Who audits the auditors? It’s surely a fair question? In this case, when I mention “auditors”, I’m not talking about the sometimes questionable antics of YouTubers with drones flying over industrial estates and police stations looking to capture an argument on camera. No, I’m going higher. In fact, right to the top. Edits: “Pre-determined”…
I wish to make it clear that I am 100% behind competent and proportionate regulation of UAS in the UK. We need to keep people safe and regulation should allow this. However, any regulated community must feel they are being dealt with in good faith. You can also find a video discussion of the issues covered…
Sick to the back teeth of “A lookback at…” review articles? My hope and desire is that by leaving this one for a couple of weeks into 2025, you’ll have generated some sort of immunity to review pieces by now. As a small drone operator, working in the Specific Category in particular, it can often…
An update on Eyeup’s most popular blog of 2024 How to update your Operations Manual 2025! This blog takes time to write and time to keep updated. So here’s the deal. Use the blog to update your manual, remember the work I’ve put in and see your way to buying me a coffee An…
CAA Scheme… or scheming? The background to this piece is simple. The UK CAA, in its recent Consultation on the 2025/26 Scheme of Charges, dropped the bombshell that there will be a rise of at least 113% in the cost of a PDRA Operational Authorisation application or renewal. The price is slated to rise from…
Key Requirements For those not familiar with this document (and few need to be), CAP 722B is the UK CAA’s guidance to those who desire to take the plunge and become a Recognised Assessment Entity. As the dwindling number of such organisations will tell you, becoming an RAE is a route to hassle-free riches. But…
Has the CAA resurrected the concept of commercial operations? Or has an inability to join up thinking between silos created yet another internal inconsistency? Edit 28/05/2024: With huge thanks to the CAA for coming back so quickly on my questions around this. Today I received confirmation that: “where a flight is determined to be…
Eyeup celebrates a small step forward in the drive for better regulation. Apologies for a bit of trumpet blowing here at Eyeup Towers. But it was great last week to be credited with creating sufficient social media buzz that the CAA was persuaded to take action and carry out an immediate review of a brand…
Oversight report of CAP 722H version 3 Apology This time, the blog starts with a heartfelt apology. I’m really sorry to anybody in the UK CAA who feels my blogs are somehow unfair. It is not my aim to upset anybody. However, as part of the “regulated community”, I do feel I have every right…
On guard! Propeller guards and why experienced operators should consider them. Do me a favour. Pop onto any social media drone group and ask whether prop guards are worth having? The response you get will tend to vary between “why would you even bother?” through “you should learn to fly”, to “definitely not”. More enlightened…
It’s true The CAA has listened and back-pedalled on its proposed 45% price increase PDRA01 renewals. Just a really short message. The CAA has confirmed that it will no longer increase its charge for a PDRA01 OA renewal by 45%. If you saw the last Eyeup blog, you’d have been rightfully concerned that you may…
45% Price Hike for Operational Authorisation Renewals! Unlike some regulators, when changes are made, Eyeup like to keep you informed. There is an urgent update to this blog which can be found at The Listening Regulator – The CAA reverses its proposed 45% price hike! For those readers who follow Eyeup on LinkedIn, you may…
An update on Eyeup’s most popular blog of 2023 How to update your Operations Manual 2024! This blog takes time to write and time to keep updated. So here’s the deal. Use the blog to update your manual, remember the work I’ve put in and see your way to buying me a coffee…
Close to gaslighting – Part 1 The UK CAA, as a regulator has a clear position of power over the community it seeks to regulate. This power is probably strongest over the lower echelons of the unmanned aircraft sector, dominated by micro-companies. Please note the title of this article. I’m not accusing the UK airspace…
Oversight report of CAP 722H version 2 Edit: 14/11/2023 – Oversight report updated . Additional observation. I’ll start this article with a health warning. Reading it is not for the faint-hearted, particularly if you click on the link to the actual oversight report. The report is necessarily technical in nature and is intended to alert…
Your Operations Manual made easy…and fully compliant! It’s true. After endless requests, Graham Degg, Eyeup’s founder, has created a CAP 722A and 722H compliant operations manual solution for all PDRA01 Operational Authorisation holders. Making life easier Many operator’s struggle with the annual operations manual update process. 2023 has been a particularly tough year due to…
If this article whets your appetite to know more about the fundamental document that controls your Specific Category flying under a PDRA01 OA…then you may wish to join us on Geeksvana. We will be going live on Monday 30th October but the recording will be available to members after the live event. We will be…
The more I network… Here is a story I’ve told before but I’ll tell it again. When I first started Eyeup Aerial Solutions I took advice from a number of people, both professionals and trusted friends (and some who fit into both categories). One piece of advice I got was to avoid getting involved…
