When you fly an SFE, you must follow the rules that apply to aviation. With the support of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the European Commission has drafted new regulations for flying with SFEs: https://www.easa.europa.eu/en/newsroom-and-events/press-releases/eu-wide-rules-drones-published

These new rules apply to everyone in the EU.

EASA has also produced guidance material to facilitate compliance with the new rules.

In addition to these EU regulations and other international regulations, Greece has national rules and laws that you must follow, such as the Aviation Law. In this chapter, we will look at some of these rules and requirements that apply to manufacturers, owners and operators of SFEs.

The new rules in brief

The purpose of the new rules is to facilitate the rapid development of the use of SEMs while maintaining safety as traffic increases.

The new rules are stricter for the owner-operator of the SFE (the one who is responsible) as well as for the remote operator (the one who flies the SFE). The owner-operator can be a natural or legal person – and when it comes to private use of SFEs, the owner-operator is often the same person as the remote operator. You can read more about owner-operator liability at the end of this section.

Owning or flying an aircraft comes with certain obligations, but there are also new requirements relating to the SFE itself and its systems. If you fly with your visual line of sight (VLOS), a SMEE under 25 kg, a maximum of 120 metres above the ground and not over people, this flight is in the open category and therefore does not require a permit to fly.

If you fly a SFE over 25 kg or fly beyond VLOS (excluding flight in follow me mode) or use an observer), the flight is in the Special or Certified category and a special permit is required from the APA. The same applies if you fly higher than 120 metres and if you fly close to people.

New technical requirements now apply to SSEs – they have to be built in a certain way. A SSE that meets these requirements has CE certification, which means that a manufacturer or importer certifies that the product complies with the EU’s essential health, environmental and safety requirements. A SMEE must be C marked according to its technical specifications. These specifications are defined in the following categories: C0, C1, C2, C3, C4, C5 and C6. An example of a requirement is that it must be possible to identify a SSE from a distance. It shall be possible to determine the geographical position, altitude, speed and flight path of the SFE.

What applies to SSEAs in the open category?

This training material is valid for SFEs in the open category and therefore, if you pass the theoretical examination and are issued a pilot licence by the CAA, you can fly SFEs with a maximum weight of up to 25 kg. However, it is not enough to fly according to the rules. There are many requirements to remember if you want to fly an HMS in this category and the requirements seem to be different depending on the type of HMS you are going to fly.

On the basis of their characteristics, SFEs are divided into three subcategories (A1 – A3). The subcategories include several classes C (C0 – C4). Each class has specific requirements for the SFE and its remote pilot. Below, we will first look at what applies to each subclass and then continue with the C classes.

If you intend to fly an SFE in subcategory A1 or A3, you should have sufficient knowledge of air safety, airspace restrictions, air traffic regulations, human performance limitations and operational procedures. A general knowledge of SFEs is also essential.

If you intend to fly an SFE in subclass A2, you should be quite familiar with meteorology. You also need more knowledge of how to manage the risks of flying close to the ground and close to people.