Drone enthusiasts in SE23

Posts copied/split from: Share your pictures of SE23

A few SE23 aerials for a different perspective!

https://se23.life/uploads/default/original/2X/5/5a735290b6eb655242b9345163cf0466585179c1.mp4

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Great photos. What were you using?

Thanks!

I was using a DJI Mavic Pro, 2.7k edited in Premier or just Instagram.

24 posts about drone ethics/regulation were merged into a new topic in @ethikos (accessible by verified members)

So it’s you and Chris with the Mavics and me with my humble Spark.

The church shot is particularly excellent…

Any more drone-owners on the forum?

Maybe a meetup in Southwark (or another borough that allows drone flights) for some filming and a coffee/pint?

Will bring my Spark and DJI goggles so you can have a go with the goggles.

Hi Mike firstly I love the images😊. I’m really surprised because I thought you needs a special licence to fly a drone in London!

Thanks @PhilipPetrou no that’s a myth thankfully, just need to follow the rules and be respectful.

Yes, luckily we have a host of apps to assist us with where we can and can’t fly. The drones Mike and Chris have a very costly and not the sort of thing you want to lose by flying illegally. When I fly I file a flight plan with the CAA so there can be no confusion as to where I am and what I am doing. The CAA also provides a very good Drone Code to help responsible drone users.

Heading up to One Tree Hill to capture the sunset with my drone at 8:30pm this eve if you fancy joining, @Mike_Hemmings / @h4rrydog ? (Sorry for short notice!)

No rain forecast for 9:

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I have the family visiting but with this thunder?! You’re brave! Good luck.

Could get some cracking footage!

Could add a new dimension to the phrase “drone strike”.

Would be nice to get some aerial shots of St Augustines

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Great cloud for a sunset. Share some pics when you can!

Be careful.

Here’s a little vid from tonight:

Unfortunately it wasn’t a hugely impressive sunset after all - just very hazy.

Some snaps:

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@anon5422159 Looks good, even with the haze! You’ve inspired me to dust mine off and try and get out this week.

3 posts were merged into the opt-in Moderator Actions category as they were off topic and political.

A post about drone ethics/regulation was merged into an existing topic in @ethikos (accessible by verified members)

Nice video. What was your maximum altitude?

Thanks

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BTW Chris, I am down in FH in June with my drone. Want to meet up and you can have a go with the Goggles?

Definitely! I would love to give the goggles a try.

Will let you know dates shortly.

These drone ‘murmurations’ are astounding:

The thousand drone display for the Chinese lantern festival the other day was amazing.

The display for the opening for the winter Olympics was rather spectacular too.

2 posts were merged into an existing topic on drone ethics / regulation in @ethikos

Has anyone noticed the drone that regularly flies along behind Devonshire Road. We’ve observed it, (or rather it has observed us) on at least four occasions as it hovers just above the railway track at the bottom of our garden.
Is this surveillance voyeurism something to be concerned about?
Who is watching and for what purpose?

Could be a Network Rail drone. They use them for track inspections.

Oh dear God. Those network rail drones are beasts (up to 7kg, the weight of an average bowling ball)! If it was a network rail drone as described, I’m not surprised that the resident noticed it.

Just got a new drone. Where is the best place to practice flying (I.e not above 100 feet, not near any people, max of 10 feet away) in Forest Hill, in preparation for taking the drone abroad? (Have already checked regulations for where we will be). My garden is slightly too small, although I can practice hovering!

Technically you can’t use it in Lewisham as there is a local by-law that bans drones. But Southwark is just down the road, and on One Tree Hill you can fly the drone away from populated areas.

Searching online, some forums suggest that Blackheath is ok?

https://se6.life/t/urban-flyers-launches-the-drone-taster-days-a-brand-new-drone-event-for-the-residents-of-catford/259?u=chrisbeach

I got a drone as an early Christmas present. I’m not too sure about the camera quality as I have to get pretty close for good pictures.

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120.000 passengers affected on Wednesday & Thursday will not find your post funny.

Perpetrators could get up to 5 years in jail. According to the numbers and reports they definitely have wasted more person-hours than a mere 5 years.

Today’s incident highlights the need to licence the use of Drones. If one of these hit a plane it could have fatal consequences.

I feel so sorry for everyone trying to get home to see loved ones at Christmas or to escape the grey UK, only to be stuck.

