By 31st December 2022, all Unmanned aircraft on the market in the EU and the UK will have to be compliant with the Delegated Regulations which form the new aircraft categories C0 to C4.
You can find out all about the aircraft categories in our Open Category article which explains what each category is and how they fit into the new Open Category Subcategories of A1 'fly over people', A2 'fly close to people and A3 'fly far from people'.
All aircraft which don’t have any class and CE marking or were on the market without a class or CE marking before 31st December 2022 will have transitional provisions in place for 2 years.
Aircraft in the A1 'fly over people' subcategory
Aircraft under 250g MTOM
‘Existing’ Unmanned aircraft may still be used (even after the 2-year transitional period) in the A1 subcategory - if they are less than 250g MTOM.
This means that you can fly over uninvolved people, but not over assemblies of people.
Aircraft under 500g MTOM
‘Existing’ Unmanned aircraft under 500g MTOM fall under the A1 Transitional Provision. Until 31st December 2022 you can fly any aircraft under 500g MTOM anywhere that is legal to do so as long as you do not intentionally fly over uninvolved people.
To fly these aircraft in the A1 subcategory you will need to complete the A2 CofC (Certificate of Competency) with an RAE. You can find more information about the A2 CofC in this article by clicking here.
After the 31st December 2022, you will no longer be able to fly these aircraft in the A1 subcategory even with an A2 CofC and you will only be able to fly these aircraft in the A3 'far from people' subcategory which means you've got to stay 150m away from congested areas and at least 50m from uninvolved people.
If you hold an Operational Authorisation then you can continue to operate these aircraft as per your permissions.
Aircraft in the A2 'fly close to people' subcategory
Aircraft under 2 kg MTOM
‘Existing’ Unmanned aircraft under 2kg MTOM fall under the A2 Transitional Provision. Until 31st December 2022, you can fly any aircraft under 2 kg MTOM as long as you maintain a 50m separation distance from uninvolved people.
To fly these aircraft in the A2 subcategory you will need to complete the A2 CofC (Certificate of Competency) with an RAE. You can find more information about the A2 CofC in this article by clicking here.
After the 31st December 2022, you will no longer be able to fly these aircraft in the A2 subcategory even with an A2 CofC. You will only be able to fly these aircraft in the A3 'far from people' subcategory which means you've got to stay 150m away from congested areas at least 50m away from uninvolved people.
If you hold an Operational Authorisation then you can continue to operate these aircraft as per your permissions and you don't need an A2 CofC to fly 'legacy' aircraft.
Where do I stand with my DJI Mavic 2 Pro?
So the Mavic 2 Pro has a Flying Weight of 907g, therefore you need to keep 50m from uninvolved people and you will need the A2 CofC. If you don’t need to fly down to 50m then you can fly in the A3 category.
If you have an Operational Authorisation you can fly the DJI Mavic 2 Pro under PDRA-01.
Aircraft in the A3 'far from people' subcategory
Aircraft between 2 kg and 25 kg MTOM
If your aircraft has a MTOM of over 2 kg and is less than 25 kg then you will only be able to fly it in the A3 subcategory which means staying 150m away from residential, commercial, industrial or recreational areas and no uninvolved persons must be present within at least 50m of the aircraft.
If you hold an Operational Authorisation then you can continue to operate these aircraft (0-25 kg) as per your permissions and you don't need an A2 CofC to fly 'legacy' aircraft.
Where do I stand with my DJI Inspire 2?
The Inspire 2 has a MTOM of 4250g so you can’t fly this aircraft with an A2 CofC, but you can still fly it in the A3 subcategory of 150m away.
If you have an Operational Authorisation you can fly the DJI Inspire 2 under PDRA-01.
Where do I stand with my DJI Matrice 200 (series)?
The DJI Matrice 210 has a MTOM of 6.14kg so you can’t fly this aircraft with an A2 CofC, but you can still fly it in the A3 subcategory of 150m away.
If you have an Operational Authorisation you can fly the DJI Matrice 210 under PDRA-01.
Operations that fall out of the Open Category
If the types of operation you want to do don’t fall into the Open category, with or without the provisions in place, and you don't hold an Operational Authorisation then you will need to look at the General Visual Line of Sight Certificate, or the GVC.
We’ll look at the GVC in the next article.
What should I do?
You can use our helpful form below to determine what your best course of action is.
Conclusion
For everyone who doesn't currently have an Operational Authorisation, there are transitional provisions in place if you want to fly aircraft between 250g up to 2kg in the A1 and A2 subcategories for 2 years.
After 31st December 2022, all remote pilots without an Operational Authorisation will either have to get a General Line of Sight Certificate (GVC) if they are still flying 'Legacy' aircraft or they will only be able to fly them in the A3 category which means flying 150m away from residential, commercial, industrial or recreational areas and staying at least 50m from uninvolved people.
This is why having the GVC and getting an Operational Authorisation now will future proof yourself if you still want to fly aircraft such as the DJI Inspire 2 and Matrice 200 series in the future.
We'll keep you updated with more blogs and videos to try and help explain the process.
More to come!
