Everyone, its Matt Williams, mr. mpw, and welcome to today’s. Drone expert secrets, video in today’s. Video. I’m, going to look at an issue which is a community of drone operators, particularly in the UK.

We all need to be aware of. We all need to get on board with, I think, and we all need to work together to help resolve everyone. I’m Matt Williams, mr. and p.w, and welcome to today’s. Drone expert secrets, video now today, quite an important one.

I would suggest for us as a drone community. We’ve been contacted a number of times by people over the last couple of weeks about the fact that some airports are making it difficult for people to fly in their airspace.

Now we had an issue about four years ago, five years ago now, where we weren’t able to operate not as one of our students having completed the course wasn’t able to operate inside Oxford, Kidlington airspace, and it was quite An interesting one – and I am gonna name and shame Oxford Kidlington in this place, because they are still doing this.

It got to the point whereby I spoke to the airport director, the operations manager, the owner of the airport over the phone and via email and said. Look, we have as much right as drone operators to be inside the airspace to be operating within that airspace, as anyone else does as a manned aircraft user does, as long as we are operating within the rule within the law within the rules within the regulations, we Have as much right to be there as a helicopter or as a glider or as any other aircraft out there, any heavier than air object not attached to the surface of the earth.

We have as much right to be there as them. As long as we’re operating within the regulations, part of those regulations is getting permission from you anyway, so we went in to bat with them and actually what happened was I called as a full-size helicopter operator, which I was at the time in The Air Force and said: look I’m gonna bring my helicopter to this place.

I’m coming in at this time and they said yeah no problem at all gave me a PPR number prior permission number and it was really simple. It was free – and I was allowed to do that, because they are effectively mandated by the Civil Aviation Authority to manage and control their piece of airspace and keep everybody safe.

Well, they’re. Not mandated to do is to charge for the safe use of that airspace, but I understand there is an administrative burden, particularly for lots of people want to fly in their airspace, but that is part of their operating certificate as part of their mandate.

As I say from the CAA to be allowed to use that airspace, it’s, what they have to do anyway, didn’t get anywhere. Eventually, I managed to get a meeting with the airport owner and the airport manager, and we went in.

We had a fairly frank but helpful, constructive conversation. We were in there for about an hour and a half and in the end we came out and said they said: fine. Okay, we’re, not gonna now charge 150 pounds.

That was what they were charging at the time 150 pounds for a drone operator to get permission to fly in our airspace, brilliant good win. Since then, there have been rumblings in the distance in the background that they’ve started to do it again.

So I reached out to them had a conversation over the phone, they remembered the previous conversation and they agreed at that point when they admitted that they were charged and again they agreed at that point to drop the charges.

Again. I said: okay cool, that’s. Awesome, it shouldn’t, be me having to come in to bat. For this. We’ve, told the CIA about it. The CIA have said: yep they shouldn’t, be charging for use of the airspace.

So last week I get a phone call from somebody that said they started to charge for the use of the airspace again as have a couple of other airports, and this is where it gets really interesting. Okay, so I have recorded a conversation that I had with.

In this case, Oxford, Kidlington Airport and, as I say I am in – I am gonna name – a shame. It’s gonna piss, a few people off, but you know what I don’t care because somebody needs to tackle this. Someone needs to tackle it head-on and represent the industry.

If people like AR Paz aren’t willing to do this, they aren’t able to do this if they’re, not able, with their seat at the DFT, to go and hit this head-on, and even if they are, They’re, certainly not telling people about it.

They’re, not making us aware of it as a wider drone community, we’re, not members of a has, for many reasons, this being one of them. If they’re, not willing and able to do that, then we need to go and do it ourselves again.

I’m, not saying everyone needs to hammer the living daylights out of the airports that are doing this, but please, let us know, get in touch Matt at mr. MPW, calm and ATT to T’s and Matt’s At mister and PW, comm drop it down in the comments below.

If you’ve been affected by this. Let us know we are going to go on a mission to find these airports to report them to the CIA, to welter work with them initially and and make them aware – and I will personally go out – and I’ll film – that as part of The channel, the content that we’re doing, I’ll, go out.

I’ll, speak to these airports. We’ll, have conversations we’ll, make them aware of the rules and regulations, not their thoughts on the rules and regulations, and we will make it so that as a community, we could all do what we want to do safely and That’s.

