Drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV’s) are hogging the headlines right now. With recent reports that calls to the police over drones are up 2000% in the last 3 years.
This rapid rise gives some indication as to the scale of the issue. A large proportion of the issues comes down to a lack of education surrounding the rules governing airspace and privacy laws.
But drones have been around for ages
Not long ago it was primarily the military using UAV’s extensively, however they are now widely used by amateurs and budding videographers across the country.
So what are the rules?
OK, we know this takes the fun out of it, but these are important considerations!
The House of Lords EU committee called for compulsory registration of all commercial and civilian drones. Whilst Transport Canada are so concerned around the usage of drones and lack of education that they have promoted the fact that drones are not simply toys, moreover they are aircraft that need to be operated safely and legally.
There’s nothing in place to prevent anyone going out and buying a drone. As long as the drone is under 20 kg and is not used for commercial purposes. Further rules stipulate that the drone should not be flown within 150 metres of a congested area and within 50 metres of a person, vessel, vehicle structure not under control of the pilot. Therefore flying it within a crowded public area is almost impossible.
Not only this but you are also required to fly the drone “within sight”, which translates as 400 feet altitude or more than 500 metres horizontally.
Further to this if you wish to use a drone for commercial purposes you will require a licence from the CAA.
Still want a drone?
Clearly the use of drones is still evolving and the legislation is changing all the time. Whilst the use of drones is quite restrictive, it is possible to use one safely and within guidelines.
However for commercial use in order to capture all your video production requirements, speak to your local video production company to ensure you fully comply with all legislation and to avoid the many pitfalls of using such devices.
Contact Energise Media today to find out how our commercial drone can shoot perfect footage for your video project. We supply aerial footage from our base in Hertfordshire to locations across the UK.