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Typhoon H in high winds

The law regarding directly overflying an individual or small groups of people is different in the U.K.

For the record, I advise against directly overflying people. That said...

In the U.K., we have to respect the 50m bubble rule except during take off and landing where it is 30m. The ANO allows a recreational flyer to directly overfly an individual or small groups of people so long as a 50m separation is maintained. For larger groups of people (congested areas) then it is a 150m bubble which effectively prevents directly overflying. Indeed, the ANO specifically forbids a recreational flyer from flying above a congested area.

For a standard PfCO holder, that 150m rule regarding congested areas is eased to 50m which effectively allows for overflight of congested areas so long as that 50m separation is maintained.

I've seen some posts by other U.K. pilots saying that directly overflying individuals is illegal. This is not the case. Close examination of the ANO reveals that it is, in fact, quite legal so long as that 50m separation is maintained. I will say, though, that just because it is legal doesn't mean that it's a good idea. In practice, a honest risk assessment (for any commercial flight in the U.K a written risk assessment is mandatory) will show that overflying people is too risky. Further, to have any hope of your Operations Manual being approved by the CAA, it must contain boldface procedures regarding the public within the AOO (Area Of Operations), so effectively preventing a PfCO holder from directly overflying people not under his/her control.

When I did the classroom section of the course to get my Remote Pilot's Certificate we had a lengthy discussion about overflying people. While the guy who was teaching us strongly advised against such practices he did concede that if you were to do it you wouldn't be breaking the law if you flew above 50m. That surprised me until I looked again at the ANO with closer scrutiny.

The above applies to individuals or small groups of people not under the PICs control. If they are under the PICs control then a 50m separation is not required.

IMPORTANT. This is U.K. law and should not be confused with laws covering other countries.
 
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Legal or illegal, let's look at this issue pragmatically.

We've all read the stories about the drone that unaccountably fell out of the sky or smashed into something. Of course, that can happen. Let's say that 1% of my flights ends in disaster. In the average neighborhood, the chances of a human standing at the exact location of the crash has got to be less than 1%. Also, the chances of a serious injury from the impact is, maybe, 10%. So, 10% of 1% of 1% is 1x10-3% (0.001%) or less than 1 chance of a serious injury in 100,000 flights. Go ahead and debate these numbers, but the chances of a serious injury accident are pretty small. Of course, the risk in flying over crowds goes up.

This is all about causing personal injury. I'm not too worried about my drone crashing into someone's house. Fixing the drone would probably cost more than fixing the house.

Now, compare that with driving my car. On the road, I spend much of my time within mere feet of a serious accident. My driving skill and the skill of those around me have kept me alive. Even a fender bender can be expensive. But that is an acceptable risk to me. Since I am retired, I mostly drive for pleasure. I also fly my camera drone for pleasure. And yes, I carry auto insurance and personal liability insurance.

So, I can understand the regulations against flying over crowds or close to people or close to buildings or over busy highways or over critical infrastructure or near airports or during rescue operations. But I sure don't worry too much about flying over neighborhoods as long as nobody's privacy is being violated and the pilot has taken the recommended preflight precautions.
 
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When flying in conflict zones with UAV's they called that the "Big Sky, Little Airplane" concept of air traffic control. In essence there initially wasn't much to worry about as the UAV's generally flew higher than the manned stuff. All that changed when a 50lb UAV coming from the opposite direction flew right down the middle of a flight of 4 CH-47's in a 2 by 2 formation. They figured it would only need once to be a disaster.
 
Reading back over my statement, I don't see where I asked.
And I am not speaking about privacy or legality or whether you have permission. I am speaking about property damage and personal liability.
If something happened when you're over someone's head, think of what would happen. Personally, if it happened to me, I'd hate to think that my actions were the cause of some young child being a vegetable for the next 80 years, or worse. I am fully aware that there are those who don't care for other peoples personal safety and property.
For more information, please refer to my signature, or to the well-heeded since the birth of RC aeromodeling that are universally established guidelines of flying RC aircraft.
Get over yourself! The UAV industry would he dead if it listened to you.
 
