UAV regulations outside the US

Kilby

Active Member
Hey gang,

I wanted to ask you lot about existing UAV regulations outside of the US. I know that the UK has a full system in place, as do a few other countries, but I don't know many of the details about how they work. I'm interested in a high level overview of what steps you have to take to legally set up a UAV based AP business, and then what steps are required to keep that in good standing with the local government.

Anyone have any input on this? Droider, Denny, I'm looking at you guys. ;-)

Thanks!

-Terry
 





Benjamin Kenobi

Easy? You call that easy?
And this is another UK licensing organisation:

http://www.resource-uas.co.uk/

They also work in the industry too providing search and rescue for the services and aerial photography.

Look at section 3 of CAP 722 for a detailed explanation.

The certification process is quite easy for most. Running a business is another thing of course...


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Kilby

Active Member
Thanks! My wife and I are actually speaking at a conference at NYU this weekend, and I'm sure the topic of regulations will come up. I'm on top of the state of things here in the US, but I wanted to reference how things are being done in the UK as a example of how the US might move forward.

The output from the panel is to be a best practice guide that NYU will turn into a handbook after the conference. They intend to give it to the FAA as a recommendation, but I think that is more for show than anything.

If anyone has any good best practice tips they want to make sure we bring up, feel free to post them up here. I'll do my best to try and fit everything in.

-Terry
 

DennyR

Active Member
Regulation here in Cyprus is a bit different as AP is only allowed after an application is made to the Dept. of Civil Aviation, the Army and the Police. whether it is flown by microlight, full size aircraft or UAV. That said people do still carry out the odd illegal operation, however. As I was tasked with writing the Ops.manual for AP several years ago I expect that with the sudden influx of phantoms etc. legislation is soon going to be changed and I will be asked to help out with the detection equipment. We have one guy who crashes on a regular basis and fly's gasser helis into cars etc. Add to that FPV guys flying along approaches into the two main international airports above the clouds.
 
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Bartman

Welcome to MultiRotorForums.com!!
Kilby,

I started writing terms for my shop and this is where I was at last look



  1. As the owner and/or operator of an Aerdro, LLC multi-rotor RC helicopter, you are the ultimate and final authority as to the safe conduct of every flight. It is your responsibility to know the condition of the helicopter and the conditions under which it will be flown so as to make every flight a safe one.
  2. Flying over or within 50 ft laterally of people is prohibited.
  3. Flying over active roadways is prohibited.
  4. Flying over private property or within 200 ft of a man-made structure without permission from the owner is prohibited.
  5. If at any time the safety of the flight is in doubt or the condition of the helicopter becomes unknown, land immediately while attempting to remain clear of people, man-made structures, and active roadways.
  6. All flights shall be conducted below 400 ft. above-ground-level
  7. Flying within 3 statute miles of an active airport is prohibited.
  8. Always remove propellers before applying power to the helicopter when indoors, when conducting maintenance, or when the condition of the helicopter is unknown or in doubt.
  9. Keep animals and small children away from the helicopter before attempting to fly.
  10. Never fly while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Refer to appropriate prescription drug guidelines regarding the operation of machinery or vehicles before attempting to fly.
  11. When flying via “First Person Video” (FPV) always have a “spotter” present and adhere to AMA guidelines for RC FPV operations as well as the guidelines listed above.
 

gtranquilla

RadioActive
Re: UAV Regulations outside USA

For CANADA - As far as I can determine.... Multirotors can be flown within two categories:
a) Non-commerical Hobby level flying (regulated by MAAC and possibly AMA)
b) Commercial UAV level flying regulated by Transport Canada

In both cases flights must remain below 300 feet and within line-of-sight and both require flight insurance.
Commercial flying of a Multirotor falls under the UAV category according to TC - Transport Canada which requires an Special Flight Operation Certificate -SFOC (details below)
Unfortunately the SFOC was last revised in 2008 so it is does not accomodate rapidly developing technology very well IMHO and remains a government staff instruction subject to wide intrepretation.

The commercial MR operator must therefore try to produce a 40 to 60 page custom application, submit it for approval and wait 20 days minimum to receive the SFOC.
I am hearing delays can exceed 3 months and in many cases the application may be rejected one or more times.

Additional information: http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/civilaviati...referencecentre-documents-600-623-001-972.htm
 


jhardway

Member
7. Flying within 3 statute miles of an active airport is prohibited.

Batman - I am familiar with you knowledge in this area, so I am not challenging it. I think and know in the original advisory (the one the FAA put out in like 1981) they were OK with flight with in 3mi distance if the tower is notified and told in details, on the hobbyist level. At the end of the day if in the commercial world, if that ever properly comes around.

