Legacy Drones (in the UK)

What is a Legacy Drone?

Where can I fly a Legacy Drone?

Legacy drones can be flown in the Open and Specific Categories. These categories are a set of rules that need to be followed when flying a drone. The open category is open to anyone with a drone that weighs less than 25kg and to fly in the specific category the GVC qualification is need.

Flying a Legacy Drone in the Open Category

The open category is split into three subcategories. They are the A1 and A1 (transitional), A2 and A2 (transitional) and A3. Depending on the drones weight it will fall into a certain subcategory. Each subcategory will allow you to fly different distances from uninvolved people. See the table below.

Subcategory	A1	A1 (transitional)	A2 (transitional)	A3
Weight	Less than 250g	Less than 500g	Less than 2kg	Less than 25kg
Limitations for legacy drones	It is possible to fly over people if safe to do so You cannot fly over crowds or assemblies of people	It is possible to fly over people if it is unintentional and safe to do so You cannot fly over crowds or assemblies of people	You must remain 50 meters away from uninvolved people	You must remain 50 meters away from uninvolved people and 150 meters away from residential, commercial, industrial and recreational areas
Qualifications needed	None	A2 CofC	A2 CofC	None
Expires	Never	1 January 2023	1 January 2023	Never

A1 Subcategory

All drones less that 250 grams can fly in the A1 subcategory indefinitely. This means small drones such as the Mini 2 have the privilege of being allowed to fly over uninvolved people (but not crowds) forever or at least until the law changes again. This gives Mini 2 owners a huge amount of freedom which will not expire, making the Mini 2 in our opinion the best drone on the market to date! You must still follow the drone code however, so cannot fly in restricted areas.

Adding extra payloads to you drones such as cameras or other attachment may push them of the 250g mark, meaning they must be flown in the subcategory corresponding to their weight.

A1 Transitional Subcategory

All drones less than 500g can fly in the A1 transitional subcategory. This means small drones such as the parrot anafi have the privilege of being allowed to fly unintentionally over uninvolved people (but not crowds) until the 1 January 2023 at which point it will be relegated to the A3 subcategory.

This gives new drones in this category a short potentially short ‘useful’ lifespan if you do not have GVC to fly in the specific category.

A2 Transitional Subcategory

All drones less than 2kg can fly in the A2 transitional subcategory. This means drones such as the DJI Air 2S have the privilege of being allowed to fly a horizontal distance of 50 meters from uninvolved people (which is an imaginary 50 meter radius cylinder around the person from the floor and goes up forever) until the 1 January 2023 at which point it will be relegated to the A3 subcategory.

This gives new drones in this category a short potentially short ‘useful’ lifespan if you do not have GVC to fly in the specific category.

A3 Subcategory

All drones less than 25kg can fly in the A3 subcategory. The A3 subcategory restricts you from flying 150 meters from residential, commercial, industrial and recreational areas and 50 meters from uninvolved people. It the UK, parks and beaches are classified as recreation areas, leaving very few places where you can legally fly.

Flying a Legacy Drone in the Specific Category

Generally drones flown in the Specific Category can be flown 50 meters away from univolved people (150 meters away from crowds of 1000 people). The distance is measured as a 50 meter bubble around the drone meaning flying over uninvolved people is possible as long as you are at least 50 meters above them. To fly in the specific category you will need a GVC qualification. Legacy drones can be flown in the specific category indefinitely.