I’ve been flying drones for just under a year now and I’ve already got a decent spread across categories – from sub-250g drones like my DJI Neo, right up to heavier custom builds like my Nazgul Evoque.
Before I even took off for the first time, I did the sensible thing and got licensed properly. I picked up my A1 and A3 certificates straight away. That meant I could fly smaller drones near people, and larger drones well away from them. Simple enough. Learn the rules, follow them, crack on.
But I live in the UK – and since leaving the EU, things have started shifting… again.
The rules changed – not the pilots
New UK-specific drone classifications are coming in, along with tighter rules around where and how you can fly, especially if your drone weighs more than 250g.
The big one?
Flying heavier drones has suddenly become way more restrictive.
No more flying in parks. No flying anywhere people are or even might gather. Basically: if it looks like a place someone could exist, you’re probably not meant to be there.
Skill hasn’t changed, safety practices haven’t changed, but the list of legal places you can fly is shrinking fast.
And yeah – I get safety. I’m all for it. But it does start to feel a bit ridiculous when you’ve invested serious money into gear, training, and time… only to be told you now need to hunt down abandoned wasteland just to enjoy the hobby.
Remote ID: Big Brother energy
Then there’s Remote ID. It’s coming. No avoiding it and within a few years, you won’t legally be able to fly without broadcasting your drone’s identity and location.
Right now, custom builds get a bit of a grace period – but let’s not kid ourselves, that clock is ticking. The tech is intrusive, unavoidable, and feels very “Big Brother”, whether you agree with the intent or not.
There is a way through (sort of)
Thankfully, there is a path that keeps things workable: getting a CofC (Certificate of Competency).
It’s not a magic “do whatever you want” pass – but it does allow you to operate in places that the new rules would otherwise block, broadly restoring the kind of flying freedom we’re used to (when done properly).
That said, it’s not exactly light reading. The rules are fragmented, updated constantly, and scattered across government pages that feel like they were designed by committee… and not a particularly sharp one.
Honestly? Let AI do the hard work
This is where AI genuinely helps.
If you tell a decent LLM:
- what country you’re in
- what drones you own
- how and where you want to fly
…it can break the rules down far more clearly than the official sources.
I’ll be straight though – Gemini handled this better than GPT. GPT got a few things wrong, which isn’t ideal when you’re trying to stay legal. So sanity-check anything critical!
Bottom line
Flying drones isn’t getting harder because pilots are reckless or unskilled. It’s getting harder because regulation is tightening faster than clarity is improving.
I still love flying – especially the heavier drones – but the friction is real. If you’re serious about sticking with the hobby in the UK, a CofC is quickly becoming less “optional” and more “inevitable”.
