This is an information page for new drone owners - it has a slight bias towards DJI Mini 2 owners as this appears to be an increasingly popular consumer drone but there is information here for any new drone pilot. A one-stop resource for all those questions you were about to put on social media, especially if you have just bought yourself a sub 250g drone with a camera and think that it is just a toy and you can just crack on and fly it anywhere you like - WRONG!
Licence, Flyer ID, Insurance, More knowledge, Where can I fly?, Airports/Restricted Zones, Nature reserves, Military establishments etc, National Trust etc, NOTAMs, Weather Forecasts, Other airspace users, Altitude, Signal Loss, 360 Panoramas, Labelling, Night flying/VLOS, Checklists, Public perception, Flying in fog, Batteries, Blade damage, SD card, Camera settings at night
First things first. Once you have spent your hard earned cash on a drone, even before UPS, DPD, Hermes or Royal Mail have delivered it, or before you have nipped out to Argos to collect it READ THE MANUAL. This seems a sensible statement but you would be amazed at the number of new owners who haven't READ THE MANUAL. As with most electronic devices they don't come with a paper manual, you have to download it from an offline source. It will take you less time to find that source than it took to make your purchase - Google is your friend. Read it twice before you get your drone in your hot sticky mitts. Youtube is your next stop and search for every video related to your particular model. Read points 1, 2, 3 and possibly 5 below, then, after you have taken your first flight READ THE MANUAL AGAIN and it will start to make sense. This will avoid the RTFM comments when you post on Facebook drone groups.
Really you need to go to https://register-drones.caa.co.uk/drone-code (opens in a new window) but if you find that a bit too much to digest then just follow the FAQ
1. Do I need a licence for my drone?
A. There is no such thing as "a licence for your drone" but you do need to register with the CAA for an operator ID if your drone has a camera and/or is over 250g weight. That means you, who have just bought yourself a DJI Mini 2, need to get yourself to https://register-drones.caa.co.uk/individual/register-as-drone-operator (opens in a new window). Not getting an Operator ID means you need to have a very healthy bank account to pay for the fine you could incur by failing to do so.
Furthermore, you must label every drone or model aircraft that requires an operator ID. It is against the law not to do this. (more on this later)
The CAA has just updated its factsheets as of 16 December 2021. You ought to have a look at them here. But for ease of access I have listed the general ones here.
Drone Rules: FLYING AS A HOBBY AND AT A CLUB
Drone Rules: USING A DRONE FOR WORK
Drone Rules: FLYING IN THE COUNTRYSIDE
Drone Rules: FLYING IN TOWNS AND CITIES (OR BUSY AREAS)
2. I have seen something about a Flyer ID. Do I need one of those?
A. If you have a sub 250g drone you don't need a Flyer ID ... BUT why wouldn't you get one? It's FREE. If your drone is more than 250g you have to have a Flyer ID. It requires you to do a bit of reading to learn about where you can fly your drone and the DOs and DON'Ts of drone flying, how you can be safe and how not to get arrested for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. You have to take a little test at the end and get 75% to pass but you can have as many attempts as it takes. Honestly, it is easy. Here is the link https://register-drones.caa.co.uk/drone-code/getting-flyer-id (opens in a new window)
[I am almost inclined to bet that with the next iteration of the CAA drone regs that everyone who flies a drone will be required to have a Flyer ID just because there are there are so many users with sub 250g drones in ignorance of the drone code]
A. Imagine you are flying your drone and taking a picture of your village church and you have a malfunction, either with your brain (likely) or with communication with the drone (unlikely these days but it does happen). Your drone ends up smashing a rather nice stained glass window. It is witnessed and you are identified. Do you fancy forking out to replace said stained glass window at a cost of a couple of grand? Thought not. Insurance is not expensive. Even £10M public liability insurance will cost you less than £30 per year as a hobby flyer. You would have to be a complete numpty not to have insurance!
If you are going to do some commercial work then it is essential you are covered for commercial use. Commercial insurance is a bit more expensive as the risks are higher but you just pass it on to the client!
