400 ft ceiling in the UK

[cbuk]

I was going to post this in the CAA war path thread but thought it may be taking that thread slightly off topic so have decided to start a new thread.

I am a bit confused by the 400 ft rule. In the back of my mind, I remember being told at the Ground School course that the 400 ft ceiling applies to all SUAVs but ANO2009 article 166 seems to suggest that it only applies to SUAVs over 7 kg. To me this doesnt sound right; surely even a craft of less than 7kg could pose a real threat to the safety of other aircraft if flying in non segregated airspace. If I am intrepreting article 166 correctly, then there is nothing stopping "jo public" buying a phantom and sending it high up into non-segregated airspace - this sounds like a recipe for disaster to me. Has article 166 been amended to include all SUAVs?

 

[Droider]

It's 400 ft. It is written on your permissions. CAP 722 details it.
Dave

 

[Benjamin Kenobi]

Yep, 400ft.

 

[JimM]

FYI, In view of some comments I'd read on the forums where people had wondered if the commercial ceiling would be increased to 1000 ft as the fpv model has been, I asked one of the CAA regulators yesterday. There are no plans to increase above 400 ft for commercial work.

 

[Carapau]

You are sort of right regarding the 400 ft for sub 7kg aircraft but the CAA's view is that if a sub 7 kg aircraft is above 400ft you are not in a position to maintain a direct unaided view of the aircraft principally because as you scan the sky it is difficult to re-acquire. So , 400ft limit does apply.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jimmygixxer]

I think hobby kit / phantoms should have a smaller working area 200ft hight and 250m range.

 

[cbuk]

Thanks for the replies and clarification.

Just to clarify, my original post was me airing concerns about "jo public" and safety and I was not really concerned/asking about the commercial implications. I would never go above 400 ft and wouldn't expect permission to.

Thanks Carapau, I think you have confirmed what I was thinking; although Section 4 of Article 166 seems to give some exemption to sub 7kg craft, Section 3 of article 166 does cover the caveat you mention.

And Jimmygixxer, I totally agree that the operational bubble for hobby kit/ phantom flyers should be smaller.