How to fly drones in controlled airspace with the new law

The new regulatory framework for drones in Spain

Much has been said about the long-awaited Royal Decree 1036/2017 of December 15, which regulates the civil use of remotely piloted aircraft, which amends Royal Decree 552/2014 of 27 June, which develops air traffic regulations and general operational provisions for air navigation services and procedures, and Royal Decree 57/2002 of 18 January, which approves Rules of air traffic. Before this new rule came into effect, flying within that country was illegal Controlled airspace. With a royal decree, this ban is open, fulfilling the necessary requirements for a guarantee security of all

Old drone law in Spain

Until now, there have been three main operational scenarios in which the operation of drones has been strictly prohibited:

Cities: the operator was forbidden to fly over urban areas, small towns, clusters of buildings, clusters of people…

Night flying: A drone pilot or company was only allowed to fly from sunrise to sunset.

Controlled airspace.

Why is it dangerous to fly drones in controlled airspace?

To date, a large percentage of the jobs we’ve been asked about have been in controlled airspace. In order not to endanger others and risk a large fine, these requests had to be rejected. Many of our customers then asked us the same question: What is dangerous about flying in controlled airspace? Because chances are that a RPAS pilot you survived the accident drone compared to other aircraft is almost non-existent, provided that you are flying no more than 120 meters above the ground, the legal altitude. This is due, among other reasons, to the fact that the minimum approach height for aircraft is 150 meters, so there must be at least 30 meters between two aircraft at all times. However, it should be taken into account that 30 meters is also not a large margin if the calculation is carried out with the help of an auger. However, by flying responsibly, a drone pilot can always be in control of what his aircraft is doing. However, it’s not that simple, and explaining why flying in controlled airspace was illegal was a bit more complicated:

We’ll start at the beginning.

Every airport has air traffic control towers that use different technologies to manage air traffic. Among other systems, a radar stands out, capable of identifying objects in the sky at great distances and with great accuracy. When the radar detects an object, it shows it as a dot on the corresponding map so that the air traffic controller receives this information. Depending on the intensity of air traffic, the controller can control several planes at the same time.

In addition, the planes are equipped with a technology called a transponder. This transponder transmits information about the aircraft, including its speed and altitude, to the control tower. Thus, the points recorded by the radar have a unique and clear identification and provide accurate information about their trajectory.

So when a drone is flying in controlled airspace, it can be detected by radar, and the controller sees on his monitor an object with no identification, no data on its trajectory, nothing, in his area of ​​control. This object could potentially be a small plane, a hijacked plane, a plane whose pilot has not connected the transponder… The controller at this point knows only that he knows nothing, only that something outside of him is flying control. After seeing this, he will use his radio to try to contact the pilot of this unidentified object. The drone pilot, meanwhile, will fly the drone silently without hearing the dispatcher’s call, as he has no radio. With no response, the threat level rises and the air traffic controller must take urgent action to ensure that this object, who does not know what it is, does not encounter anything. The first step is to begin diverting air traffic that could be at risk, creating much uncertainty, danger and a chain of delays fatal to airlines, travelers and government security forces.

And while panic is spreading and all air operations are subject to the uncertainty of a flying object and no one knows what it is or where it is going, the RPAS pilot innocently landed his drone after doing his job, ignoring the chaos that he created . This is the reason why it has not been possible to fly in controlled airspace until now: as the name suggests, nothing should fly in this space that has escaped the control of air traffic controllers.

What to do in Spain to fly drones in controlled airspace

We know the problem, so we can find a solution: if we plan to fly in controlled airspace with a drone, we need to let controllers control who we are and what we do in that space. Then it would be enough to inform the persons in charge of the date and place where the mentioned point will be detected on their radar, and to have the radio equipment with us to be able to communicate at any time with the control tower, to be able to respond when asked and adapt our flight to the needs of the moment.

This is exactly what has just been regulated: now, in order to fly in controlled airspace, we must inform the competent authorities in advance when and where we intend to fly, having carried out a safety study. This operation requires authorization and with the request approved by AESA and having the knowledge of the radio, the certificate accrediting it and the necessary equipment, we must coordinate by radio with the responsible persons during the flight. That way, the dispatcher will be alerted that there will be a new dot on his (us) radar and will be reassured that there is nothing beyond his control.

In the event that we are going to fly BVLOS (beyond visual field of vision of the pilot), by law we must also have a Detect & Avoid transponder approved in our drone.

What is a detection and avoidance system?

Many drones for professional use have sensors to avoid collisions with objects during flight. We should not get confused as these systems are not detection and avoidance systems. The Detect & Avoid system is a transponder-integrated technology that, when another transponder is detected nearby, it can communicate with it, and based on data such as the aircraft’s weight, position, speed and direction, they can communicate with each other and autonomously follow the appropriate routes, thus eliminating any possibility of human error.

The inclusion of this type of transponder is logical: since it is a more dangerous type of flight, since there is no visual contact with our drone, the controller must have as much information as possible, and the drone must have the necessary technology to move away from the route of any other type of aircraft, as they will have an advantage

What could be the future of drone regulations in Spain

So, knowing the problem of flying drones and the usefulness of transponders, it does not seem unreasonable that in the future we will be forced to have a transponder with a Detect & Avoid system for more types of operations, or that the height limit for drones that do not have these systems. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​restrictive​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​restrictive​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​restrictive​​​​​​​​​​​​​More freedom in our actions, as long as this freedom is supported by security measures, which in the world of aviation are very strict and not cheap.

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