So Amazon are trialing drone deliveries in Darlington and they have a temporary reserved air space. Shown on Drone Map. Does this preclude our members using their drones? Read the info but does not say if it affects drones. Any one any info.
That is a very good question. The AIP supplement mentions crewed aircraft, but doesnât specifically mention uncrewed aircraft.
It does say âFOR INFO CTC 01325 331020â.
Give them a call and see what they say?
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For anyone wondering, itâs here: The Drone Map
And the AIP supplement is here: https://nats-uk.ead-it.com/cms-nats/opencms/en/Publications/aip-supplements/EG_Sup_2025_116_en.pdf
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Iâve sent an email to the two emails addresses at the top of the AIP supplement, asking the question.
I suspect the answer is you must get permission from Teesside ATC. And they should not unreasonably withhold that permission.
Iâll post here when I get a reply.
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Thanks Simon. I donât live in the area but if this trial is successful. We may have problems.
Iâm wondering why Amazon have been given the right to fly with BVLOS when we canât (surely it canât be anything to do with brown envelopes). Iâm assuming we can also fly out of line of sight in the same restricted area, since it doesnât exclude us, or is it one rule for them and another for us?
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Hi Challenger, the story is on the BBC. Very sophisticated drones watched over by a control room. I suppose it is the same as some police forces who operate other than VLOS.
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Iâd make the same bet @SimonDale , it seems logical that weâd be included in the restriction since surface to 700ft includes our whole domain, and our small drones will probably be the hardest things in that range for their avoidance systems to detect.
Amazon will have secured all the appropriate category authorisations for this, and the people doing the remote monitoring will most likely have the correct RPC certifications for the BVLOS operation etc. Itâs in Amazonâs interest to play by the book here, because they want this to succeed - and it will.
I donât live anywhere near Darlington, and Iâm glad of it right now - but in my opinion, in a year or two, these restrictions will be everywhere and that will be that.
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Thanks Simon, would do but I am deaf and canât use the phone, will wait and see what your emails bring,
I wonder what UK or EU class the Amazon drones are in, and if theyâre FPV? Maybe we should all go to Darlington. Iâd love to fly my Avata2 BVLOS; it would be a new experience.
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Haha well, I would think their drones will be operating in the Certified category given theyâre autonomously carrying payloads over crowded areas, and probably subject to type-approval etc (possibly one of the outcomes of this trial? Iâm not an expert on how all that works at the certified level). I donât know if they would have, or need, a class marking.
Theyâre autonomous, but with remote operators who can take over if needed.
I imagine those folks have to be at least L2 certified (assuming theyâre actually in the UK - which they may well not be) and, when they take over, I guess itâs FPV pretty much by definition - but on a big screen somewhere rather than goggles.
You can fly BVLOS today - as long as youâve got your RPC-L2, an operational authorisation for BVLOS, appropriate insurances and whatnot, and youâre in an area where your license and authorisation applies, you can go BVLOS all you want 
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This article (paywalled, unfortunately) from September last year is interesting. Teesside Model Flying Club were not happy when Amazon announced they were doing this.
From the article:
Amazon has resorted to creating a âno-fly zoneâ around the club in order to meet their complaints. The zone is believed to have eased concerns.
Looking at the map today, I see the flying club is squarely within the no-fly zone. Perhaps they have a carve out that isnât visible, and from their website they do still seem to have events scheduled.
IMO this is likely the future for all of us - obtain a specific carve-out for one particular field where, as long as Amazon continue to not mind, you can go fly at specific times (only).
Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I was unaware of RPC-L2. I really appreciate your input here.
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The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has warned that the project presents a âsignificant risk to flight safetyâ.
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my thoughts are what if this is successful then there are more sights set up all over the country. Also I wander how long it will be before the bandits realize there are goods flying around that could be worth more that a cheep drone build to bring um down.
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The Temporary Reserved Area at Darlington / Teesside is because it is a test programme.
I believe the intention is for the Amazon delivery drones to operate without segregated airspace once the concept is proven.
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That makes sense, they have a sophisticated obstacle avoidance that can detect wires so should be able to miss a small drone.
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Not so small. I take it there are no prisons nearby, or donât normal rules apply to Amazon?
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I think the risk to Amazon is less if anything, those same bandits could be knocking over the vans today, which are virtually guaranteed to contain at least some high-value items⌠At least this way itâs split up into more, smaller payloads.
Theyâll probably just continue porch-pirating the boxes (now with added mis-drops).