Coverdrone, Moonrock,
4. I am really getting into drone flying, what else can I do to improve my knowledge of the rules?
A. The first step I would suggest is getting the EASA qualification as the test is a bit more demanding than the Flyer ID test. It also means that if you decide to take your drone on holiday in the EU you are already primed with the EU qualification. The online course from Luxembourg is an easy way to get this qualification for A1 & A3 Open Category https://trainingzone.eurocontrol.int/ilp/pages/coursedescription.jsf?courseId=9719685&catalogId=8264768 (opens in a new window). Again it is FREE. Do it - you will enjoy it.
Want to fly in the EU https://youtu.be/UIyBTqrhi-U
And this from EASA https://www.easa.europa.eu/newsroom-and-events/news/easa-publishes-updated-easy-access-rules-drones-0
Ok so now you really want to get clued up, plus when you get a slightly bigger drone than your Mini 2 and you want to be able to fly a bit closer to people or again you just want to improve your knowledge so that when some Karen bimbles up to you saying "You can't fly your drone here." you can, with conviction, say "Oh yes I can - and here's why!" .... you need the A2 certificate of competence. There are many companies out there offering amazingly good deals on a online courses - they are almost giving the courses away I did mine with iRed but there are shedloads out there.
To name but a few.
5. Do I need anything else?
A. Yes.
You may think your drone software will tell you where you can and can't fly - YOU WOULD BE WRONG. The Chinese do not accurately display UK Flight Restriction Zones embedded in their software.
You may also think that unlocking a flight restriction zone in your DJI software somehow magically contacts the relevant airport and you are good to fly. YOU WOULD BE WRONG AGAIN. Failure to obtain permission from the appropriate authority will land you in serious trouble - DJI IS NOT the appropriate authority.
There are a couple of useful apps for discovering where the restricted zones are and who to contact if you need to fly in them. Altitude Angel and Drone Assist. Both of these apps allow you to enter a flight plan for your proposed flight to notify other airspace users of your intentions - for example, the information is available to Helicopter Emergency Services (HEMS) in their pre-flight briefing.
There are some online resources too. DroneScene https://dronescene.co.uk/, NATS https://www.nats.aero/airspace/drones/ and NoFlyDrones https://www.noflydrones.co.uk/
This Youtube video shows how relying on DJI can work against you
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwOaf3-cyyg
Once you have obtained permission from ATC or the airport then follow the steps in https://www.dji.com/uk/flysafe
Flying near airports CTRs and FRZs
A Controlled Traffic Region (CTR) is an area of increased aerial activity that is controlled by Air Traffic Control (ATC). It is not prohibited to fly your drone below 400ft in a CTR but you need to be very aware of the increased potential for manned aviation to be sharing the local airspace with you. Manned aviation always takes priority over drones (you can see [and hear] an aircraft more easily than the pilot can spot your grey 12 inch drone!). If you are doing commercial work in a CTR then you should phone and make the ATC aware of your location. It isn't such a bad idea to to do this even if you are flying for pleasure.
A Flight Restricted Zone (FRZ) is a strictly controlled airspace and it is ILLEGAL to fly your drone in this zone UNLESS you have permission from the ATC or airport authorities (in the event that they don't have a local ATC)
ATC contact details can be found at https://atcadvisor.com/
The FRZ is normally a combination of the Aerodrome Traffic Zone (ATZ) and the Runway Protection Zone (RPZ). The ATZ is circular and extends from the epicentre of the longest runway by a radius of 2 or 2.5nm. The RPZ is rectangular and extends up to 5km from the end of each runway and is up to 1km wide. https://blog.flockcover.com/flocks-guide-to-the-2019-ano-amendments-9f98d41b7ead
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwKOjSbAqF4 tells you what you need to know, as does https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7GSLifQ-MA
Useful information from the CAA https://www.caa.co.uk/Consumers/Unmanned-aircraft/Our-role/Airspace-restrictions-for-unmanned-aircraft-and-drones/
Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)
SSSIs are a bit of nightmare, just because a location is designated as an SSSI doesn't necessarily preclude drone flying. BUT, should it be a nature reserve with nesting birds then you could get your knuckles rapped very hard and very expensively if you ignore this restriction.
