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Flying at night - Official response from the CAA in the UK

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 Hello,

 

Thank you for reaching out regarding this.

 

The definition of VLOS is clearly defined within UK Regulation (EU)2019/947 Article 2 paragraph 7 which states the following:

“visual line of sight operation’ (‘VLOS’) means a type of UAS operation in which, the remote pilot is able to maintain continuous unaided visual contact with the unmanned aircraft, allowing the remote pilot to control the flight path of the unmanned aircraft in relation to other aircraft, people and obstacles for the purpose of avoiding collisions”

 

Further guidance is offered within AMC (Acceptable Means of Compliance) 1 Article 2(7) Definitions which provides the following:

“In order to control the visual flight path of the UA, it must be kept within a suitable distance of the RP such that they can monitor the aircraft’s position, orientation and the surrounding airspace at all times.”

 

More detail is then given in GM1 Article 2(7) Definitions which states the following:

“Being able to control the visual flight path of the UA means keeping it within a suitable distance of the RP, such that the RP can maintain control of the flight path of the UA, to avoid a collision with other aircraft, people, obstacles or the ground. This distance depends on a number of factors, including:

- The eyesight of the RP;

- The size of the UA;

- The visual conspicuity of the UA (colour, and contrast of the UA against the backdrop from the viewpoint of the RP);

- Any navigation lighting on board the UA;

- The weather conditions (fog, sun-glare etc);

- Terrain and any other obstacles that may obscure the view of the UA from the RP;

- Whether the operation is during the hours of daylight, or night. Although there are not specific limitations on operating at night, the visual conspicuity of the UA and ambient lighting, may affect the distance to which the UA may be flown from the RP.

This distance will likely vary on each flight depending on these factors, and the RP should be able to identify at what point VLOS can no longer be maintained.

Just because the UA is still visible (for example, a dot in the sky), this does not mean that it meets the definition of VLOS. A RP must be able to visually determine the aircraft’s orientation at all times. While this may potentially be aided by navigation lights, the sole use of telemetry to indicate UA orientation to the RP is not considered as acceptable.”

 

As such, if the Remote Pilot cannot see the lights at night and cannot therefore meet the definition of VLOS as described above then the flight by its definition is BVLOS.

 

I hope this helps provide some clarity that you might wish to share with your readers.



Sent on behalf of the

RPAS Sector Team

Unmanned Aircraft System Unit
Safety and Airspace Regulation Group


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