What are the Open, Specific and Certified drone categories?
Under the new uk drone laws three categories define where drones can be flown.
These categories are:
- Open: Operations that present a low (or no) risk to third parties.
- Specific: Operations that present a greater risk than that of the Open category, or where one or more elements of the operation fall outside the boundaries of the Open Category. Holding an Operational Authorisation - similar to the former PfCO - allows you to fly in this category.
- Certified: Operations that present an equivalent risk to that of manned aviation. This category is for high-complexity missions.
The Open Category is broken down into three subcategories:
- A1: Fly over people.
- A2: Fly close to people.
- A3: Fly far from people.
Each of these subcategories has more specified criteria of where/how your drone can be operated.
Sources
This answer was generated from information sourced from the following pages:
- UK Drone Laws 2024: Where can I fly? - www.heliguy.com/blogs/posts/uk-drone-laws-where-can-i-fly
- heliguy™ Blog - www.heliguy.com/blogs/posts/
- Drone Tutorials - www.heliguy.com/pages/help/
