VLOS Distance and Shielding in Obstacle Areas

In plain language

If there are obstacles nearby, bring your drone closer so you can accurately judge its distance from them. Also, keep the drone low enough so it is 'shielded' by the obstacles, as manned aircraft usually fly higher than these obstacles.

Requirement as structured

EASA accepts that if obstacles are present, the flight distance should be reduced to allow the pilot to evaluate relative distance, and the UA should be kept low enough to be 'shielded' by the obstacle, as a means of complying with UAS.OPEN.060(2)(b).

Original regulatory text

If there are obstacles, the distance should be reduced such that the remote pilot is able to evaluate the relative distance of the UA from that obstacle. Moreover, the UA should be kept low enough so that it is essentially ‘shielded’ by the obstacle, since manned aircraft normally fly higher than obstacles.

Applies when

operation

VLOS

environment

obstacles_present

regulatory category

Open