MODEL FLYING – A GUIDE TO UK REGULATION
The Need for Regulation
Every aircraft that flies in the UK is governed by regulation, from the tiny, humble balsa wood glider to the gigantic and sophisticated jet liner. Regulation is not something which everyone likes or agrees with because they feel it restricts the enjoyment of their pursuits. However if you can step aside for a moment and adjust your perspective you can begin to see that regulation exists to control these pursuits with the intention of making it safe for everyone, whether they are involved or not. Put simply the regulations exist not to spoil your fun but to stop your unsafe fun spoiling someone else's day.
Legal Framework of Regulation
Within Europe the regulation of civilian aerial activities is the responsibility of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). It is an independent legislative body under European law, accountable to the Member States and the European Union institutions and works closely with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) with the aim of harmonising standards and promoting best aviation practice worldwide.
Within the UK a large part of the work previously carried out by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is now carried out by EASA. However the regulation of certain types of aircraft and aerial activities is still the responsibility of the CAA. In order to legally and properly discharge its responsibilities the CAA requires legislation. This takes the form of CAP 393 - Air Navigation: The Order and the Regulations which empowers the CAA and is law, providing legal definitions of activities etc. It is split into parts, each one dealing with a particular subject. Parts are composed of Articles and Schedules. Articles are individual points of law and Schedules are implementation lists for Articles.
Relevant Articles
Of particular relevance to model flyers are the following articles from the ANO :
PART 19 PROHIBITED BEHAVIOUR
Article 137 Endangering safety of an aircraft
Article 138 Endangering safety of any person or property
PART 22 AIRCRAFT IN FLIGHT
Article 166 Small unmanned aircraft
Article 167 Small unmanned surveillance aircraft
The ANO is a hefty tome of great interest to those concerned with regulation and those suffering from bouts of insomnia and looking for a cure. The text of the articles is reproduced below for those of you without the inclination to look them up for fear of being branded geeks.
Article 137 Endangering safety of an aircraft
A person must not recklessly or negligently act in a manner likely to endanger an aircraft, or any person in an aircraft.
Article 138 Endangering safety of any person or property
A person must not recklessly or negligently cause or permit an aircraft to endanger any person or property.
Article 166 Small unmanned aircraft
(1) A person must not cause or permit any article or animal (whether or not attached to a parachute) to be dropped from a small unmanned aircraft so as to endanger persons or property.
(2) The person in charge of a small unmanned aircraft may only fly the aircraft if reasonably satisfied that the flight can safely be made.
(3) The person in charge of a small unmanned aircraft must maintain direct, unaided visual contact with the aircraft sufficient to monitor its flight path in relation to other aircraft, persons, vehicles, vessels and structures for the purpose of avoiding collisions.
(4) The person in charge of a small unmanned aircraft which has a mass of more than 7kg excluding its fuel but including any articles or equipment installed in or attached to the aircraft at the commencement of its flight, must not fly the aircraft:
(a) in Class A, C, D or E airspace unless the permission of the appropriate air traffic control unit has been obtained;
(b) within an aerodrome traffic zone during the notified hours of watch of the air traffic
unit (if any) at that aerodrome unless the permission of any such air traffic control unit has been obtained; or
(c) at a height of more than 400 feet above the surface unless it is flying in airspace described in sub-paragraph (a) or (b) and in accordance with the requirements for that airspace.
(5) The person in charge of a small unmanned aircraft must not fly the aircraft for the purposes of aerial work except in accordance with a permission granted by the CAA.
Article 167 Small unmanned surveillance aircraft
(1) The person in charge of a small unmanned surveillance aircraft must not fly the aircraft in any of the circumstances described in paragraph (2) except in accordance with a permission issued by the CAA.
(2) The circumstances referred to in paragraph (1) are:
(a) over or within 150 metres of any congested area;
(b) over or within 150 metres of an organised open-air assembly of more than 1,000 persons;
(c) within 50 metres of any vessel, vehicle or structure which is not under the control of the person in charge of the aircraft; or
(d) subject to paragraphs (3) and (4), within 50 metres of any person.
(3) Subject to paragraph (4), during take-off or landing, a small unmanned surveillance aircraft must not be flown within 30 metres of any person.
(4) Paragraphs (2)(d) and (3) do not apply to the person in charge of the small unmanned surveillance aircraft or a person under the control of the person in charge of the aircraft.