DEFRA's map of SSSIs is here https://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx
List of protected birds https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/advice/wildlife-and-the-law/wildlife-and-countryside-act/schedules/
Military establishments, ranges, nuclear power stations and prisons
The above are all very sensitive about drones invading the airspace above them. JUST DON'T DO IT!
National Trust, English Heritage, some National Parks and even some local councils
The above all state their byelaws forbid drones over their property. What they actually mean is that you cannot take off and land on their property (TOAL). This is a source of endless comment/debate on every drone FaceBook group and drone forum in which I have participated.
I have some sympathy for both the for and against camps. If everyone was totally sensible and insured and minimised disturbance then there would be no need for such a draconian stance. However, everyone is not - just look at jet-skis and e-scooters. However, I am not sure that some of these bodies are not motivated by self-interest and are, perhaps, short-sighted as there is a potential for a revenue stream.
The legality of local government (i.e. County/District/Borough/Parish Council) anti-drone byelaws is discussed by the BlackBeltBarrister here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Qhi6d8dlUw. Among other aspects he makes the point that anti-drone byelaws may be ultra vires in that the CAA regulation (existing legislation) has been enacted and a byelaw cannot trump that, but until a test case goes before the Court we will never know. Who wants to be the one to go down this road!
Notices to airmen (NOTAMs) are frequently promulgated by the CAA and it is a good idea to keep a lookout for them. A good way is to subscribe to "Skywise" and tick the "drone" box thus keeping up to date.
Activities such as music festivals, major political events (such as happened in Cornwall for the G7 summit), air shows and GPS jamming trials are the type of activities that need your attention.
A suitable weather forecasting app is highly desirable; some are tailored for the drone market - UAV Forecast is one such that estimates wind velocity at various levels and also gives an estimation of the KP Index (a measurement of geomagnetic activity see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K-index). There are many others out there.
FlightRadar24 is a commonly used app to gain insight into other aircraft into your vicinity. ADS-B Exchange is another
Unfortunately, low-flying military aircraft often don't appear on them because they generally don't use ADS-B to advertise their position. If you are in a low-flying or exercise area you may wish to contact the Low Flying Booking Cell on 0800 515544 or look at https://www.gov.uk/low-flying-in-your-area/where-and-when-low-flying-happens .
6. How does my drone measure altitude?
Strictly speaking the display on your controller doesn't show you the altitude - it shows you the height above the take-off point.
Your drone uses a barometric altimeter (works on air pressure) and that reference is set to zero on launching. As the drone climbs that air pressure reduces at roughly 1 inch of mercury per 1000 feet. The sensor is not particularly accurate and this is why you can sometime find that the display shows a negative figure as you bring your drone into land (apart from the fact that there may have been some changes in temperature or atmospheric pressure between launching and recovery).
This is particularly important when flying over a cliff, for example. If the cliff is 500ft high and you fly in a horizontal direction over the edge you will soon be in a situation where your drone exceeds the 400 ft maximum above ground level. You need to be aware of the changes in the contours of the zone in which you are flying.
The diagram shown here illustrates the situation when you fly off an 800ft cliff (thanks to Fred Ray for asking me to make this clear).
Your images that you take with the drone, however, will record the GPS altitude above mean sea level (MSL).
7. What happens if I lose signal?
It does happen, particularly in cluttered residential areas. Don't panic. As soon as your drone receives no signal from the controller it will (should) immediately stop and hover. Firstly, move your position so that the antenna of the controller is raised and pointing to your drone - you will probably find it will reconnect very quickly. What happens next depends on your settings in the software. There are usually three options (with the Mini 2 the option will be implemented after 11 seconds of lost signal):-
- Return to home (RTH) - the drone will ascend to your set RTH height and take the shortest route back to the home point.
- Descend - why would you use this? I'm sure someone will come up with a scenario where this would be the preferred outcome but if the aircraft descends re-establishing a signal re-connect is going to be almost impossible.
- Hover - this means the aircraft will stay in the same position until the battery level drops to the point that a forced landing is implemented. This setting could be useful if you are moving away from your home point - say you are in a boat - and you don't want the drone to go back to where you were when you launched it. This will give you the opportunity to move back to the drone and re-establish the connection and bring it in to land.