It’s not possible in practice to ensure all drones are licensed. Unlicensed drones could still cause chaos.

Something needs to be done. Whilst I’m not an expert in this matter, given their capacity to cause harm/ danger it does need addressing somehow or other.

There are already a number of regulations around the use of Drones which if followed should allow for their safe use. There is not benefit out of creating knee jerk legislation based on one incident.

But if this becomes a more frequent occurrence, then more regulation would be required. And licensing is one option to look at. If not the drones themselves, then a requirement to only sell drones to licensed/qualified users.

I’m not too sure. I regularly spend my weekends running around the woods with replica imitation firearms (toy guns) and to purchase them I am required to be registered to a database that is accessible only to registered retailers, sites and the relevant government authorities. Perhaps something similar could be implemented to drone sales?

I feel that licenced drones could still cause chaos. The issue here is that at least one person is flying at least one drone near to an airport and no one can even identify who the person is. The police and army are looking and they cannot even track the drone.

People steal cars and drive them dangerously for fun even though they will likely get caught. Seemingly, you can fly a drone anywhere and not get caught.

Licences without any further technical solution would be an utter waste of time, imho.

If they can’t be licensed, maybe they should be banned altogether for private use. Only allow legitimate controlled use by police, RNLI or other bona fide (licences) users. Will it take one of these to be sucked into an aircraft engine with possible catastrophic results to stop their sale. I don’t want to be seen as spoiling people’s fun but that’s what these idiots have done to thousands of innocent people over the last few days.

940 people were killed in the U.K. in 2017 as a result of drunk drivers. Shall we ban cars?

I love using my drone, and take great pleasure in editing video footage and making films. I also use my drone responsibly. To suggest a blanket ban on drones is using a sledge hammer to crack a nut, and is an intention to spoil fun for many.

Love the way that there are now so many drone ‘experts’ being interviewed at the airport.

I feel dreadfully sorry for those who have been involved in the drama, but I wouldn’t stand over a road accident scene declaring all driving should be banned…

That is not a sensible analogy. Cars are necessary, frankly and drones are not, regardless of how much you like yours.

If one idiot can create this much disruption for this many people then there is a very strong argument for bans and destroying those bought legally.

I have one friend whose mother is currently dying in Portugal and was caught up in this mess and now will not be able to get home until Boxing Day. I humbly suggest those defending both the idiot and the machine itself think about the impact of the last two days on people like her and the economy.

I am no expert and am staying away from airports for a while until the heat dies down, but drone geofencing would be a fair compromise in my mind.

I think a lot of users wouldn’t mind it too and it wouldn’t be prohibitively expensive.

No one is defending the idiot responsible for this behaviour. We are all quite angry with the idiot - especially responsible drone users.

Drones are part of our modern technically-aligned economy. They have many legitimate uses and innovation is coming thick and fast, including in applications such as agricultural automation.

If the UK government were to regulate such technology in knee-jerk fashion it would have a chilling effect on investment the wider technical sector within the UK, with our homegrown talent and enterprise moving to more liberal economies.

Of course not. But both the cars, and the driver’s are licensed.

According to the Channel 4 news last night, geofencing has already been part of drone software since 2013. Doesn’t appear to be very effective though.

Chris, I take your point: but the U.K. has banned technology in the past which we agree is not a social good.

We’ve outlawed handguns and this has helped maintain low levels of gun crime, but sadly it also means that the only people who are armed on the streets of London are the outlaws.

If we ban drones, it will not prevent a determined criminal using them. In this case at Gatwick, the criminals are clearly determined and resourceful as the drones have still not been taken down. Licensing or bans would not necessary prevent this problem in future.

How about we use drones to our advantage? If “drone hunters” were patrolling the airspace around airports, it would have stopped today’s attack:

I cannot fly my drone near and airport. DJI who made my drone ensure that I have it registered and answer drone safety questions before I fly it.

This is currently the law and also what it will be from 2019

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.heliguy.com/blog/2018/07/20/new-uk-drone-laws-announced/amp/

However, it doesn’t stop people misusing them. There will always be idiots and people with malice on their minds.

Cars are not necessary to everybody. I take a ride in a car maybe once or twice a year.
I am slightly baffled as to why you think I am defending the person with the drone; still some people read what they want to read. How you translate my comment that drones should not be banned into I defend the person doing this and this ok?

