400 feet

Part if the carry over from the drone situation was the expectation that from the end of July a/c under 7 kgs would be restricted to at altitude limit of 400 feet. It looks as though this now may not be the case:-



From: BMFA South East Area [mailto:webadmin@bmfa.org]
Sent: 16 June, 2018 7:39 PM
To: bobhop@ntlworld.com
Subject: The Latest on the new regulation from head office.



Dear BMFA Club.

The following was published on the BMFA website on the 15th June. Please pass on to your members.

I think you will agree this is good news for us all and a big thanks to Dave Phipps.

The latest meeting between the Department for Transport (DfT), Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and representatives from the UK Model Flying Associations took place this afternoon (Friday 15th June) at the DfT offices in London.

The most urgent matter to address was the recent change to the Air Navigation Order (ANO) which introduced (in Article 94A) a 400ft height limit on the operation of all Small Unmanned Aircraft (SUA) which will come into effect on the 30th July 2018. Whilst the changes to the ANO are primarily aimed at regulating ‘drones’, the 400ft restriction will also apply to model aircraft below 7Kg.

However, we are pleased to report that agreement was reached that the Model Flying Associations will collectively apply for an exemption from Article 94A to allow their members to continue operating model aircraft below 7Kg above 400ft as they do under the current ANO. The DfT and CAA were supportive of this course of action and did not foresee any reason why the exemption would not be in place in time for the 30th July.

Negotiations on the other changes introduced in the ANO (operator registration and online testing for pilots) remain ongoing, but for now it is business as usual for members of the BMFA, LMA, SAA & FPVUK. Happy flying!



bmfa.org/News/News-Page/ArticleID/2528/U...e-400ft-height-limit

Stuart Willis.

Area chairman

I sincerely hope they are right!
I presume this will mean all UAVs (including FPV multi copters) under 7 kg and flown by BMFA members will be permitted to fly to over 400 ft.
The down side will be that any "altitude" related incident (BMFA member or not) will put the exemption at risk.

I often wonder, how many of us can accurately judge the height our models are flying at without telemetry

Most people cannot even judge distance when they are landing! (Especially if there are a few of those jumping trees about!)
Try deliberately 'landing-out', and have a competition on who can guesstimate the distance away best! Very few will be anywhere near, and usually at least 5' off on direction, too, especially in long grass! :evil:

I suggest that no-one presumes that under 7kg "drones" will be exempt. That is I believe unlikely. The wording of the current negotiation implies that they will be restricted.

FTB
Only 'planes' under 7 kg exempt?
Is this not the very problem that has beset all the regulatory bodies in the US, Europe and the UK.
So far no one has been able to create a set of words that defines the difference between a model plane and a drone in a way that satisfies all parties so at the moment they are all considered UAVs.

I suspect it will be done. After all, it is the misuse of Multi-rotor "Drones" which have been the cause of the problem, causing the change in regulation. Fixed wing and Helicopter models have had few issues such are affecting public safety in the way miss-use of "Drones" have been. Many, or even most, incidents have been caused by small, likely under 7kg machines. So, like it or not, the odds are they will have legal controls and the exemption for them will be different than the exemption for Fixed wing, and Helicopters.