Modern-Aviation

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Aircraft And Personal Development & Applications

The Paragon of Modern Aviation

Knowledge Base - 8

Authorisation that comes with membership of a club or association
In some cases, being a member of a recognised club or association may give you additional flying authorisation. For example, you may be able to fly in an area that is normally restricted as long as you follow the conditions in the authorisation.

Check with your club or association before you fly.

Making every flight safe
What to do before flying, during a flight and after a flight.

- Make sure you know what your drone or model aircraft can and cannot do
- Make sure you have read any instructions before you fly.

Key points to know are:
- how far your drone or model aircraft can fly from you before it loses signal
- how long your drone or model aircraft can fly before running low on power or fuel
- If your drone or model aircraft has any of the following functions, you should know how to set and update them:

Maximum flying height.
A lost connection or ‘return-to-home’ function, which means your drone or model aircraft can fly back to you if there’s a problem.
Geo-awareness software to help you avoid flying in certain restricted areas. Do not alter or disable this software if your drone or model aircraft has it.
Modifying a C class drone or model aircraft
If you modify any C class drone or model aircraft, it no longer counts as a C class drone or model aircraft. Instead, you must follow the rules for the flying weight of your drone: either lighter than 250g, or 250g and above.

It does not matter whether you’ve increased the weight or not.

For example, if you have a C1 drone and you change the motor to one that’s not specified by the drone manufacturer, you can no longer fly your drone in recreational, residential, industrial or commercial areas.

Modifying means changing anything that affects the weight or how the drone or model aircraft flies. It does not include replacing broken or damaged parts with new ones of the same design. For example, replacing the broken rotor blades with correct new rotor blades specified by the manufacturer is an acceptable maintenance practice and should not alter the correct specification for your model drone.

Make sure your drone or model aircraft is fit to fly
- Check fuel and battery levels
-Take special care to check that fuel and battery levels will last through your flight. This includes any extra fuel you might
need in an emergency or for flying in difficult weather, such as windy conditions.

Remember to check the battery power in the controller too.

- Check any built-in software is up to date
The built-in software (called firmware) controls important navigation and flying controls. Depending on the type of drone or model aircraft you have, this could include:

- how your drone uses its power
- how your drone knows its position
- how your drone lands if there’s a problem