By the way you can update your home point (if you have a connection) in the control app. So if you do move away from the launch point and want a new home point use the app to set this.
8. I want to upload one of those 360 deg panoramas
From your phone. Go to https://exiffixer.com/ upload the 360 from your phone, download and save the result back to your phone and upload it to FaceBook or upload it to https://kuula.co/.
If you find that (like me) DJI Fly doesn't display the 360 panorama on your iPad (if you are using that as your monitor) then you will need to stitch the 26 images together using a third party application. Micro$oft Image Composite Editor is freely available from https://download.cnet.com/Image-Composite-Editor-64-Bit/3000-2192_4-75207152.html (It is no longer available on the Micro$oft site).
Once stitched I suggest saving it to 5000 pixels width (Kuula seems to have a hissy-fit if you try to go too large).
Open the image in Photoshop (or similar) and resize the canvas (anchoring it at the bottom) to a 2:1 ratio width:height. In the example that would be 5000:2500..
Then upload it to https://exiffixer.com/ and download the result, which you then put on FaceBook or Kuula. https://nadirpatch.com/ offers a similar service to Exif-Fixer.
https://kuula.co/post/NG4Ps/collection/7YQZj shows an image compiled by this last method vs https://kuula.co/post/7t1Rc/collection/7YQZj which was from DJI Fly via Exif-Fixer. Note that DJI Fly automatically fills in the sky above the drone.
Another application recommended is PTGui https://www.ptgui.com/ - I haven't had a chance to play with that yet. Unlike Micro$oft ICE it is commercial software, although there is a free trial version.
Uploading to Google Streetview has also been suggested as a a means of creating a panorama.
This YouTube video may help https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1ZxsG08j2Q as does https://forum.dji.com/thread-231479-1-1.html
You MUST label your drone with your Operator ID. The label needs to be easily accessible and clear and in block capitals taller than 3mm. With the Mini 2 this means on the outside. On larger drones the label can be in the battery compartment provided that this is accessible without tools. You would also be best putting your mobile phone number on it as well if you want to get it back easily in the event of a flyaway.
https://register-drones.caa.co.uk/labelling-drones
I also have a file on the memory card (micro-SD card) of my drone called ICE.txt which has the operator ID and all my contact details on it so that in the event of its loss it will facilitate its return to me.
10. Night flying and improving VLOS
Night flying is great fun but a bit nerve-wracking, however, you can obtain some great images at night in the (sub)urban environment. Having at least one strobe light is essential, otherwise how are you going to maintain Visible Line of Sight (VLOS). Two strobes are better. I have one white on the bottom - a Strobon Cree. I have a green on the top VIJIM DR-02 Strobe Drone Light. The Strobon Cree (white) is infinitely brighter than the VIJIM DR-02 green and has better all-round visibility. At the time I ordered the VIJIM DR-02 green there was a) a complete lack of the Strobon Cree (out of stock/production) and b) the buzz was that the CAA would require a green strobe for drone night flying (later rescinded).
Also trying to spot a 12 inch drone on a dull day past 300 metres challenges my eyesight. Putting the white Strobon Cree on the underside changes that in spades. Suddenly my Mini 2 is now visible at 500 meters. Win-win.
The Strobon Cree can be found here https://store.flytron.com/products/strobon-cree-standalone BTW Kaspersky Antivirus will complain about the URL - not sure why - if you are nervous about going to that URL just go to Amazon a search for Strobon Cree.
On the FaceBook Group DJI Mini 2 UK Owners a very reliable guy, James Hitzone Mods, makes a very nice clip that holds the Cree under a Mini 2 without obstructing the sensors.
It is always a good idea to run through a checklist before and after you fly. That way you don't end up thinking "I wish I had checked that." when your drone is 200ft in the air. Forgetting to put in the Micro-SD card is a favourite or finding that the screw holding a prop on has come loose!