For your information, drone operators will have to register by November next year. That in itself would not have prevented the actions of the person near Gatwick. They are hardly going to register and then fly over an airfield. Even if you make registering mandatory with purchase in this country, people will bring drones into the country. Mine is pretty hefty and is accepted in hold luggage by all the major airlines.

Good article on this issue here.

This would normally worry me.

How common are near misses between drones and aircraft?

The rate in the UK has tripled since 2015. The UK Airprox Board (UKAB), which monitors all near misses involving commercial aircraft, said there were 92 between aircraft and drones in 2017. That was more than three times the number in 2015: 29. In 2016, there were 71 and the data is clearly tracking the growth in drone use.

But I would hope the introduction of the Dronesafe regulations earlier this year would positively affect this over the next couple of years. If not, is there not a good argument to strengthen the regulations? It’s all fun and games until a plane falls out of the sky.

While at the same time https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-45394789

Also, the definition of a near miss is a bit misleading https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travel-truths/what-is-a-near-miss-and-how-common-are-they-aviation-planes/

However, as much as there are responsible car owners, knife owners, dog owners, firework owners .etc there are always irresponsible owners.

I welcome drone registration, as in the US, allowing responsible drone owners to enjoy their hobby. I also hope irresponsible users are brought to book.

Whilst I’m totally against banning private ownership of drones you buy off the shelf, these things have evolved from being just toys to aerial vehicles and should fall under some regulator with the owner having to hold a license which is presented prior to purchase. The ones you get out of big department stores, fine, but the kind of kit they use to film aerial shots in professional media that are capaple of greater altitude and flying time, you have to submit to a governing body.

Mine is capable of high altitudes and has, with the right equipment, a range of 10 kilometres. I bought it from John Lewis.

Professional drone users already have to have a license.

If it’s some idiots messing around (as opposed to something more sinister) a £10,000 bounty ought to flush them out quickly:

I know this comment will probably cause outrage as well, but the Police are considering shooting them down if they fly over an airport & Ive got to say I agree. regardless of who this person/persons are they need to be dealt with obviously, but it’s catching them isn’t it? & in the meantime they are laughing at the authorities. If it is shot down or captured ( there has been something developed to catch them effectively, was on the TV in the week, then it would wipe the smug smile right off their face.

Unfortunately, shooting down the drone is difficult (small fast moving target), and firing bullets into the sky is dangerous:

Yes I know it isn’t ideal. But I think it was on the One Show, that 2 young men had invented a drone catcher that could be used safely & effectively. I’m not sure if it’s actually licensed yet though to be used.

There are a number of ways of catching drones. Holland used eagles, the US uses guns (well they would) other countries us a net deployment drone. Easiest way is just to crash ontuer from into it if safe to do so.

Best way is to jail these people for a long time as a deterrent.

A hunting-calibre bullet would pose a risk, but shotgun pellets are relatively harmless if they fall to the ground with no-one underneath their path of flight. If managed properly it’d be no different to a clay pigeon shoot.

The drone was flying at or over a thousand feet. Shotgun wouldn’t work further than a hundred feet.

If a drone was shot at and slightly damaged, it may go into automatic ‘return to take off position’ mode. That will be in a straight point a to point b route. Depending on the model, the operator may not be able to override this, and it could fly over/into something or someone, like a motor way or busy road, and cause dreadful damage and loss of life.

Whoever has done this, needs the most severe punishment, I.e 10 years without parole, but they will probably be let off with community service because they come from a disadvantaged background…

I suspect the authorities have ways to deal with drones that they are not telling us about, which is how they managed to track down the suspects.

Certainly in an area like Gatwick, when there are no planes in the sky, you would expect that the radar coverage and accuracy would be able to track the path of the drone.

But they must be willing to shoot down drones that may contain explosives if they do not have technology that can prevent an invasions of vital airspace.

However, i have been thinking that such tactics may be useful to encourage a wider spread of approaches into City Airport. The odd strategically positioned drone within a few hundred feet of a fixed flight path… (only joking).

Unless they were very good and able to disable the tech DJI, the drone maker, could tell them exactly where it came from, where it has flown, how high etc.

Like this

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The drone will probably have the owner’s fingerprints.

Unless they wore gloves but I don’t think this person is a criminal mastermind.

