Before we enter the exciting world of drone use for commercial or leisure, it is very important to know and understand the safety and legal matters surrounding remotely piloted aircraft systems.
Once purchasing a drone, you are legally responsible each time your drone takes flight, it is very important to follow the rules and regulations. It is very tempting to want to fly your drone as soon as you get it out of the box, but not knowing the law surrounding them can get you in deep trouble even ending in criminal prosecution!
The first thing you must do before every flight is check your drone for any signs of damage, and that everything is functioning properly, before you start flying it. If your drone malfunctions mid-flight, you are still responsible for its actions. Whilst flying, never fly higher than 400 feet and make sure it is always in eyesight for obvious reasons, not being able to see your drone, is not a good enough reason for breaking rules and regulations.
I would strongly suggest flying your drone in an open field or park and under no circumstances should you fly your drone near an airport or within close proximity to aircraft. It is illegal to interfere and endanger the safety of an aircraft whilst it is in flight. As the person controlling the quadcopter, you are responsible for making sure collisions with other people or objects is completely avoided. It is in fact illegal to fly drones in a congested area; your drone should be at least 50 metres away from buildings and other people. If flying a drone with a camera, please remember that the data protection act applies in these cases, if you collect imagery of identifiable individuals, you will need to read and understand the rules on the utilisation of these images.
If you’re looking to fly a drone for commercial purposes, you will need to get permission from the CAA, as there are further rigorous implications regarding minimum distance from people and buildings etc. Flying drones is fantastic fun, and with practice can become a great past time, it is just important to always apply common sense when flying, generally all the rules and regulations are in place to make sure yourself and nobody else is upset or injured.