New legislation: What drone pilots must now know – Wirtschaftswoche

Anyone who flies a drone, since June 2015, new rules must be observed. What the owners of the unmanned aircraft need to know now.

Strict rules apply for drone pilots around the 16 international airports in Germany, including about Berlin-Tegel, Dusseldorf and Cologne / Bonn. In a radius of 1.5 kilometers around the airport fence, the unmanned flier may not rise in the air.

Even outside this 1.5-kilometer border “requires each aircraft, the is flying in the control zone, a release of air navigation “, as the German Air Traffic Control (DFS) informs. The surveillance zone shall consist of the air area around an airport with very heavy traffic and may be wide and 35 kilometers long and 15 kilometers.

A relief for drone pilots but there is since June 1: For airplanes to five kilos of total weight and a maximum altitude of 30 meters, DFS issued for flights in the surveillance zone of 16 major airports Packages release. This is true of unmanned aerial vehicles to 25 kilos total weight up to an altitude of 50 meters.

Who does not adhere to it, or otherwise engages in dangerous airspace, is liable to prosecution. Even otherwise apply to the drone use the Aviation Act (LuftVG) and Air Traffic Regulations . (LuftVO)

These rules should always note drone pilots:

– Absolute no-fly rule over crowds, military objects, power plants and hospitals. Even the spy plane in the neighbor’s garden is forbidden

-. The right to privacy and copyright also applies to camera drones. Shots from the pool of strangers are therefore equally taboo as the films in foreign window. And even when shooting from public buildings or gardens, there are limitations. Glances over hedges and fences across are allowed. In principle, only to be photographed or filmed what is also evident to the naked eye without aids.

“MsoNormal” – The flight operations shall be conducted only in direct line of sight of the controller. A pair of binoculars or the onboard camera shall not be considered. “Airspace is during the flight, especially with regard to other traffic to constantly monitor the controller or a second person who is in contact with the controller,” says of the air traffic control.

– resulting from the use of the aircraft damage, the liable drone pilot. A liability insurance makes sense, the jump in the event of damage, therefore is mandatory. Attention: Often the personal liability does not cover the area from, then an additional insurance is due

Note:. Applies the relief flights in the surveillance zones exclusively for the 16 major commercial airports that are monitored by the German Air Traffic Control. This had been misrepresented in the first version of the article. In the control zones of all other airports a single release is still required. For example for sports airports.