The Article 16 Operational Authorisation is an authorisation issued to FPV UK, which allows its members to fly their drones and model aircraft with somewhat more freedom.
To use it, you must follow the terms of the authorisation, and the guidance in the FPV UK handbook.
The current Article 16 Operational Authorisation is here: article16.fpv.uk
Can it be used for commercial purposes?
No, it cannot.
Does it only work in public parks?
No. As per section 3.7 of the OA, anywhere that is not a built-up area can be a suitable area. Plus built-up areas only used for recreational purposes (public parks) too.
Do you always need to do a risk assessment?
No, only when flying in a built-up area used only for recreational purposes (such as a public park).
It has an expiry date. What then?
CAA authorisations always have end dates. This one has been renewed five times already. And its predecessor, the FPV exemption, was renewed every year for over a decade. There is no reason to think that the A16 OA would not be renewed for many years to come.
Do you happen to know if he 'automated/ facilities of the DJI drones (such as those on my Mini 3 Pro) can be used under this authorisation, or if only manual flying is covered, i.e. can automated Take Off be used, âFollow Meâ, Mastershots, etc. Non have been used by me to date so as not to invalidate the insurance, etc. but I am just interested as it seems to be bit of a âgrey areaâ where the CAA seem to approve âFollow Meâ for <50m for drones <250g but Iâm personally unsure if this authorisation does :-).
I took this up with the CAA when we were drafting the A16 OA.
Basically if the automated feature moves the aircraft in physical space, then its not allowed under the A16 OA. With the exception of RTH in an emergency/fail safe scenario.
Position hold, panorama, selfie mode, etc which use automation, but do not move the aircraft, are permissible.
There is nothing to stop you flying under the Open Category rules when you want to use your automated modes. And then under the A16 OA when you want to fly under itâs terms (e.g. in a public park).
Many thanks for clarifying that Simon. Much appreciated :-).
Whilst flying under the Open Category, are we still covered by the included Liability Insurance, and would that allow passing on photos video that might be used for commercial purposes by another party, or does the insurance purely cover A16 OA (which specifically excludes any work done commercially)?
A current âquandaryâ I have is that I am about to pass on some images to a camping site which I have not taken commercially/are given freely by me to them for their cafe wall, but theyâre owners might want to use them to commercially advertise the site ⌠in which case I might want to be recompensed (and I just want to stay correct with all categories, insurances, etc.) if that case did arise :-).
Hi, newbie here. I got a DJI Mini back in January I think it was but Iâve only flown it once thus far, to test it out. I saw this Article 16 stuff (to be honest I need to look at this and the operator stuff again to refresh my memory fully) but something confused me that I donât see the answer to.
Iâm a professional photographer - if I did a wedding for example I couldnât use Article 16 OA flying.
But are they mutually exclusive? Can I fly as a hobbyist under Article 16 OA but then when I do commercial work simply not fly under Article 16 OA? Or does it work that once you do commercial at all you canât do Article 16 OA? Or does it work that you can simply do fun stuff with Article 16 OA rules and commercial stuff with the full blown rules?
You can choose whichever method of compliance you prefer on a per flight basis.
One flight might be Article 16 Operational Authorisation. The next might be open category A1 with a sub-250g drone. The next might be open category A2, with a 1.5kg drone using an A2 CofC.
However you choose to comply with the regulations is up to you. As long as youâre lawful, youâre lawful, and the insurance will cover you too.
I have even seen people suggest that different portions of the same flight could be under open category and A16 OA. That may be pushing it. But the key point is you cannot cherry pick the bits you like from each - youâre either flying under one, or the other.
In the handbook (handbook.fpv.uk) I explain the A16 OA vs the Open Category, with diagrams of each.
If youâre flying a sub-250g drone, you have the most freedom in Open A1, so that is really simply. You can just do everything in Open A1 and not use the A16 OA at all.
@SimonDale , thanks for that. That was super helpful as I do have a sub-250g device and hadnât appreciated that I didnât need A16 OA but could just do everything in Open A1. I shall check the handbook out over the coming days.
Mark
@SimonDale This is regarding Article 16 OA and local council byelaws.
My council is Redbridge borough, I have downloaded (https://www.redbridge.gov.uk/media/2868/parks-byelaws-2010.pdf) and read their rules âPart 6 -Model aircraftâ . Essentially, I understand from it, that flying a drone in its Park is not allowed.
But one of the provision of Article 16 is that its allows flight in "Built-up areas substantially used for industrial, recreational ⌠purposes). That includes public Parks, I presume?
My question is, it appears that Article 16 OA and council bylaws are in direct contradiction with one another?
