Can you fly a drone for your hobby once you've got your CAA PfCO (DRONE LICENSE)?

September 27, 2019

Hey everybody and welcome to the blog!

In today's post, we're going to be taking a look at a question we get asked all the time; 'Once I've got my CAA PfCO (Permission for Commercial Operation), can I still fly my drone for pleasure/as my hobby'?

Read time approximately three minutes or you can click the video below to see the answer over on the Mr MPW YouTube channel!

 

The answer is actually fairly straightforward and short.  Holding a PfCO has absolutely no impact on your ability to go and fly a drone or any other kind of model aircraft for your own pleasure. There are however, a few things that are worth bearing in mind and to be aware of which seem to confuse some people who operate drones both commercially and in their spare time for their own enjoyment.

If you want to operate under the auspices of your PfCO, then you need to ensure that you complete the pre-requisite flight planning and notification procedures plus you need to keep your logs and records up to date in accordance with the CAA's requirements.

This allows you to operate in accordance with your Permission for Commercial Operation which has been granted to you by the Civil Aviation Authority and therefore allows you to take advantage of the reduced separation minima which is one of the most helpful reasons for having a PfCO group in the first place (aside from the fact that we can make money when we have a permission for commercial operations!).

The big delineation comes when we want to fly recreationally, and don't complete the pre-requisite paperwork. Then, the big things to be aware of that we need to abide by the drone code and the air navigation order (ANO).

In addition to this you must ensure that you do not operate inside a congested area. In fact, when you are not operating commercially you cannot fly a drone or model aircraft in a congested area and need to maintain at least 150m separation from congested areas at all times in order to stay legal and safe.

If there's anything else we can do at all please don't hesitate to get in touch. Make sure you sign up to the newsletter at the bottom of the homepage so we can keep you up-to-date with all the latest offers, announcements and news as and when it drops.

Fly safe and blue skies,

Matt

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