With the increasing amount of Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (SUAV's), Drones, quadcopters or any of the other names these flying cameras are called, that are heading on to the market we have put in place the following information. 

1. Do I need a licence to fly a drone ? Yes and no. If you are using it for simply recreational use that is not to do with any kind of business and you are not going to make any financial gain then the answer is no. For clarification purposes, anything that you intend on doing with the footage, if it has anything to do with any business then yes you do. If not then no you don't. If you are just thinking of helping a friend out to promote something and not earning any money then the CAA do not consider that as recreational.

2. Where can we fly? We have a map underneath showing no fly zones. This is a guide only. There may be parts that have been missed off. In addition to the map, you can't fly over or within 50 metres of anything or anyone that is not under your control and you must remain 150 metres away from congested areas. For clarification purposes the CAA state that a congested area is referred to as ‘any area of a city, town or settlement which is substantially used for residential, industrial, commercial or recreational purposes.’ This could cover housing estates, retail parks, theme parks, shopping centres, city centres and even public parks.  That means that you don't have permission of. For CAA Approved Permission holders,  drone operators with a licence (called a permission) this decreases to 50 metres and 30 metres at take off and landing. 

3. Where can you take off? The land owners permission is required to take off. There is a slightly grey area of whether you can take off whilst holding the  craft and walking along a public footpath. 

4. How do we know that the company is fully licensed to carry out the arial work? By checking on the latest issued CAA list of approved operators. current CAA list 

 THIS MAP SHOULD BE USED AS A GUIDE ONLY AND IS NOT DEFINITIVE

RED - Danger Areas - military airspace activities such as fighter pilot training, live ammunition training or weapons and systems testing (including GPS jamming exercises). The official definition is “An airspace of defined dimensions within which activities dangerous to the flight of aircraft may exist at specified time. HIRTA’s are High Intensity Radio Transmission Areas, flying through these areas could interfere with the electronics on board your drone.

Purple - Prohibited Areas are areas of airspace which for one reason or another have been prohibited from having aircraft enter them. The official definition is “An airspace of defined dimensions above the land areas or territorial waters of a State within which the flight of aircraft is prohibited” You will have to investigate the NATS AIP for more information about why the area is prohibited.

Blue - The round blue areas on the map indicate Aerodrome Traffic Zones, they surround smaller airports and aerodromes that do not have additional controlled airspace. Other areas of blue identify Controlled Airspace. If you are operating a drone above 7kg you must not fly in these areas without prior permission from the air traffic service provider controlling that airspace.If you are under 7kg, it is still strongly advised to notify the air traffic service provider of your activity as aircraft may well be flying at low altitudes. The pilot is responsible at all times.

Orange - Restricted Areas protect sensitive locations such as prisons and nuclear facilities. The official definition is “An airspace of defined dimensions above the land areas or territorial waters of a State within which the flight of aircraft is restricted in accordance with certain specified conditions”

Yellow - Military Aerodrome Traffic Zones, similar to civil Aerodrome Traffic Zones, typically protect military aerodromes in the same way.