Thinking of Buying or Flying a Drone In Spain? - Please Read before you do

Just to add to my original post.

It is VERY clear that the requirements definitely apply to a drone which has a weight of 250g or more.

I am awaiting clarity from AESA as to whether drones under that weight are governed by the same restrictions?

This would mean the purchase of a Mavic Mini, for example, would class you under the 250g limit (flying without the blade guards or other accessories) General rules around safety, privacy and data protection etc STILL apply!

Under new EU drone laws (which will be further implemented in November 2020) a new classification system is to be applied and a drone under 250g will be a C0 class drone.

I will update as I find anything further out.

The AESA drone regulations haven´t changed much in the last 4 years. On the 1st of July 2020 Spain will be following the new EASA regulations (EU safety agency) The AESA website is not yet fully updated with the new regulations. The November date is the UK only. The UK withdrew from EASA and are no longer part of the EU wide regulations. Adopted the EASA regulations as the new UK standard.

The new EU wide regulations are similar. 8km from airports, heliports, aerodromes, etc. 120m maximum height, 50 metres from people, 150m from buildings. Registered operators may apply for special operations. ie: flying in restricted airspace over property etc.

Recreational use of drones: restricted to under 2kg weight, must have identification plates fitted to the drone and controller. ie: manufacture, type, serial number and pilot contact information. A pilot license is not required for recreational use.

On the 1st of July 2020 recreational pilots are required to register with AESA. Take an online theory test and exam. You will be provided with a certificate allowing you to fly a drone. (drones under 250g are excluded)

Commercial use: drones up to 25kg weight. Over 25kg with AESA permission. Registration with AESA for commercial work. Pilot license, medical certificate, insurance, operations manual and safety studies. ID plates fitted to the drone and controller. Can fly near small aerodromes with tower permission.

Aspe is on the approach path to El Altet. A Registered Operator may fly in this area when conditions are met.
Requires permission from AESA, safety study, radio operators certificate, drone fitted with a transponder (lets aircraft know your position). I don´t see AESA allowing a recreational pilot to fly on the approach path.

You could fly towards Elda and Yeda if you avoid flying in the national parks or SEPA zones.

Mavic Mini @ 250g
Allowed to be used near crowds and buildings at a maximum height of 20m.
Normal regulations apply for other use. 120m height, 50m from people, 150m from buildings.
Not permitted to be used in controlled airspace. 8 km from airports.

The problem with the Mavic Mini is the light weight. When used to fly VLOS up to 500m distance. The drone does not always have sufficient power in the motors to return to the start point. Wind is stronger at altitude. Many inexperiences pilots have lost their Mavic Mini. The Mini can only be flown safely in low winds speeds. Something to note it has no anti-collision sensors. It does not automatically avoid objects.

@AlicanteDesign - Thank you for your input. I agree with everything you have said and a drone <250g will simply not survive in stronger wind conditions!

The Mavic Mini is not an immediate choice for anyone who is not a hobbyist, however, because of the <250g limit, the Mavic Mini is attracting a lot of good press amongst the pro-world. Yes, it is only 2.7K but for an HD TV output, the viewer would not notice a difference.

Check out the ENAIRE website though and let me know what you think (PM is fine if you prefer to save the post from 'chatter'). It is clear cut, most of the region is a No-Fly Zone and AESA confirmed this when I queried it. It is even more interesting that the DJI FlySafe has none of these zones identified away from the obvious airports, military and government locations!

I checked with the model air clubs in the region and they have limited permissions so long as they stay within the extent of their designated club area. Makes sense, controlled environment with sensible folk flying, you would hope.

Finally, the new regulations which are getting increasingly more restrictive (and in most cases rightly so) now split C0 between <250g and <250g other than a toy! They are moving towards anything which has a camera onboard, even if less than 250g will be restricted by the same rules.

Well, for now, we should enjoy the flights we can legally take!

I use the ENAIRE website regularly. I´m an AESA registered operator. I can obtain permission to fly most areas with the exception of El Altet controlled. I require a drone with a transponder and radio operators certificate. The certificates easy to obtain. Its the only AESA drone exam in English. I have to pass a level 4 English competency test.