The thing we want to do this safely, that’s. Why we’re telling these airports? Ultimately, if we are outside of the frz, the flight restrictions and we don’t need to tell them at all. Obviously, if we’re inside, we need to get their permission, but people are just gonna do this.

If the airports aren’t on board okay, we have as much right to be there as everybody else. We’re allowed to be there by law as long as we’re, not impacting their operations etc. In which case we should be able to work with them to make sure that we don’t, so let us know and what was gonna say.

Well sorry, I spoke to Oxford Kidlington a couple of days ago on the phone we recorded. Those conversations – and I will let you listen to those now there’s, one conversation which was me booking in as a drone operator and being charged.

There was one conversation me booking in as a helicopter pilot and not being charged, so you can see the disparity there. As I say we are talking, we are trying to engage with them. We’re, trying to talk with them really.

I suppose this is an open letter to that Airport, in particular in this case, but to every other Airport, but let’s say please. Let us know down below. If you’ve been affected by this, we will do our best to help out.

We’re just here to to help and make sure that everyone can prosper and enjoy flying the drones and, more importantly, share the air safely. I [ Music ] guess anyone can speak to air traffic, please it’s.

Matt Williams hi there who’s that sorry hi there I’m, just a quick one. I’ve got a drone operation at blenheim next week. Just wondered if I could get or how I went about getting permission from you guys, please to operate side.

Df, –, rz, okay, I didn’t know. I just asked for you guys straightaway that’s, where we can go all right. Thank you hi there put back through to you, so we are part of a production which is Blenheim next week week after and just look okay, because we will be four four hundred feet that were looking to operate under furniture, no chance.

Okay. Why is that? Sorry? Okay, yeah. Well, the a navigational order says I can go up to form two feet if I get permission correct okay, so there must be a way of applying for that info. We do for May.

If you want the coordinates for nor dings and weddings and hi at the side where you can operate from your required requested, IDs and radius operation not see anything come through yet, oh there, it is yep perfect.

Are there any charges or anything associated? Well? One of the aircraft is but one of the aircraft won’t, be because we’ll, be fine, Alexa Minnie, so, okay above sub, seven, you’re gonna need CA approval to fly.

If you sorry for your buffs up, but for seven kilos, I think you need CIA permission to fly on that. I think seed up there, the official CCA saved on a requirement. I thought that will come to us would slice over seven.

Yes, we have CA a web portal okay, so we have CA approval for that. We & # 39; ve got permission permission operation yeah; no, no, that’s, why I has to be put through to air traffic, initially, okay, so so yeah.

So sorry, back to the original question, and if there a is there a cost for operating the drones. Is that okay, no problem? Alright? That’s great! Thank you. I will get that filled in and then and get all that back to you hi.

There I’d like to book a helicopter into Blenheim. Please it’s, just PPO that uneaten air traffic hi. I got a frame just a quick one. If I may, we’re, looking at doing some filming with a helicopter blending next week.

So I’ll, be going into Blenheim operating in and around ad hoc for about an hour and then leaving again, and can I get PPR from yourselves next Thursday? Probably it’s, probably going to be will probably be arriving about 9:15.

I’m, going will be briefing on-site and then lifting again about probably 1,300 local, okay, perfect. So yeah I’ll, just call kind of 24-hour PPR. Then, if you happy great stuff alright, then thank you ever so much Cheers.

I hope that was useful like say subscribe. If you haven’t press the Bell button next to you, the subscribe button, like the video, if you did, give us a double thumbs down. If you didn’t drop your thoughts and comments down below I’ve been Matt.

Williams fly safe and blue skies. Everyone just a quick one to add to the end of this video. If you have been affected by this at all. In any way, an airspace access request has been denied, then the CAA do have a reporting process in place.

It’s, really important that we all take part in this. As I say, it affects all of us within the community and if I’m, honest with people need to be stopped from preventing us as drone operators or any other type of airspace user.

From exercising our privileges under the air navigation order and accessing airspace, so the link is quite long, but I will drop the link in the description down below. Please fill in that form. Take a look at it if you are affected by it, get it filled in it’s.

The only way we can make the CAA aware of the people and places that are preventing us from legally using the airspace and if I’m, honest impacting flight safety.