And just when it left the newscycle

While it is only a couple of bad apples in a big bin, if there is disruption on the scale of Gatwick (cost and people) then the authorities may have to react with regulation. It may be only a few people but if this becomes a regular event then surely the rights of airport operators, airlines and passengers will take precedence over a small (albeit growing) number of drone enthusiasts.

Yes I fear you may be right, and obvs it’s very important that our airports can’t be shut down like this.

Through regulation, the authorities will ensure it’s only outlaws that are able to own drones

I want to actually have it absolutely confirmed there was a drone. Not like Gatwick which may or may not have been a drone.

It’s worrying that they cite that registering online with the NAATs and taking the online test is something that may prevent this… Nobody is likely to register a drone then fly it over an airport…

Could registration happen at point of sale? I seem to recall once upon a time shops selling TVs took details for TV licensing.

What happens for secondary market sales?

What happens if a drone gets stolen and illegally flown under the victim’s registration.

What happens when an owner moves house, or uses a drone purchased abroad?

Drone registration is a really flawed idea that has enough loopholes for it to be practically useless in preventing drone crime.

Fair enough. I suppose if there isn’t some workable solution, at one point a total ban will be discussed. That would be a shame.

Yep, but all governments like knee jerk reactions.

People killed by drones in UK, 0. Ban them!!!

People killed by knives, cars, illegal guns…

What we need is knife registration.

A mere 14 registration forms to complete for this badboy:

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But if it makes us safer…

Write your MP.

I would if it would make a difference but the bandwagon is on the move.

Late pass! This is amazing, love the video!

Has everyone done their test and registered?

Quick video cut from my first Mavic Mini video with the skyline slowly disappearing behind the hill

I think this is brilliant and innovative, can I have a go or watch how it is done with one of you after lock down please, big kid I know

There seems to be some discussion as to whether even for drones under 250g it’s legal to fly them within 30m of a structure https://youtu.be/ozTB-i9qDNI?t=160 I suppose it’ll have to wait until we’re allowed back into the countryside. Ironically all the ‘nanny software’ still says it’s ‘safe to fly’ here.

Hope I can join you and the family one day soon x

there was a drone buzzing back and forth , sometimes hovering, sometimes at high speed around Perry Vale/Perry Rise/Pearfield Road for half an hour or so early yesterday evening. About twice the height or local rooftops. Can anyone say what operation rules/guidelines are supposed to be for flying drones low in urban areas?

I think, from where it was flying and from its final descent, that it was being controlled from somewhere around the Pearfield Road/Perry Vale junction.

A by-law in Lewisham completely prohibits the public from using drones across the borough (although neighbouring Southwark still allows them there).

It’s possible the drone was used by Network Rail or the Met Police.

I saw it on Friday. It certainly wouldn’t surprise me if’s being operated by the MET on account of all the selfish motorists who use Perry Hill as their own personal race track due to the lack of any speed cameras. It seems to be popular with motorcyclists and those prats that roar around Sydenham on quad bikes we all keep seeing (and hearing).

Hello - I am based in Camberwell , SE5, and was looking to film myself playing my brass instrument (for a Brass Band virtual concert!) on my roof - I can get shots from the house opposite - but wondered if you would be up for capturing a drone shot - it would be amazing to show a tilt up and the view across to the city, with the shard etc
Do let me know what you think - here or on nick.greenman@yahoo.com
Thanks - Nick

Sounds like a great idea for a shot. Aside from reservations about my piloting skills (probably others here more qualified) I’m still totally unsure what the rules are about flying in the street.

I’ve read up on all the registration stuff, but my drone weighs 249g - seems like they made it that small on purpose to skirt the regulations which apply from 250g. So I’m not sure if the drone code applies as technically it’s just a ‘toy’.

Then I saw @anon5422159’s comment about Lewisham bylaws (ok not Camberwell) and I can’t find anything formal from Lewisham online, aside from a few news articles.

Long story short I’m confused, and also technically it’s not ‘essential’ although I could of course cycle over…

That wasn’t helpful was it

p.s. welcome to the forum, and you double posted your comment… I can delete it for you if you need help with that.

Hey thanks for reply - there is not a huge rush - it’s for end of the month, by which time there may be more relaxed attitude to the lockdown - and I wasnt looking for anyone to break that!
I’ll see if I can find anything here about Southwark rules

Anyone having issues with the DJi app recently?