UAVs and R/C model aircraft

tawnyowl

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles have been developing recently and have become increasingly popular. In reading about them, it seems that the first thing to regulate the area is the Irish Aviation Authority (Rockets and Small Aircraft) Order, 2000http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2000/en/si/0025.html

Safety requirements were set out by the Irish Aviation Authority in 2012:https://www.iaa.ie/library_download.jsp?libraryID=956

A specific permission should be sought for from the IAA for flying, with an extra work permission from IAA for commercial work and the craft cannot be flown outside line of sight. (See above IAA safety requirements.)

There is also a requirement for such craft to be registered:https://www.iaa.ie/index.jsp?p=469&n=519

What other regulations cover these? European and international ones no doubt come into play as the aviation industry is highly regulated.

Also, is there any distinction between UAVs and Remote Control aircraft in law? I gather there is some difference in culture, as pilots of the latter can be more cautious.

Disclaimer: This is out of curiosity, as some developments involve technology that's relatively new and it may outpace legislation for a while. I'm curious about the intersection of law and technology in general, but have no plans to buy, build borrow or fly any such vehicles. However, I understand if the mods find that this may be unsuitable as a topic under the charter.

Victor

Talk to the IAA.

Gatling

There is currently new legalities been worked on according to a friend who uses them .

Manach

Offhand in the US several states have passed laws regulating the use of drones in terms of use by the authorities. There seems to be a 50/50 split between requiring a warrant to observe specific people/locations outside emergencies and those states which do not. It will be interesting how this will evolve in conjunction with tying in metadata to identify people.