So you bought a drone! Now what?
Before you go flying, make sure you aren't going to land yourself in hot water.
How Old Do I Have to Be?
20th January 2022What are the minimum age requirements for flying a drone?
In general the minimum age is 16 years old. At least for the open and specific categories.
Reg (EU) 2019/947, article 19 - Minimum age for remote pilots, paragraph 1
The minimum age for remote pilots operating a UAS in the ‘open’ and ‘specific’ category shall be 16 years.
Countries can lower that age requirement as far as 12 years old. So you should clarify with your National Aviation Authority (NAA) if you are younger than 16.
Reg (EU) 2019/947, article 19 - Minimum age for remote pilots, paragraph 3 & 4
3. Member States may lower the minimum age following a risk-based approach taking into account specific risks associated with the operations in their territory:
(a) for remote pilots operating in the ‘open’ category by up to 4 years;
(b) for remote pilots operating in the ‘specific’ category by up to 2 years.
4. Where a Member State lowers the minimum age for remote pilots, those remote pilots shall only be allowed to operate a UAS on the territory of that Member State.
There are some exceptions. No minimum ages exists for:
- Toy drones
- Privately-built drones under 250g
- Under supervision
Reg (EU) 2019/947, article 19 - Minimum age for remote pilots,paragraph 2
No minimum age for remote pilots shall be required:
(a) when they operate in subcategory A1 as specified in Part A of the Annex to this Regulation, with a UAS Class C0 defined in Part 1 of the Annex to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/945 that is a toy within the meaning of Directive 2009/48/EC;
(b) for privately-built UAS with a maximum take-off mass of less than 250g;
(c) when they operate under the direct supervision of a remote pilot complying with paragraph 1 and Article 8.
Related
Do I Need to Register?
Now that you've gotten hold of a drone, how do you know if you need to register? What's the regulation? What decides if you need to register or not? Where do you go? Do you register yourself or your drones?
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