This one from Heliguy is comprehensive https://www.heliguy.com/blogs/posts/heliguy-pre-flight-checklist
12. Improve public perception of drones
A lot of negative PR comes the way of the drone hobby. There are ways you can improve the public perception. Take photographs of local landmarks and publish them on your local Facebook group. Be careful not to loiter low above other people's properties. Be mindful of other's privacy rights (images should not be able to identify other people on their own property without their consent). Generally don't be an idiot - the current regulations for the hobby are fairly relaxed (within limits) and more incidents regarding infringements of the rules will eventually lead to a tightening of those rules for everyone and kill the hobby. Join search and rescue groups such as Drone SAR for lost dogs.
Geeksvana (Sean) helps for confrontations https://youtu.be/AOw6h3CE9Z4
Public information leaflet for sub 250g
Public information leaflet for sub 500g
13. Can I fly in fog or low cloud?
A. Yes you can, but the question you need to ask is
a) Can I maintain Visible Line of Sight (VLOS).
If the answer to that is "yes" then you might want to consider
b) Fog is formed of water droplets and drone electronic components are sensitive to moisture. So is your flight possibly going to end in disaster due to an electrical malfunction?
c) The other issue that has been reported and demonstrated is that, as on some models you cannot turn off the bottom sensor, the drone then refuses to descend as it confuses the layer of fog with uneven ground.
Lithium-ion polymer (LiPo) batteries are sensitive creatures and storing them at full charge will degrade their performance. Ideally they should be stored at 65% charge if left unused over 3 days.
Prior to a June 2021 battery firmware update, if you left your DJI Mini 2 batteries in the drone or charging hub they would not auto-discharge. Now, thanks to this release, they will.
Because of the fire risk associated with LiPo batteries if you take your drone on holiday, on an aircraft, the batteries must be in the hand baggage and in a fireproof bag. (Just search "lipo bag" on Amazon)
Often people ask "I managed to clip the blades on a wall or tree; is it OK to fly with them slightly scraped?" or "I suffered a little bit of damage to the blades and my drone is no longer stable; why is that?"
This is a symptom of the TOY analogy that I referred to at the very beginning - YOUR DRONE IS NOT A TOY. The rotor blades of a drone spin faster than the propeller of a fixed wing aeroplane or a helicopter. They are expected to be balanced to at least a few milligrams and if you take a chunk out of them not only is that balance affected but the lift dynamics are probably compromised as well. The simple answer is you would expect the same level of quality control on your drone as you would on an aircraft in which you are about to entrust your life. The difference being that it it is a matter of a couple of pounds sterling for your drone propellers versus a a lot more for something that carries passengers. Thus you are convinced that the value = risk. WRONG.
Even a little bit of icing on the props will cause a crash https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=114vLN6jx2g
If your blades are damaged REPLACE them otherwise your expensive drone is at risk and so is your insurance. PS use OEM blades, not cheap 3rd party copies!
Here's a couple of examples:- (Thanks to Martyn Willams for these images)
Slightly damaged = replace
Severely damaged = replace
16. What type of Micro SD card should I use with my drone?
DJI are very helpful and list the compatible cards (for the Mini 2) here https://www.dji.com/uk/mini-2/specs
Personally I have found the SanDisk Extreme Pro 128GB microSDXC Memory Card works well for me.
17. What camera settings should I use for night-time images?
When taking any image getting the correct exposure is a combination of 3 factors.
- The speed of the film - ISO
- The aperture of the lens - diaphragm thingy on an normal camera, works like the iris of your eye - small hole = less light - big hole = more light.
- And, finally, the length of the exposure - shutter speed.
The higher the ISO the grainier the image. So in order to get a better quality image you want to keep the ISO as low as possible.
On the Mini2 the aperture is fixed so you can’t change that.
The shutter speed is changeable BUT the longer you have the shutter open then, just as with a normal camera, the more movement blur that will occur. The camera on the Mini2 is pretty well stabilised so you don’t get camera shake but, of course, your subject may be moving - this can be attractive such as light trails from car lights.
So essentially it is a trade off between grain (ISO setting) and subject movement blur (shutter speed).
Depending on the subject matter and the effect you want to produce it is probably best to tinker with the ISO/shutter speed combination to get the best result by taking a series of images at various combinations of those.
