Hi all I've got some possible gigs coming up in Europe (various countries, TBC) next year. Has anyone got a handle on what is currently going on with regs in Europe, and if there are any, whether the EU is acting as a whole, or individual nations have their own policies, etc. Cheers, Mat
Mat as a start see this website. I believe this covers most of the EU. The UK has their own thing going. http://www.eurousc.com
For the time being, every Europe country has its own regulations regarding UAS and some countries don't have regulations or are still working on the legislation (mostly in south-eastern Europe). As far as I know, EASA is working with the European Commission to come up with a unified EU law and licensing program, but this can take a while. As an example - in Austria you are required to have a redundant FC (so only double MK or ZeroUAV Gemini is allowed) for commercial operations. In Poland (where I live) you need to take an exam to get VLOS UAV Pilot License for commercial operations plus there are other restrictions - like no-fly zones over cities over 25000 (unless you pay a fee and get the town major's agreement, which can take a while). It's best to contact someone local who knows all the laws and regulations well ahead before the job.
That's a great help Mateusz, thank you. Given how fragmented each country's rules are within the otherwise 'one nation' effect of the EU, I would guess licensing and policing are in a bit of disarray at the moment. From you experience, would you agree with this? Mat
While you could say that about the regulations EU-wide (no unified policy and no cross-country licensing options), you can't say that about each country's individual policy. While regulations are in a bit of disarray in some countries (Croatia, Bulgaria, Albania as an example, but please double check if anything has changed from when I last checked), they are solid in others (mostly western/central Europe). We have solid rules here in Poland, and while they are going to change soon to be more user friendly in some cased and more restrictive in others, they are clear and well established. One thing that's not so clear is who can and should punish you for illegal flying, but last I've hear, some police units had special training on UAV laws. Personally, I try and usually do respect the current UAV law, with some exception. An example would be tweaking and trying out new settings in the FC/Movi in my backyard - reporting such flights would be a nightmare, but the current law states that it's prohibited to fly in a city with over 25000 residents. A plane flying 25m above my house would have more serious problems than meeting with my X8 (trees, buildings etc.). So, again, it's good to talk to someone local who's familiar with UAV laws in the country where you're going to shoot. You may find out that the country you are going to has pretty loose regulations, but you may also find out that it's not worth the risk to fly a commercial job without a pilot's license. In Poland I wouldn't risk flying in or near the center of a big city, but I'd have no issue when flying over fields/forests far away from any larger city and airports.
Cheers Mateusz, I completely understand what you're saying. What I was hinting at and hoping is that it is potentially very onerous to comply with licensing in every possible country if you are moving around a lot, so the early stages of legislation and policing might preclude complying with everyone's regulations. That's perhaps a bit too presumptuous of me, though. I'll keep doing my homework.
For those of you interested in flying within the UK, the regulations are here: http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?catid=1995&pagetype=90