FAQ - European Drone School
About the Regulation
Until 31 December 2020, each EU Member State applied its own national regulations. In order to operate abroad, an operator therefore had to comply with local rules, which made it very difficult to do so.
In order to promote the development of the UAS sector in Europe, the European Commission has developed two regulations to harmonise practices, thus facilitating operations in the EU.
Since 31 December 2020, the European regulation on UAS is directly applicable in all EU Member States, as well as in Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
A UAS operator or a remote pilot who meets the conditions laid down in the European regulation can therefore now operate - under certain conditions - in his country of origin, but also in all other Member States thanks to the certificates (registration, pilot, operator) obtained in his country of origin.
EASA (European Union Aviation Safety Agency) has published a document entitled "Easy access rules" for UAS. This document gathers all the rules and procedures imposed by regulation 2019/947, as well as the AMC/GM for operations with UAS and regulation 2019/945 for the technical requirements of UAS.
> The Operator is the entity legally responsible for an operation. An Operator can be a company, or an individual.
> The Pilot is the person holding the remote controller in his hands. Obviously, the Pilot is always an individual. A Pilot can also be an Operator.
As an operator, you must register with the national aviation authority of the EU country in which you reside. You must only register once, regardless of the number of UAS you have in service in the Open or Specific category.
However, you do not need to register if your UAS:
• weighs less than 250g and is not equipped with a camera or other sensor capable of capturing personal data; even if equipped with a camera or other sensor
• your UAS weighs less than 250g, and is considered a toy (which means that its documentation demonstrates compliance with the Toys Directive 2009/48/EC)
In principle not, as registration is mandatory in all cases only for operators. However, if your operations require the use of a certified UAS (by EASA according to defined technical specifications), then you must also register each certified UAS you use.
> Article 14, §2, d) of Regulation 2019/947 requires that the UAS operator, at the time of its application for registration, provide an insurance policy number for UAS where required by EU law.
• If the mass of your UAV is equal to or greater than 20 kg, you need a specific insurance.
• If the UAS used has a maximum take-off mass of 20 kg or more, then the UAS operator must take out insurance in accordance with the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 785/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 on insurance requirements for air carriers and aircraft operators.
- have at least one competency certificate for the OPEN category
- prove that you are capable of flying in the specific category
How to prove it? Here are the different methods:
1. The Standard Scenarios (STS): it is a legal framework that allows you to operate without having to announce yourself to the local authority before the flight if you have undergone training on its subject. This training comprises theory and practical courses, and must be provided by a training entity that is designated by a NAA (National Aviation Authority).
There are 2 standard scenarios, STS-01 and STS-02.
STS-01 is generally the first step for pilots wishing to operate in Specific category but is not a legally mandatory step.
That said, many NAAs require anyone wishing to operate in Specific have at least an STS-01 competency certificate; it’s a way of ensuring that their counterpart has minimal skills.
- STS-01 summarized is:
- A maximum flight height of 120m AGL
- The flight above a ground-controlled area
- A maximum speed of 5m/s (about 18km/h)
- STS-02 summarized is:
- A drone flying BVLOS (beyond visual line of sight)…
- … with airspace observers
- The flight takes place above a ground-controlled area
- The maximum height is 120m
- The maximum speed is 50km/h.
2. SORA: It is the risk analysis framework adopted by the authority.
By following the SORA method, you must analyze the risks associated with the operation you wish to perform (also called ConOps, for “concept of operations”). You must then submit your SORA to the local authority, which will verify if it is valid and issue you a flight authorization if necessary.
It may seem simple, but performing a SORA is a complex task. SORA is not a “form,” it is a method that allows you to orient yourself, but it is up to you alone to prove that your ConOps does not pose a risk, or at least a limited and controlled risk.
To do this, you will need to, for example, prove the skills of the pilots (see the paragraph on STS-01), show what the impact in Joules of your drone will be on the ground in the event of a crash, or indicate how you will let manned aircraft know that you are sharing airspace with them.
3. PDRA's: It is a simplified SORA (Pre Defined Risk Assessment) for situations identified by the authority as being more frequent, and for which it has therefore put in place a kind of pre-filled SORA. You will still need to prove your skills and a whole bunch of other things, but if you follow the information already included in the PDRA, its validation will be simpler and faster. There are several PDRA, which are officially published, and whose list can be found here: Predefined Risk Assessment (PDRA) | EASA (europa.eu)
4. LUC: When an operator obtains an LUC, they can validate their own risk analyses and thus approve their own operations. LUC holders are currently rare and closely scrutinized by local authorities. They must demonstrate flawless organization and total control over all procedures and processes related to the execution of their operations.