Usually tower guys are pretty easy to get along with especially when they know on what is going on. I think if they know the location and times the event is taking place, if there was call over to them before and after, they probably would not have any issues, especially if they are under 300ft.

I guess that would pose a different result for an un-towered airfield.
 
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jhardway

Member
So here's some thing I would like to throw this out there. Just to put in the minds that we are all wondering about.
Over all this is what we are dealing with the FAA categorization of UAV, many elements in are very ambiguous and it leaves large margins for interpretation.

this is from the FAA
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[4910-13]

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 91
Docket No. FAA-2006-25714
Unmanned Aircraft Operations in the National Airspace System

AGENCY:Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.



ACTION:Notice of policy; opportunity for feedback.


SUMMARY:This notice clarifies the FAA’s current policy concerning operations of

unmanned aircraft in the National Airspace System.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:


Kenneth D. Davis, Manager, Unmanned
Aircraft Program Office, Aircraft Certifica
tion Service, Federal Aviation Administration,
800 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591, (202) 385-4636, email:
kenneth.d.davis@faa.gov.


Background


Simply stated, an unmanned aircraft is a device that is used, or is intended to be
used, for flight in the air with no onboard pilot. These devices may be as simple as a
remotely controlled model aircraft used for recreational purposes or as complex as
surveillance aircraft flying over hostile areas in warfare.

They may be controlled either manually or through an autopilot using a data link to connect the pilot to their aircraft. They


may perform a variety of public services: surveillance, collection of air samples to determine
levels of pollution, or rescue and recovery missions in crisis situations. They range in size

from wingspans of six inches to 246 feet; and can weigh from approximately four ounces to
over 25,600 pounds.

The one thing they have in common is that their numbers and uses are
growing dramatically. In the United States alone, approximately 50 companies, universities,
and government organizations are developing and producing some 155 unmanned aircraft
designs.

Regulatory standards need to be developed to enable current technology for
unmanned aircraft to comply with Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).
The Federal Aviation Administration’s current policy is based on whether the unmanned aircraft is used as a public aircraft, civil aircraft or as a model aircraft.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In here there are a few things I like to note.

The one thing that stands out is how they Categorize a UAV's, one being they are unmaned aircraft, but then they go on to detail to say "
They range in size from wingspans of six inches to 246 feet; and can weigh from approximately four ounces to over 25,600 pounds."

so in that statement are they saying UAV's have wings and those with wings they can weight up to 25,600lbs. But on top of that in the real world, airplanes and helicopter general abide by the same rule, but when it comes to flight min and distance from people/building. then you are talking about a complete different set of rules.

I wonder if you had to go to court and started to dig into this category descriptions, where the augment would go, Especially when you start auguring the topic of ambiguity. There is some much interpretation of how they categorize UAV,

How is it fair for a person who reads these description to conclude where the multirotor falls.

I know this probably is not the post to be throwing this out but I know its worth knowing because this is exactly why people are confused, there is not clear cut description of what we are doing.

best all

 
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jes1111

Active Member
The USA situation looks like its about to be busted wide open by the Trappy/FAA case. Here is the opinion of one of the lawyers in the case: http://fpvlab.com/forums/showthread...dismiss-vs-FAA&p=349231&viewfull=1#post349231 - it's worth reading the whole thread and the Motion to Dismiss document linked at the beginning. If the judge accepts the argument it will render the FAA toothless until such time as they do follow the correct procedure to introduce binding legislation.


  1. As the owner and/or operator of an Aerdro, LLC multi-rotor RC helicopter, you are the ultimate and final authority as to the safe conduct of every flight. It is your responsibility to know the condition of the helicopter and the conditions under which it will be flown so as to make every flight a safe one.
  2. Flying over or within 50 ft laterally of people is prohibited.
  3. Flying over active roadways is prohibited.
  4. Flying over private property or within 200 ft of a man-made structure without permission from the owner is prohibited.
  5. If at any time the safety of the flight is in doubt or the condition of the helicopter becomes unknown, land immediately while attempting to remain clear of people, man-made structures, and active roadways.
  6. All flights shall be conducted below 400 ft. above-ground-level
  7. Flying within 3 statute miles of an active airport is prohibited.
  8. Always remove propellers before applying power to the helicopter when indoors, when conducting maintenance, or when the condition of the helicopter is unknown or in doubt.
  9. Keep animals and small children away from the helicopter before attempting to fly.
  10. Never fly while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Refer to appropriate prescription drug guidelines regarding the operation of machinery or vehicles before attempting to fly.
  11. When flying via “First Person Video” (FPV) always have a “spotter” present and adhere to AMA guidelines for RC FPV operations as well as the guidelines listed above.
...and all those allegedly "prohibited" actions will revert to "voluntary compliance" :)
 

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