What is going on with the Drone Code? The Drone and Model Aircraft Code ( popularly known as the Drone Code) appears to be wrong. This raises a few questions. First of all, have I somehow misinterpreted the code and found an error where none exists? I’d be happy for anybody to pick apart the…
Paper Lanterns… What have paper lanterns got to do with improving the speed of publication of correct and high-quality documents by the CAA? This question is triggered by the fact that after three months from the initial issue at the beginning of March, we are still without a useable version of CAP722H, the snappily named…
An update on Eyeup’s most popular blog of 2022 How to update your Operations Manual 2023! Edits 24/12/2023 Type “bear” to “bare” 30/09/2023 Add links to Eyeup PDRA01 Gateway form 23/09/2023 Typo corrected in EP example. 18/09/2023 Section 3, Compliance Statement changed. 31/08/2023: Amended section numbering and added link to Osprey Drone Training video.…
Oversight Report of CAP 722H Specific Category Operations: Pre-defined Risk Assessment Requirements, Guidance & Policy Humans are amazing. The 9 months gestation period we have, compared to our size is considered pretty long. Long gestation is more common as you move up the intelligence scale and also as an animal gets larger. Elephants…
Tearing up the rule book We found out on the 11th November that the DfT has made a decision to ignore the EASA Open Category C marking system. The current expectation is that they will issue an amendment to the Implementing Regulations before the end of December with the changes coming into force on 1st…
Could the DJI Mavic 3 gain UK C1 marking by Christmas 2022? TUV Rheinland, a world respected test and certification body, has announced, in tandem with DJI, that the Mavic 3 has achieved the world’s first EASA C1 certification. See here for the TUV announcement So what? What does this mean for UK flyers? …
Don’t Lose Control A review of the AAIB Alauda Airspeeder incident report of February 2021. This piece first appeared in the April 2021 issue of Drone User Magazine (UK). It is reproduced here now to help new drone users to understand that a number of small issues can add up to an eventual failure. It…
The river runneth under. What’s in a name? The river Mole probably gets its name from a back-formation of the name Molesey, which is the settlement at which it joins the river Thames. How much more romantic though, to think of its likeness to the small ground-dwelling rodent, as the river also boasts a…
CAA Hot Weather Warning There are currently warnings of temperatures rising into the 40’s (Centigrade) in the UK during the coming week. As ever, the UK is poorly prepared for such thermal extremes so various authorities are releasing warnings about reducing travel, avoiding swimming in cold water and staying in the shade. Not wanting…
Emergency…”UAV FAIL”! Do your emergency procedures make any sense in the real world? This is a blog aimed fairly and squarely at those UAS operators working against an operations manual. This usually means that you hold a GVC (or legacy NQE recommendation) and have therefore gone through some groundschool training either face to face or…
Why I’m not buying the DJI Mini 3 Pro Update. As of 18th August 2022, The Mavic 3 has achieved the first C1 marking for use in the European Economic Area only (so no UK C1 mark at the moment). However, see my next predictive blog here! Temptation I’m tempted. Yes, I’m so tempted to go…
This blog will be out of date for any renewal beyond 31st January 2023 See instead Update your Operations Manual 2023 – Eyeup Aerial Solutions Edit 28/12/2022: Please note that although this page desperately needs an update, this is currently on hold. On 7th December 2022, the CAA released their CAP722H document, which was…
DJI Mavic 3 launch. Why shouldn’t we worry about the lack of a “C” mark? Update. As of 18th August 2022, The Mavic 3 has achieved the first C1 marking for use in the European Economic Area only (so no UK C1 mark at the moment). However, see my predictive blog here! DJI’s…
White Labelling. How to approach it and how to make it successful. White Labelling: What the hell is that then? The drone industry in the UK is made up of a LOT of sole traders and one-man companies. There are also a few bigger companies whose business model is to advertise for large contracts involving…
Drone Operations Manuals – Tips and Tricks Eyeup Aerial Solutions Ltd Operations Manual Version 1.0 Dated 31/08/2021 Amendment Record 1. Introduction This manual, “Drone Operations Manual – Tips and Tricks”, provides the basis for an article in Drone User Magazine’s September 2021 issue. It provides a methodology by which professional…
Flights Close to an Emergency Response How close is “close”? Recently, I’ve noticed a few images of accident scenes in some Facebook groups. These include a video of a fire in a congested area and a number of photos of road traffic accidents. This is an almost inevitable consequence of the spread of drones coupled with…
800ft Flight Above Deal Pier While on a short break in Kent, I checked the weather conditions and realised that there would be a great opportunity to create an image I’ve wanted to capture for several years…really since I’ve had access to a drone. Getting this image would require an 800ft flight above Deal Pier.…
2020 Drone Regulations – Seven Months In The 2016 Air Navigation Order 2020 Amendments. Note: This page has been edited at 29/12/2022 to remove legacy references to C1 marked drones. Other tweaks included and lfagged. At 23:00Hrs GMT on 31st December 2020 almost every rule around the flying of drones in the UK changed. …