About UAS & Cx Classification
UAS stands for Unmanned Aircraft System, it is the legal name for a drone.
UAV means Unmanned Aircraft Vehicle.
As soon as you are registered as a UAS operator, you will receive a registration number which you must affix to all your UAS in a visible and legible manner when the UAS is on the ground. This can be written directly by hand with an indelible marker or by a label, or even a QR code. Whichever way you use, make sure that your registration number is always clearly visible and readable.
If your registration number is too large to be affixed to the UAS, it can be written on the battery compartment, provided it is easily accessible.
There are 7 classes, from C0 to C6.
The Cx class identification is determined by the technical specifications of the UAS. These technical requirements ensure that these Cx drones will be used as safely as possible.
Every type of operation, from OPEN A1, A2 and A3 to SPECIFIC category operations, can be operated only with drones from certain Cx categories
About operations
The UAS geographical areas are areas over which UAS are not allowed to fly, can only fly under certain conditions, or for which a prior flight authorisation is required.
Their purpose is to ensure the security of airports and other airfields, but also to protect certain sensitive sites against possible intrusions by UAS such as prisons, nuclear sites, royal estates, etc.
For reasons of security, safety, privacy or environmental protection, you must first analyse the operational environment and the geographical area in which your operations will take place, and take into account the access conditions relating to the geographical areas.
> Article 14, §2, d) of Regulation 2019/947 requires that the UAS operator, at the time of its application for registration, provide an insurance policy number for UAS where required by EU law.
• If the mass of your UAV is equal to or greater than 20 kg, you need a specific insurance.
• If the UAS used has a maximum take-off mass of 20 kg or more, then the UAS operator must take out insurance in accordance with the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 785/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 on insurance requirements for air carriers and aircraft operators.
An operator registered in your country, and having received a permit to fly, it is possible to make a similar application in another Member State. The latter will judge whether the local conditions allow it to issue a permit in turn.
The registration of operators will only have to be done once, as the databases will be shared between Member States.
A uninvolved person is a person that is not involved in the operation of UAS or who is not aware of the instructions and safety precautions issued by the UAS Operator.
Examples of uninvolved persons : spectators gathered for sports activities, concerts or other mass events; people on a beach, in a park or on the streets; etc.
An uninvolved person is not only a person who is directly exposed to a UAS, but can also be a person in a bus, car, etc. who is indirectly exposed.
For example, if a UAS flies over a car, its driver should be considered an "uninvolved person" because the UAS flying near a car could distract the driver and cause an accident.
An assembly of people is not defined by a specific number of people, but is related to the possibility for a group of people to move in order to avoid being hit by the UAS in case of an accident. If a group of people is so dense that the ability, for an individual, to freely escape or move away from the UAS is limited, it is considered to be an assembly of people. It is up to the pilot to determine whether the people are so close together that they will not be able to move away to safety if the UAS loses control.
The following may be considered as assemblies of people: sports spectators, cultural religious or political events with many people, people assembled on beaches or parks on a sunny day, people on shopping streets during shop opening hours, etc.
A person walking by is considered as an uninvolved person (see definition above). You must therefore ensure that you comply with the operating conditions applicable to the category or sub-category in which you are operating (for example, OPEN A2).
In order to avoid being distracted by the arrival or presence of passers-by during the execution of the flight, it is advisable to mark out your flight perimeter with traffic cones to keep your flight area under control. You can also wear a fluorescent waistcoat and inform uninvolved people that an operation is in progress, or have an assistant doing that for you.
Night flights are permitted in the Open category if these operations meet all the conditions defined for this category. In particular, it is mandatory that the operations can be carried out visually (VLOS): you must therefore always be able to clearly distinguish your UAS, even at night; the UAS must be equipped with a light to ensure the visibility of the UAS in the sky (a flashing green light will be mandatory); the flight environment must be such that visual flight can be maintained throughout the operation.
It is possible to fly in town if you operate in the Open category. However, you should be particularly aware of your surroundings, especially people in the vicinity of the operation, and respect the minimum distance to people or buildings required by the regulations.
Additional conditions may also be imposed in UAS geographical areas (Geozones). Before flying in a city, you should check whether a Geozone exists and strictly observe the conditions.