Flying your drone over another person’s private property could get harder. A bill to forbid privately owned drones from flying over someone else’s private property without the owner’s permission has been filed in advance of the Washington Legislature’s new session, which begins next week. Rep. Jeff Morris, D-Mount Vernon, pre-filed the bill last month. In addition to setting limits on overflights, it would require private owners to label their drones with their names and phone numbers. If the bill becomes law, a property owner could file a trespass charge against a drone owner if the drone has previously entered airspace over the property at least once, and the property owner has told the drone operator not to do so. The bill contains an exception that would allow the drone to fly above private property in order to land. This will be the seventh bill filed since 2015 to address private drones flying over someone else’s private property. Three of the bills have been proposed by Morris.

Previous proposals have been made in the Senate and in the House, by Republicans as well as Democrats. None ever made it to a full floor vote in either chamber. Morris said this new bill is written differently — stressing privacy and private property rights rather than aerospace control. He believes this new approach will make the legislation more palatable to the Republican caucus that controls the state Senate. “It has a property rights take on enforcing it,” he said. Morris’ bill has not been assigned yet to a House committee. But he chairs the House Economic Development and Technology Committee, which has handled drone issues in the past. Morris said the topic has picked up extra interest since last June, when the Federal Aviation Administration issued a set of regulations for commercial drones weighing less than 55 pounds. Under those regulations, an operator must be able to see the drone at all times. Such drones must not go higher than 400 feet in altitude or fly faster than 100 mph. Night flying is forbidden. 

Private drones are not to be flown near airports or large sporting events, or in a way that interferes with emergency operations. Before the FAA issued its regulations, people flying drones for commercial purposes needed pilot’s licenses. Today, a person older than 16 can take an aeronautical test at an FAA-approved site and pass a background check for a remote pilot certificate. The FAA is currently working on additional rules that would govern commercial drone flights over people who aren’t involved in operating the drones. More than 600,000 private drones have been registered over the past year, and the FAA expects millions more to be sold in 2017.Video / Tips and Solutions Drones and the Law: The Sky's Not the Limit Items discussed in article Todd Vorenkamp on How Focus Works Shawn C. Steiner on Unveiled: Pentax Makes its First Foray into Full-Frame Cameras, the K-1 DSLR Mark S on Portable Digital Recorders Buying Guide Josh Hayes on How to Emulate Super 35mm 4K Video with the Panasonic GH4

Ryan on Best of 2016: Nikon Lenses Drones are so popular now that there's a UK dronecode - a simple set of rules to let you know where you can and can't fly one. We'll also list places where you're not allowed to fly - such as the Royal Parks - and explain the equivalent rules in other countries in case you want to take your drone on holiday to capture some great aerial video. See also: Best drones you can buy right nowmacdev drone dx wartung Jump straight to drone laws in Europewhere to buy rc drones Until their recent boom in popularity, drones were lumped in with ‘small unmanned aerial vehicles’ on the CAA's (civil aviation authority) website and you had to try to figure out which rules applied to modern quadcopters. macdev drone dx highlight kit

Now, the site has a page dedicated to drones which outlines the most important rules. This is the basic Dronecode: Many quadcopters, including DJI’s Phantom 4, are capable of flying much higher than the limit, so it’s easy to unwittingly break the law. The reason for choosing 400ft, according to the CAA, is because this is generally what is measured as the limit of normal, unaided sight. Horizontally, the limit on flying is 500m from you – considerably further than 400ft. In practice, it's easy to lose track of a drone at around 200-250m away from you. The important thing is to make sure you personally can see the drone you're controlling as you're responsible for it. As long as you abide by these rules, you won’t get into trouble. There have only been a few cases so far of drone owners being prosecuted and they typically involve people blatantly flouting the rules. In one case, a drone was flown near to a nuclear submarine facility. In another case, a man repeatedly flew near stadiums and landmarks, and posted the footage to YouTube.

See also: How to fly a drone, a beginner's guide First, let us say that flying in your back garden is usually a bad idea because of limited space and the potential for crashing, but your neighbours could also make a complaint – especially if your drone has an obvious camera. You may well be able to fly in your local park, but always check before you fly. Some parks will have signage which explains what is and isn't permitted. You might see a 'no model aircraft' sign, which also includes drones. All eight of London's Royal Parks are no-drone zones, but you can still fly on many of the commons: Hampstead Heath, Blackheath, Clapham Common and more. Update: Previously we included Wimbledon Common in the list of places to fly but this was incorrect. It is not permitted to fly on Wimbledon or Putney Commons. Helpfully, there's a new app, the NATS Drone Assist, which is available for Android and iOS. Unfortunately, this requires you to sign up for an account with an email address and phone number, rather than being a simple map overlay.

As well as restricted airspace, the app displays ground 'hazards' such as powerlines, railway lines, schools, petrol stations and other areas where you should be cautious of flying. It also shows areas, such as parks, where you must be careful of flying near people congregating. Assuming you're satisfied that it's ok to fly somewhere, you must still obey the minimum and maximum distance rules of the Dronecode. No, you don't need to register your personal drone or get a permit for a recreational drone in the UK. If you're planning to use your drone for paid work, however, that's a different story, and you will need Permission for Aerial Work, which has to be renewed annually. You can find out more on the CAA's website. The law may be different in other countries. Sweden, for example, now requires drone owners to acquire a permit before flying - as the government deems the drones 'surveillance devices', even if they don't have a camera installed. Update December 2016: The UK government is proposing to change the regulations so that any recreational drone weighing more than 250 grams has to be registered.

Ministers also want drones to be 'electronically identifiable' on the ground so their owners can be tracked. They are also proposing increases to the maximum fine for flying a a no-fly zone, which is currently limited to £2,500. Should the law change following these proposals, we'll update this article. The final part of the dronecode is to fly safely. Each flight is your responsibility, which means you are liable for any damage caused by your drone. It’s worth checking if your home insurance covers this and, if not, get a dedicated policy. You don't have to have drone insurance by law, but it's a good idea. It costs around £35 per year and there are lots of providers (just search drone insurance UK). These will give you personal public liability insurance which will protect you against claims if you crash into and damage someone's property or injure someone with your drone. You can also take precautions against failure such as these 7 pre-flight checks which you should do before letting your drone leave the ground.

Also note that recklessly endangering an aircraft in flight is a criminal offence in the UK, and anyone convicted of the charge can face a prison term. So if you live near an airport, make sure you’re flying low. Some drones (including DJI Phantoms) have the capacity to geo-fence restricted areas, such as airports. They can also use them for ‘beginner’ modes which limit the height and distance the quadcopter can fly away from you. However, most don’t so it’s up to you to ensure you fly it safely. Since many drones have – or can be fitted with – a camera, it’s possible to buy an FPV kit and fly it using a live video stream from the camera. This is done from a video screen or special goggles, but presents a problem as you won’t have line of sight with the drone: you’re not looking directly at it. To get around this, the FPV UK organisation worked to get an exemption for this type of drone flying and it’s legal as long as you have a ‘spotter’ who can keep the drone in their line of sight while you fly it.