Obtaining permission to fly over private land (UK)

[DJZ]

Hi guys!

This may be a simplistic question and somewhat UK-centric but it's something I'd like to ask your opinion on.

I recently bought an i2 which I intend to use for personal and recreational purposes. I live in rural Warwickshire (UK) and have a lot of farm land and fields around me. These fields are mostly pasture land and are mostly used by the general public to walk their dogs on, etc. There are "pedestrian" gates which are open and freely accessible.

There I was flying my drone in a small remote field with public right of way access when out of the blue a farmer comes racing up on his quad bike demanding to know what I was doing. I struck up a polite conversation with him and explained that I'm flying my drone in an attempt to get used to flying it. I wasn't filming at the time (it's a massive empty field - there was nothing worth filming). He politely asked me to vacate the field and not to fly my drone on it again. We shook hands amicably and I left. He wasn't very open about why he didn't want me to fly over his field other than to say he didn't want hundreds of drones buzzing around at all times of the day. Fair enough.

So, here is my dilemma: I've been to about 5 or 6 local farmers/landowners to ask for permission to fly my drone over their land and each one has declined. I've tried to appease them by offering them aerial shots of their land/property (once I get the hand of aerial photography) in return for permission but none of them have taken me up on the offer. I've now run out of "local" fields to fly on and will have to travel 20~30 minutes to find some more fields (and possibly encounter the same problem).

I would rather obtain permission before flying but it is just not practical for me to drive a distance to get half an hour's practice in once a week. One farmer suggested I spoke with a local RC Flying Club as they have access to a field nearby. Having done so I was informed that they're not taking on any new members as they have a limit as to how many people can use the field. Fair enough.

So, what would you do if you were in my shoes? Would you:

(a) continue looking for a field in the wider vicinity for which you could obtain permission to fly over, or
(b) just fly your drone in a local field until the landowner notices and chucks you off the field

I'm posting a little poll to make it easier to see your responses.

Like I said at the beginning, it's a pretty simplistic question but I am genuinely interested in hearing your opinions.

Many thanks for your feedback.

Dan
"i2 pilot with nowhere to fly ..."

 

[NickU]

I guess I'm lucky in that I already knew the farmer's whose land I use for flying on, so when I asked them they said yes, no problem.

In fairness to the farmers, they do get a lot of rural crime so can be very suspicious of anyone hanging around - things like landies, quad bikes, scrap metal, livestock etc are all liable to go walkabout, and they're always having to deal with people dumping rubbish on their land or (politically incorrect warning..) pikies and the like trying to lamp rabbits, course hares or park their caravans for free! The farming press is also somewhat hostile to drones too, seeing them as scaring livestock. In fact, in my experience the livestock isn't bothered in the least, they don't see things in the air as predators in the same way they see dogs and people as a threat, certainly not if they're not flying directly at them and are over 50ft agl. Sheep ignore the drones in the main, cows are curious and will come up and look, then go back to producing greenhouse gasses. Only things I'm more wary flying near are horses as I know they can be a bit skittish and prone to do something daft, especially the thoroughbred/warmblood/hunter variety, even then they mostly just run off a few feet then turn & watch for a bit, get bored & go back to munching grass.

So, me being me, yes I'd always ask.

Hesitate to suggest it, but the offer of some tenners as 'rent' for a month or so's access to do a bit of flying might help. Farmers always like hard cash

Other one to try (probably in a month or so), once you see them start ploughing or lifting their crops, then ask if you can come and film them and you can send them a dvd or a video file for their phone.

Keep trying is all I can say! Politeness and quiet persistence.

 

[Simon Mallin]

It's not easy and becoming harder all the time as more and more reckless flyers give drones a bad name.

I managed to establish an arrangement with a local (private) school to use one of their sports fields but I always check with the grounds staff beforehand. I've done a few photos for them in return. I only fly there about once a month so don't abuse the permission. It's mainly to test out app updates, camera settings, advanced flight modes, etc. If you have any schools or sports clubs nearby I'd make an approach - nothing to lose. I've heard about some pilots doing drone awareness / education sessions for schools so maybe that could be the carrot.