KD: I'm sure not every RC flyer flies responsibly, there are jerks out there and still jerky RC flyers. I've seen it first had!
Take a deep breath and relax your taking this to seriously. I my self and a commercial business drone operator and carry insurance. Risk is inevitable part of success!
AH-1G:
Who is your insurance provider, and what is the cost of commercial drone insurance? I have been thinking I would go with the on demand $10.00 per hour insurance..if there is a affordable annual plan out there...I would go with it.
Please advise. Thank you!
Glen H
 
I use U.S. Specialty Insurance Company
Plano Tx. 469-633-7470
Their Underwriter is Ebco Aviation Underwriters Inc
Memphis TN
"Unmanned Aircraft Insurance Policy"
I pay 495 year, Single Limit Bodily Injury/Property Damage Liability ($500.000), each person each occurrence. does not cover the drone.
 
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I use U.S. Specialty Insurance Company
Plano Tx. 469-633-7470
Their Underwriter is Ebco Aviation Underwriters Inc
Memphis TN
"Unmanned Aircraft Insurance Policy"
I pay 495 year, Single Limit Bodily Injury/Property Damage Liability ($500.000), each person each occurrence. does not cover the drone.
Thanks for the information. I will definitely give them a call. I will have the funds on November 9th and will order my H then. In the meantime, I am studying preparing for the 107 test. I have flown single engine aircraft for many years...so I am all ready familiar with a lot of the rules in the heavens...but unmanned drones as you know have their own rules and regulations.
 
Most of the rules covering drone flight are exactly the same as full scale. The big exception is that drone operators are 100% responsible for "see and avoid" with regard to full scale. They are for the most part relieved of see and avoid responsibility with drones due the the small size of our aircraft. Unmanned operators don't have medical requirements that have to be met prior to operating, except for commercial operators but they self certify instead of visiting a doctor.

Commercial operators are bound by more regulations than recreational operators so learning the differences in the rules is beneficial for the recreational operator. Night flight and altitude are two areas where the recreational flyer has a lot more latitude. Although they should work the same the commercial operator encounters more airspace restrictions since they are required to apply for a waiver to fly in areas the recreational flyer, at most, only has to notify the controlling authority of their presence. As a full scale pilot you have advantages and disadvantages over the common drone flyer. You have knowledge that will help you avoid getting into bad situations but having that knowledge leaves you without room for excuse. Just remember that careless and reckless operation of an aircraft applies to everyone and proceed accordingly.

PSA, if you desire to up that liability limit to $1 mil the policy cost increases to about $600/yr per aircraft. That's the cheapest I've been able to find. The $10.00/hr outfit is a good deal for those that don't fly much or don't have issues with phone calls and timing of their flights. It' a bit burdensome for those that fly multiple locations in a day, fly where cell phone coverage is poor, and those that have FAA waivers and system NFZ waivers. You won't be able to obtain coverage in areas depicted on B4UFly or at night with the hourly insurance.
 
Ok here's the videos all uncut just raw video.

Amazing footage and reassuring to see what the Typhoon can handle! We have 21 knots of wind in the UK today and I was debating with myself whether or not to take the bird out for a flutter.

I hope your neighbours' properties weren't to badly damaged by the flood waters.
 
He certainly did take one for the team.

Dats insane!!! :rolleyes: I would never dream of flying in that. I'm waaaaay too afraid to see my investment turn into something unrecognizable.

That said the H is an amazing bird!!! :cool:
 
Wow!! I hadn't seen that footage before; amazing! I have even more respect for the H now.

I went through a couple of batteries this afternoon with my oldest son and his mate from school (last day of holiday today). Flawless performance from the H in the wind that we had (nothing compared to the footage above).

A week today I do my CAA training to get my commercial license; really looking forward to the 3 day course. I hope it stays dry between now and then so I can get some more practice in.
 
Slowly wading in, just looking for the right time to pull the trigger and the right set up
 
I flew my H last year in Hawaii with 25-30 MPH trade winds blowing! It rained every time I tried to do a Point of Interest at La'ie Point for a week and I was determined to get this footage since it wasn't raining presently. She flew in POI mode admirably while fighting the winds. There was on point when the camera got blown up and was pointing towards the sky for a few seconds (I edited that part out) but the gimbal motors quickly corrected it. I will never do this again but, it was nice to know she could handle the task without crashing into the sea.

 
Lovely footage there! My favourite bit was the high level bit at the end though, above the atmosphere.... :)

You gave me an idea for a location near to where I was born in the North East of England. I must take the H when I am next visiting my parents.
 
Lovely footage there! My favourite bit was the high level bit at the end though, above the atmosphere.... :)

You gave me an idea for a location near to where I was born in the North East of England. I must take the H when I am next visiting my parents.
Are you thinking of Marsden Grotto? The arch no longer exists...it was dynamited some years ago because it was deemed to be unsafe.
 

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