ForumDrone registration charges
It appears that the UK CAA are proposing to introduce an annual registration charge of £16.50 for all drones and model aircraft between 250 grams and 20 kilograms! There will also be an online safety test that all operators must complete.
The proposals also state that registration will only be available to operators of 18yrs. and over!
There is an online consultation which will close June 1st.
https://twitter.com/UK_CAA/status/1121724550453108736/photo/1
I for one am 100% against this proposal which I believe will lead to the demise of our hobby and pastime. Club fees, BMFA fees and registration fees will make it a prohibited pastime.
I agree with Dave, I received an email from the BMFA, which suggests that we write to our MP about this, maybe the committee could draft such a letter to be sent to several of our local MP`s, being from a club it may have a little more clout.
CAP 1775, section 2.4 defines two classifications of user:
“Drone operator” - the person responsible for the drone and managing its use (who may be the owner), referred to under the ANO Amendment 2018 as Small Unmanned Aircraft (SUA) operator.
“Remote pilot” - the person flying the drone, referred to as such in the ANO Amendment 2018
Seection 2.8 also states:
The Government’s consultation response published in January 2019 highlighted that it supports the introduction of a minimum age of 18 for operators and no minimum age for remote pilots
Therefore Operators must be 18 or over, but there is 'no minimum age for remote pilots.'
This appears to mean that a 'remote pilot' under 18 must be supervised by an 'Operator' who is over 18.
If you are over 18, you can be both Operator and Remote Pilot.
There is a kind of logic to what they are proposing. It makes sense to try to 'encourage' the supervisor / pilot link for pilots under 18. However, there is no stipulation that the supervisor has to be with the remote pilot while they are flying! That's a bit strange!
The really annoying part of this is that all pilots have to register at a proposed cost of £16.50 and pass a test before they are allowed even a trial flight!
Despite all the representations from the BMFA and members who have contacted MP's and other government officials, it appears that the government have decided to totally ignore any sensible suggestions!
I for one have no intention of paying the totally unnecessary £16.50 demanded by the government plus the meaningless online test that fliers must undertake for us to continue with our pastime. Our committee although put in a difficult position must make a decision where they stand on this situation and will the club insist that members comply with the government demands.