Where to fly drones ireland
What are the Irish Drone Rules?
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the main reference document for drone
rules in Ireland is called a statutory
instrument now this document is law and
it's important that we remember what
it's called it replaces an old statutory
instrument that was written back in 2000
and was designed from model aircraft and
rockets the small type the full name of
the document is statutory instrument
number 563 of 2015
Irish Aviation Authority small unmanned
aircraft drones and rockets order 2015
to put the statutory instrument in
context this is secondary legislation
which allows the Irish aviation
authority to develop rules which we must
abide by from this secondary legislation
which takes a lot of effort to change
they've also issued aeronautical notices
which they update regularly and contain
much more detailed information about how
operators and pilots must act on a day
to day basis we will look at those after
the statutory instrument you will find
the statutory instrument below this
video and we invite you to download the
statutory instrument starts by giving us
a string of definitions so if you ever
want to check out the legal definition
of some of the terms in the document
this is where you can go next it talks
about applicability telling us that it
applies to all small unmanned aircraft
under 150 kilograms although it then
lists one exception the statutory
instrument does not cover drones less
than one kilogram
provided that the drone does not have
any substantial parts this is led to a
misconception that there are no rules
for drones less than one kilogram and
this is not the case
drones like the DJI maverick are less
than one kilogram but they clearly have
substantial parts although you could
argue this one if you wanted to either
way for this exemption to apply you also
have to remain below 50 meters or 50
feet and you must fly in a manner that
doesn't cause any harm to
people or property this exception was
designed so that everyone can enjoy
flying light drones in their back garden
or wherever they want to fly and at the
time it was written you couldn't get
commercial drones less than one kilogram
if you want to go both fifty feet or 15
meters then you should treat your drone
as if it's between one and four
kilograms and follow those rules which
we're going to look at shortly section
7.1 tells us that we should register our
drone but we will discuss this a little
bit further on in more depth Section
seven point two tells us that we shall
not permit our drones to be operated so
the cause a hazard to any other aircraft
in the vicinity of aircraft manoeuvring
in an aerodrome traffic circuit or in a
negligent or reckless manner so as to
endanger life will cause damage to the
property of others it also tells us to
give way to manned aircraft which seems
fair because they're going to find it
hard to give way to us okay so let's get
a little bit more specific then the
following rules for all drones from one
kilogram to 25 kilograms or for drones
less than one kilogram
if you want to fly them in both 50 feet
or they have any substantial parts there
are certain types of airspace that we
can fly in unless we're qualified drone
pilots and we will look at how to do
that later in aeronautical notice you
zero to these air spaces that we need to
avoid are called prohibited airspace
restricted airspace
and controlled airspace now the obvious
question is how do I know what airspace
I'm in well we've made that really
simple for you just check out the
airspace tab on our website we've
designed an interactive airspace map
designed to be user-friendly and simple
just click or search for where you want
to fly and it will tell you what type of
airspace it is as well as lots of other
useful information there are also some
exemptions which allow everyone to fly
in controlled airspace
these are details an aeronautical
knowledge user of four and we're going
to look at those in a subsequent video
when you were in uncontrol
their space you will still need to keep
at least five kilometers from airfields
like Newcastle and Wicklow and clumb
blog in the Midlands the exception is if
you get permission from the airfield
which they are likely to give you
especially if you're a trained pilot
again check out the interactive airspace
map on our website to find where these
airfields are and to get their contact
details so no matter where we are
operating we must stay 30 metres from
people both cars and buildings which are
not under our control this translates as
we have to stay away unless you get
their permission so you can fly your
drone up to someone or over crowds but
if you're flying with your friends
they're happy to let you fly close to
them then that's fine
just remember to keep it six this
distance is one of the low is published
by a National Aviation Authority
anywhere in the world and just because
it's the legal limit it's certainly not
a terrace a lot of people will be very
intimidated by a drone this close so
please respect that and do everything
you can to keep the public happy and
feeling safe a common misconception is
that if you increase your altitude well
then you can fly closer to people now
this is not the case it's 30 metres
laterally so imagine a cylindrical
column extending vertically if there is
a gathering of 12 or more people then
this 30 metres increases to 120 metres
again laterally this rule was designed
for outdoor concert concerts or events
like the National ploughing match as the
risk should a failure occur on the
aircraft is much higher again an
exemption applies if those people are
deemed to be under your control we have
to keep the drone within 300 metres of
the pilot and always within ornated
visual line of sight this means you can
wear glasses but not use binoculars it
is rare that you will need to fly so far
but again take extra caution the real
risk here is that it gets difficult to
now what you're flying over and also
should a helicopter take off from the
field it could be very difficult to
avoid it the maximum height that we can
fly above the ground or water is 400
feet or 120 metres the reason for this
is that manned aviation extends down as
far as 500 metres this leaves a 100-foot
buffer this is a very important rule as
manned aircraft can sneak up pretty fast
and our drones usually don't descend
very fast both myself and Oshin have
nearly hit drones which were flying too
high when we were flying fast military
aircraft the rule is 400 feet or 120
meters above the position where the
drone is flying so if you take off from
the top of a mountain and climb to 400
feet or 120 meters that's fine but if
you move the drone away from the top of
the mountain then you need to descend
with the slope of the hill
remember your telemetry is unlikely to
have this above ground information it is
likely to only tell you the height above
the take-off location so exercise your
superior airmanship here finally in our
list you can't drop anything from our
drone so there's special permission so
no package delivery or parachuting your
pets into your neighbors guidance just
yet you may have seen on TV that I
completed the Ireland's first drone
package delivery in January 2017 with an
amazing young girl Bellmore to drop the
medical supplies to the boat we need to
get a special permission from the Irish
Aviation Authority as with most things
in life there are exceptions to every
rule to act outside any of these rules
pilots need to complete two days of
ground school training and a flight test
this allows you to fly in any airspace
and get specific exemptions if required
we'll talk more about this when we
discuss aeronautical note as you 0/2 as
such if you follow the above rules no
further permission certificates
insurance or training is required
although we strongly recommend that you
consider an insurance policy if we're
going to operate a drone in public
we're also a big believer in training
but the most important thing first is to
follow the rules which we've just
discussed if your drone is between four
kilograms and 25 kilograms training and
certification is mandatory the majority
of pilots who want to start a commercial
operation will complete the same
training regardless of the weight of
their aircraft as it gives them an edge
and it's a logical step towards running
a professional operation but again it's
only mandatory if you're above four
kilograms or you want to operate in
restricted airspace controlled airspace
outside of the exemptions which we're
going to discuss later if your aircraft
is greater than 25 kilograms a special
permission is required and you can apply
directly to the Irish Aviation Authority
for more information if that's your
intention in all cases if you're taking
off or landing for private property you
need to get the landowners permission
now there is no rule which says you can
fly over someone's property like their
fields for example but remember you have
to stay away from people and buildings
and just because it's legal does not
mean that it's sensible we need to
respect people's privacy and also
endeavour to keep the reputation of
drone pilots intact what we do with our
aircraft is going to affect the whole
community in summary stay below 400 feet
or 120 meters no further than 300 meters
no closer than 30 metres from people
buildings cars 120 metres from
gatherings of 12 people or more outside
of restricted prohibited and controlled
airspace and at least 5 kilometers from
airfields in uncontrolled airspace most
importantly fly safe and have fun
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