The video mentioned gives a wrong description of the yellow\RVF flight areas. RVF areas are military exercise areas. Its not enough to fly with the camera turned off. You should obtain permission from the MOD in Madrid to fly. The areas can contain low flying troop transport helicopters and other traffic.

The DJI flysafe map is more concerned with airports. Its a general guide to safety. If you study the ENAIRE map theres always a little bit of space between the zones for recreational flyers. I used to fly on the North  edge of La Marina Urbanisation. Just outside the RVF area. A few miles of empty space flying towards La Marina village. Guardia Civil and local police have stopped, had a look at where I´m flying, gave me a wave and moved on. Most Spanish police have a days drone awareness course.

The Mavic Mini flysafe map says I can fly in the basketball court across the road from my house. Its sort of correct. To fly there I would have to notify Mutxamel Aerodrome of my intention to fly and provide a time of operation. Its less than 8km away.

The ENAIRE map is the bible for flying in Spain.

I use the Mavic Mini for property video. It solves a lot of problems. To use a larger drone requires AESA permission, parachute attachment and safety study. The general regulations say that a drone can not be used within 150m of a building not in control of the operator. So the larger drone can not be used for property videos where the nearest building is less than 150m distance. I would have to knock doors and ask for permission. The Mavic Mini is allowed near buildings and people under a height of 20m.

Shooting video in 2.7k is fine. Most output is 1080p. I output for YouTube, iPhone, iPad, tablets and PC. Most people are not yet viewing or have the need for 4k video. A 4k mp4 file is a heavy resource for a pc to edit. It requires a powerful PC for smooth editing.

I´m looking forward to the new regulations they allow me to use drones commercially in all EU countries. All I require to do is present my Spanish paperwork. English will be the common language.

Not sure yet if the Mavic Mini will require registration. The only info from AESA is pilots will register and pass a competency test.
EASA have put the new regulations on hold until the end of the year.

Hi Alicantedesign - I brought my DJI Phantom 3 with me to Spain. I checked the Enaire maps this morning as I was planning to have a flight near to La Finca on a hill walk. The Enaire map seems to have this area in a yellow zone and had an existing flight number operating between 16th and 27th November and suggests emailing them for permission.

I am a recreational photographic flyer and have not yet done anything here partly because I have just discovered I need to attached certain details to the drone in a fire proof envelope.

I am an infrequent flyer but do have CAA registration after passing their online test in the UK, my registration ID is coming up for annual renewal but wondered if you know if it's accepted as valid here or should I not bother renewing.

I wonder if you might also know whether there are clubs or associations which I could consider joining who might be able to help me introduce some additional governance into my future flying here.

Thanks

The yellow zone is RVF 914. It´s not permitted to fly in the zone without ministry of defense approval from Madrid. Only registered operators are given permission to fly in this zone. It takes 2 weeks for permission to be granted after submitting operators ID, flight plan and time of operation. Next to that the large yellow area around Murcia and Torrevieja has an airforce training operation in progress. The NOTAM (note) says they are operating from ground level up to 10,500ft.

Green and brown shapes are also to be avoided. They are national parks, conservation areas and require special permission to fly drones. The only areas for recreational flying South of Alicante are out towards Albatera and just North of La Marina Urbanisation.

At the moment it´s not required to be registered in Spain for recreational flying. This will change after January 2021 when the new EASA European regulation are introduced. Then you will have to register the pilot and take a short test. It maybe available in English. Spanish AESA regulations are a pilot should be able to communicate at level 4 English.

Drones in Spain should be fitted with a fire proof ID plate and a matching plate fitted to the controller. The plate included the pilots name/organisation, contact details, type of drone and the serial number. Search google for "Placa de dron". The pidstore will make the plates and deliver in about 48 hours.

As a side note it´s a pain to fly commercially South of Alicante. This time last year I was asked to do a job for one of Vouge magazines agencies. On the edge of Torrevieja the proposed shoot was in controlled airspace, national park and RVF 914. Thats dealing with 3 national agencies, The cost of preparing the paperwork would have been greater than the time required on site.

I don´t know about any drone clubs.

And now, with the Mavic Mini 2 - you can shoot in 4K !