“Can I fly my drone in a nuclear restricted area?” The blog below is based on an article published in Drone User Magazine on 1st July 2021. The day before it was published, but too late to amend the article, Altitude Angel’s Stephen Farmer contacted me to state that: …”the wording in Drone Assist is…
What do ND filters do for us? A look at the difference ND filters make to your image…with facts, pictures, raw data and everything! With the clouds, rain and wind being a constant through most of May, I thought it would give me an opportunity to run a quick test on ND filters… and find…
Count those satellites Most drones are equipped with GNSS or Global Navigation Satellite Systems. The system takes data from one or more of the world’s satellite systems and uses this to calculate its position in three dimensional space. Older DJI drones are equipped to operate using the United States’ GPS as well as the Russian…
Eyeup’s White Label service A valuable white label service that allows you to offer your client a service above and beyond your current permissions. Eyeup Aerial Solutions maintains a unique position amongst professional drone operators. A thriving training and consultancy offering and full-time job mean that Eyeup’s owner, Graham Degg, can’t commit to flying on…
This blog will be out of date for any renewal beyond 31st December 2021 See Eyeup’s “Update your Operations Manual 2022” The end of 2020 brought more than another lockdown. It brought the biggest raft of legislative changes we’ve ever seen in the industry. These will reverberate for years to come…but right now you…
The User Manual is your Bible! This is just a quick guide to help keep newcomers legal. It is not a full explanation of what and where you can fly but just a guide to the bare minimum you should be doing if you want to fly a camera drone around. Great, you got a…
This was an outside broadcast truck parked up outside the Milk studios in Hollywood. In November 2016 I was lucky enough to have been pulled onto a project managed by Adam Pollard for Imagination events, the aim of which was to set a record for the biggest ever live virtual reality experience. The event was…
Accountable managers Accountable Managers are common in aviation and it is a very responsible position. If you hold a permission from the CAA, (commonly referred to as a PfCO), or a GVC (General VLOS Certificate), you’ll know all about the role of the Accountable Manager right?. That’s because every Operations Manual is signed by the…
Renewal Time It’s time to refresh myself at Eyeup Towers. My standard PfCO renewal is up on 6th January 2021. So what? Well, counting back 90 days from that date takes me to 8th October 2020, which is the earliest I can apply for renewal. So I’m planning to get the operations manual…
How Can Eyeup OSC Training Benefit your Operations? When Chris and Lacey wanted to improve their operations and gain some valuable exemptions, they turned to Eyeup Aerial Solutions for help. The couple run Vantage Drone Services, an outfit offering a range of services but always wanting to provide a service and product that…
Eyeup Aerial Solutions – COVID-19 Secure in 2020 When the lockdown started in March, many businesses and operators mis-understood the new regulations. They shut up shop and stopped providing services to their clients. In many cases this may not have mattered as the clients themselves were hunkering down and coming to terms with the new…
The CAA has today released a CAP document to provide guidance to operators seeking to support the emergency services during the COVID-19 outbreak and who require the ability to take part in Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BLVOS) operations. The CAA recently released ORS4 1361, rapidly retracted and replaced with ORS4 1375. These general exemptions…
Blog update: 14th April 2020 Clarification of the somewhat confusing statement issued by the CAA on the 9th April relating to currency during COVID-19 has been received. Although the statement includes a paragraph that could be taken to include all operators, that was not its intention. The statement only refers to those operators seeking to renew their…
Eyeup Aerial Solutions were out on Thursday evening showing our support for the NHS. Despite being incredibly busy we were able to string together a “ring of blue”, the NHS colour, and fly it above Ashtead. The neighbouring community was been alerted in advance to the presence of the drone and had even provided some…
Operators of SUA’s are currently split on the subject of COVID-19 in a way that I didn’t think I would see again after the Brexit debate! To work or not to work – that is the question. Proponents of the stay at home no matter what point to the words “essential” and “absolutely…
Originally posted 3rd April 2020 Updated 13th April 2020 Updated 5th June 2020 Update 5th June 2020 Today sees the announcement of a further delay predicted in this blog. The EU UAS Implementing Regulation has now been officially pushed back to the 31st December 2020. That’s the same day that the UK Government has…
A first-hand look at the CAA’s PfCO Audit Process When the CAA invited Eyeup Aerial Solutions to road-test their latest process, I have to say I was flattered. After all, this reflects a high level of trust in what is only a small, part-time operation typical of many others. However, when I found out that…
Except, with the right procedures and permissions, drones can be flown safely and legally near and even within airports. The media and some politicians would have you believe the opposite is true and this can be very damaging to drone operators. Not only that…it actually increases the overall risk of harm as surveys and…