(5) In this article 'a small unmanned surveillance aircraft' means a small unmanned aircraft which is equipped to undertake any form of surveillance or data acquisition.
Articles 137 & 138 might not appear to be of immediate relevance to model aircraft, but please bear in mind that as far as the CAA is concerned our models are simply a sub-set all aircraft as noted in the opening paragraph of this guide. In fact Article 137 is the essence of safe flying, whatever form it takes.
Having established the need for regulation and basis for safe flying it is necessary to expand the idea and quantify it in order for those carrying out the flying to have a clear reference to what is considered safe - this is where Article 166 comes in.
Article 166 makes particular reference to small unmanned aircraft (SUA) so to avoid misinterpretation we need to have this defined. ANO definition (Part 33 INTERPRETATION, Article 255) :
Small unmanned aircraft means any unmanned aircraft, other than a balloon or a kite, having a mass of not more than 20kg without its fuel but including any articles or equipment installed in or attached to the aircraft at the commencement of its flight.
From this we can see that the vast majority of model flyers operate SUAs. Of course there are the even bigger boys with large models exceeding 20kg but that is another story and covered by stricter regulation which will not be gone into here. When we come later to look at the CAPs which expand further these articles, we will see that the terms 'small unmanned aircraft' and 'model aircraft' can be regarded as synonymous.
Article 167 goes further by introducing the role of small unmanned surveillance aircraft (SUSA). In this case the article is self-defining :
In this article 'a small unmanned surveillance aircraft' means a small unmanned aircraft which is equipped to undertake any form of surveillance or data acquisition.
Hang on a moment though, aren't we now getting close to FPV and what do the CAA mean by surveillance?
CAP 722 Section 3 Chapter 1 Para. 3.4 does not define surveillance but states that :
The provision of images or other data solely for the use of controlling or monitoring the aircraft is not considered to be applicable to the meaning of 'Surveillance or Data Acquisition' covered at ANO 2009 Article 167 for SUSA.
Sounds a lot like FPV to me, not the surveillance bit, but the controlling and monitoring bit. However, in my view the CAA falls a little short here by not going on to define what constitutes surveillance or data acquisition.
We'll stop here for the moment as that is enough to be getting on with. However, shortly we will look at the CAPs which expand further on the Articles within the ANO. The principle ones are :
CAP 658 Model Aircraft : A Guide to Safe Flying
CAP 722 Unmanned Aircraft Systems Operation in UK Airspace – Guidance
Abbreviations
ANO = Air Navigation Order
CAA = Civil Aviation Authority
CAP = Civil Aviation Publication
EASA = European Aviation Safety Agency
FAA = Federal Aviation Administration
FPV = First Person View (but you knew that already)
ORS4 = Official Record Series 4
SRG = Safety Regulation Group
SUA = Small Unmanned Aircraft
SUAS = Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems
SUSA = Small Unmanned Surveillance Aircraft
UAS = Unmanned Aircraft Systems
Reference Documents and Amendment Status
CAP 393 Air Navigation : The Order and the Regulations
(Fourth edition Amendment 1 April 2015)
http://publicapps.caa.co.uk/docs/33/CAP%20393%20Fourth%20edition%20Amendment%201%20April%202015.pdf (http://publicapps.caa.co.uk/docs/33/CAP%20393%20Fourth%20edition%20Amendment%201%20April%202015.pdf)
CAP 658 Model Aircraft : A Guide to Safe Flying
(Fourth Edition February 2012 including amendment 1/2013 dated June 2013)
http://publicapps.caa.co.uk/docs/33/CAP658%204%20Edition%20Amend%201%20June%202013.pdf (http://publicapps.caa.co.uk/docs/33/CAP658%204%20Edition%20Amend%201%20June%202013.pdf)
CAP 722 Unmanned Aircraft Systems Operation in UK Airspace – Guidance
(Sixth Edition – 31 March 2015)
http://publicapps.caa.co.uk/docs/33/CAP%20722%20Sixth%20Edition%20March%202015.pdf (http://publicapps.caa.co.uk/docs/33/CAP%20722%20Sixth%20Edition%20March%202015.pdf)
ORS4 No. 1108
(06 May 2015)
http://publicapps.caa.co.uk/docs/33/1108.pdf (http://publicapps.caa.co.uk/docs/33/1108.pdf)
All links correct at 6 Jan. 2016