019t many rules or regulations in place<\/strong>. Some western countries have adapted similar UAV laws and regulations to the UK and US. And&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/dronerules.eu\/en\/recreational\/regulations\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">EU \ufeffcountries<\/a>&nbsp;are addopting in separate pace.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Canada, for example, has adopted laws that mirror the UKs, with slight discrepancies. For example, in Canada, one must apply for a special license if the drone isn\u2019t within a specific size or weight category.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s a great\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/media.precisionhawk.com\/topic\/commercial-drones-faa\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">infographic<\/a>\u00a0of the varying drone laws for different countries from\u00a0<strong>Precision Hawk<\/strong>. To check detailed country regulations visit\u00a0the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dronenodes.com\/drone-law\/Check%20the%20AIP%E2%80%99s%20and%20AIC%E2%80%99s%20for%20the%20location%20you%E2%80%99re%20flying\">AIP\u2019s and AIC\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0for the location you\u2019re flying.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dronenodes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/sUAV-rules-graphic1.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dronenodes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/sUAV-rules-graphic1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1594\"\/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">WHAT TO REMEMBER:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While drone law does often vary between countries, there a few things to remember regardless of your place of residence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Always ask permission of anyone you plan on filming with your drone<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Avoid heavily populated areas<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Make sure that, when flying your drone, it remains within your line of sight at all times<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Always avoid restricted areas such as airports and military bases<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Check with your local council to find out more about drone law within your area before flying<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The drone industry is booming, and these&nbsp;<strong>drone laws and regulations will change in the coming years.<\/strong>&nbsp;For now,&nbsp;<strong>e<\/strong><strong>njoy your drone an<\/strong><strong>d<\/strong>&nbsp;<strong>fly responsibly.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Editor:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Adam James from\u00a0thedroneworx<\/strong><br>thedroneworxuk(at)gmail.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In recent years the&nbsp;popularity of drones has risen dramatically.&nbsp;The technology is becoming cheaper, and&nbsp;their uses more widespread.&nbsp;Industries such as film,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":1806,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[22],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":1,"label":"Uncategorized"}],"post_tag":[{"value":22,"label":"Regulation"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/dronenodes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/drone_laws.png",740,493,false],"author_info":{"display_name":"DN","author_link":"https:\/\/dronenodes.com\/author\/dronenodes\/"},"comment_info":2,"category_info":[{"term_id":1,"name":"Uncategorized","slug":"uncategorized","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":6,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":1,"category_count":6,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Uncategorized","category_nicename":"uncategorized","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":[{"term_id":22,"name":"Regulation","slug":"regulation","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":22,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dronenodes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1578"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dronenodes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dronenodes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dronenodes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dronenodes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1578"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dronenodes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1578\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dronenodes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1806"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dronenodes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1578"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dronenodes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1578"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dronenodes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1578"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}