Where do we stand if we are in a non restricted airspace, following all the correct rules with the CCA guide lines and someone comes to you to say your not allowed to fly here.
For Example, Loch Doon is located 20 miles from my house in Galloway Forest, free from flight restrictions and another drone user was approached by a ranger saying it was restricted due to Ospreys nesting in the area.
There is no drone signs anywhere and no flight restrictions.
I like everyone else would take consideration of the Ospreys of course as its the right thing to do but there is posts from East Ayrshire Police saying its a crime and they are monitoring it. Surely they have to put signs up and flight restrictions otherwise how are we meant to know.
I’ve seen tons and tons of videos with a lot of people not in favor on what we do, but how do you deal with this situaitons and people.
Many Thanks
I’m not qualified to give legal advice (you would need an aviation lawyer for that), but I don’t think the CAA, or Police, can put signs up wherever there is wildlife that shouldn’t be disturbed. Nor would I expect a court to think much of the defence of “The Police didn’t put a sign up, how was I supposed to know that I was upsetting wildlife?”.
I don’t think it is realistic to expect the authorities to make FRZs around every animal that might be upset by a drone. E.g. protected species, nesting birds, etc.
The law puts the onus on you not to upset wildlife. So it is up to you to make sure you’re not flying near such wildlife.
SSSIs are shown on Drone Assist / DroneSafetyMap.com and sometimes nesting birds / protected wildlife is the reason for the SSSI.
I would imagine that in the first instance a ranger or Police officer would make the person flying near the wildlife aware, and that would be the end of it. A bit like what happened in this video.
Just my tenpeneth.
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Sadly it’s not enough to follow CAA guidelines. You also need to check the local authority’s drone rules, if on their land, and see if the site is an SSSI. You can look up the details of SSSIs online. If specific birds are mentioned, check their nesting season. Discover that there is hardly any time when some bird isn’t nesting. Get some guidance on where ospreys nest and how far away you should be. SSSIs usually require consent from Nature England down south. The equivalent body in Scotland is NatureScot.
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Thanks for the advice. I know there is so many protected animals out there and would always been seen to be responsible as it’s the right thing to do but understand at the same time they can’t tell you where these nests are to stop unwanted attention but at the same time would be good if they can tell what side of the loch is ok. That’s good about the SSSIs information, something else I can learn about.
Thanks for the info. There is so much stuff you have to take into account and I’m a total novice at this. Wanted to make sure i’m 100 percent safe and legal before taken to the skys. I thought the apps would of picked up SSSI’s as well as all the other flight restrictions. So anything red is a no go, if its amber we can go with caution and if it’s clear we can go but have to take into account or the local stuff. Is there an app for SSSi or filter. Sorry if I’m not making much sense just trying to find out how to get the info the more local stuff. I will have a wee look at these Nature Sites. I had a look, I did not zoom in enough and picked up tons of SSSIs and ground hazards. There is so many and Loch doon is covered by an SSSI, so was the guy flying the drone was he right or was he wrong?
I know the feeling!
Drone Assist shows SSSIs, and you can even get the specific citations for each site.
You can of course overfly the SSSI above the minimum required not to disturb birds. It’s your takeoff and landing point that you need to choose carefully. Zooming in on SSSI boundaries can often show up little gaps where you can take off.
If you are approached by a ranger, the expectation is that they will just tell you if you’re in a sensitive part of the SSSI and ask you to move you on.
Obviously there’s a difference between gentle, cinematic flying to enjoy the landscape and zooming around with a 5" freestyle screamer.
If you can show a ranger what you’ve planned to fly safely and minimise disruption, they may even advise where it is safe to fly.
Have you done the free CAA flyer ID test?
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I never zoomed in enough on the drone assist then saw nothing but SSSi’s, there is so many but can understand if you upset wild birds or breach the nesting area it would be more a serious issue with protection under laws. Last thing I want to do is to upset wildlife. That is good you can still fly in these areas. I have done more research so have a better understanding. I even didn’t know how many smaller airports there is around our Ayrshire area, interesting what the map picks up.
I carried out the free CAA flyer ID test and has helped. There was another test people talk about which you have to pay for so wonder if I should be worth taking it too.
I’m purley going to be going out with it as a hobby, non paid work, and to fly pretty high above and not adventure too low so I’m safe and legal.
I took out the DJI care plan, FPVUK Insurance to get a good foundation to flying it.
I think the you tube videos I’ve came across are shown the worst case scenarios where people are happy about flying over their buildings. Lots of videos about flying over police stations and officers coming out. I definitely won’t be doing that but at the same time wouldn’t like to be confronted by someone every time I try to fly it.
I’ve got a good rural area here and costal areas but biggest hazard i’ve seen is power cables and windfarms
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Good stuff. It sounds like you’re taking care to fly safely and legally and with that mindset you’ll enjoy the hobby for a long time into the future.
I doubt that you’ll be confronted very often.
I find it’s usually people that are curious about the hobby that come to talk to me.
I think you’re supposed to ask the person for a chance to land your drone in those situations because you can’t fly VLOS and talk to some at the same time. Especially with FPV drones which don’t hover!
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Excellent… I always wondered that as you need direct line of sight and if someone distracts you, you will lose visual. 100 percent thats what Ill do land first and there is nothing to worry about. Ive seen too many driving safety videos where people go for their mobiles and serious consequneces happen. Just not worth it. Im going to be flying high. It’s good the flight protection controls to stop you going above 400m as a safe guard… I don’t suppose you know how to find drone clubs etc in the local area. I never see them but im right on top of Prestwick Airport so I need to go furthet afield. There is a flying school at Dundonald about 10 miles north of me and there use a old world war strip to fly model aircraft so may do some research. Always good to have some company
Have you looked on the club finder page?
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