I've found the best way to hone my general skills is by flying a £40 Hubsan around the house.

Good luck.

 

[DJZ]

Hi Nick & Simon,

Many thanks for your thoughts and feedback. I agree that the best (if not only) way forward is to obtain permission of the landowner prior to flying.

Interesting thought about local school fields - I hadn't thought of that as the schools near me have buildings fairly close to the fields. I may give that a go though and see what happens.

@Moderators: Many thanks for moving the thread out of the Inspire 2 forum - I agree, it's not specific to i2's. Apologies for plonking this in the wrong forum.

All the best chaps!

 

[Lesmess]

Hi Dan,
You don't need the farmers permission to fly over his land, you need his permission if you want to take off and land on his land. I thought i should make that point clear. As long as you follow the UK drone code, they can't stop you flying over their land provided you take off and land on public land. On saying that its always best to try and get permission. All the best and enjoy the I2, it is a remarkable drone.

 

[DJZ]

Hi Dan,
You don't need the farmers permission to fly over his land, you need his permission if you want to take off and land on his land. I thought i should make that point clear. As long as you follow the UK drone code, they can't stop you flying over their land provided you take off and land on public land. On saying that its always best to try and get permission. All the best and enjoy the I2, it is a remarkable drone.

That is a very good point you make and one worth noting. I'm fairly well versed with the ins and outs of the UK drone code but I had forgotten about that little "loophole". Having said that, I do think it's better to get permission prior to overflying private land.

Thanks for your feedback

Regards,

Dan

 

[NickU]

In that particular case, no, you don't need permission to overfly the land, but you aint' gonna get it if you do! He's not likely to be won over by carrying on flying after he's expressed his opinion, believe me.

Best thing is to keep walking the paths (without drone), say "Hi' when you see him and get chatting to him, find out about the farm and what he does there, ask if you can watch things like the ploughing, and so on. i.e. be interested - build a relationship/friendship.

It's frustrating, but it does take persistence, time & energy to cultivate contacts.

 

[Cruncher]

Why not just buy the land out from him?

 

[NickU]

 

[The Editor]

Why not just buy the land out from him?

Perfect solution!

 

[Gorm]

I am a DK farmer myself and suggest that you try and interest the local farmers in the value of areal mapping/photography as a farming aid. There is plenty of info about the potential on the net!

 

[Dr Jon]

Hi, Im UK based part of the time and have had similar issues. Most of my work involves paying customers so no issues with me flying on their property but there are times when i need so fly close to my home to test the latest DJI release. I have found a disused sand pit (now down to grass) which i use as the take off and landing. I was in a similar situation with a farmer saying "cant fly over my land" so I showed him the NATS flight plan I had submitted earlier that day and that I had followed the CAA rules in every respect. I did stress that even the planes flying over the area had similar plans submitted. I did mention the CAA owns the airspace and once I get to my I2 airborne only they can revoke the flight I have already submitted.
There was few minutes of silence from him then he said. "i will shoot it down if you fly over my property" I did mention it is an aircraft flown with CAA approvals by a qualified pilot. Any such act would be reported as criminal damage to the police and the same penalties as shooting at a commercial plane landing at a local airport would be applied.

Again a few minutes of silence. he then asked what was i taking photos of? So i showed the clips on the Ipad nothing special just trees and long distance shot using my X5S.

At this point he lost interest and asked for my address. Which I gave and he then realised I lived no more than 500 Metres away. I did ask if i could do some professional work for his farm...

Didn't get any more conversation and last saw him walking back to his jeep.

I have been back to the same spot frequently as each DJI release is uploaded. (about every 2 weeks )

Ohh I should say about 1 mile from the same location is a power station and recently I had a visit from Military Police asking what i was doing. All power stations are considered high risk targets and filming is banned of such targets. I did show then the videos i had of the power station which was nothing special and the police then showed more interest in the I2 and the other videos i had made for paying clients.

Sorry for the long winded story. But I have tried before the humble route and find the professional route gets much better response. If you give in to one restriction as you say you wont be able to fly anywhere.

Pity they didn't say the same to the kids with their Xmas presents.