Are you thinking of purchasing a drone and piloting it, or do you already have one and want to know what the next steps are to legally fly a drone in Romania? This article tells you everything you need to do to fly your drone peacefully and enjoy a great experience.
Introduction
Drones have become increasingly popular among technology and photography enthusiasts, offering a unique perspective on the world from above. However, before taking your drone into the air for the first time, it is essential to know the legal rules and procedures governing drone flying in Romania. This guide provides you with complete and practical information to enjoy your drone flying experience safely and legally.
Next, you will find out what are the 7 steps to successfully make the first flight with your drone in Romania.
1. Buying a drone
Before you start, decide what type of drone is right for you. There are drones for beginners, drones for professional photographers/videographers, inspection/photogrammetry drones, fpv drones and even drones for programming courses.
Be sure to read reviews and compare specifications to make the best choice for you. If you want a professional inspection or photogrammetry drone, don’t hesitate to contact the La Orizont team.
2. Flight operator registration with AACR and drone registration in the portal
To ensure that you fly legally you must be registered as a flight operator/drone pilot on the AACR platform. The procedure is simple and only requires creating an account, entering personal data and paying a fee to generate the operator code that must be placed on your drones. Link with the procedure can be found here (RO).
In Romania, drone owners must register their UAVs with the Romanian Civil Aviation Authority (AACR). This registration is mandatory and can be done online at the AACR website. All you need is the serial number (SN), picture of the SN and a picture of the drone.
If the drone is privately built without SN, you can put a serial number created by you that respects the number of characters. If the drone is under 250g and is a toy or has no data capture sensors, it does not need to be registered. A tutorial on registering personal drones can be found here (RO).
3. Pilot certification by category, drone weight and class
We will mostly be talking about the Open category which includes drones under 25 kg and everything related to the laws that govern this category. Attention, you can move from the open category to the specific category even with a drone under 25 kg if you do not fit the requirements of the open category, which are:
- To fly the UAV in the visual field (max. 500 m);
- Respect the distance from populated areas (buildings/people) depending on the weight/class of the drone;
- Do not fly in prohibited areas such as airports, military bases, embassies, etc.;
- Do not fly at a height higher than 120 m from the take-off point. You can only exceed this height if there is a higher obstacle in the field of view such as a mountain, in this situation you can raise the drone to +15m from the highest point of the mountain.
When you do not comply with these requirements, you enter the specific category, where a special approval from AACR is mandatory. This approval is given on the basis of a dossier that includes detailed risk analysis on the ground and in the air, material that, frankly speaking, is only worth doing for recurring and substantially monetized flights.
If you have not done this procedure at the time of the flight and you fall into the specific category by not complying with the above, you may risk a fine not only from AACR, but also from other institutions whose laws you are breaking at that moment.
If you want to know more details about the flight in the specific category, you can find more information in this article.
There are two types of certifications: A1-A3 certification and A2 certification. For drones under 250g, whether private build, legacy (unclassed consumer drone) or C0 class, no certification is required.
A1-A3 certification is mandatory when we want to fly in category A1 and A3, respectively.
Category A1
The A1 category includes drones with a maximum weight of 900 g, which have the C1 or C0 certification class. For drones under 250g with C0 class or without, going through the material is recommended but not mandatory, as it is for C1 class drones weighing between 250g and 900g that come from the factory with the identification sticker and hardware and software regulations that legally fall into that category.
Careful! There are drones that were launched before the implementation of the classes in Europe, respectively Romania, and can receive the certification class afterwards. Each manufacturer is obliged to provide the procedure for implementing the software and hardware requirements. You have an example here.
In category A1, the flight of drones is allowed in inhabited areas, it can fly over non-involved people, but the stationary time must be reduced as much as possible. Careful! We can’t fly over crowds of people in any category.
By crowd is meant a group of people where the ability of an individual to move to avoid the consequences of an out-of-control drone is limited.
Ex: sporting, cultural, religious or political events, beaches or parks on a sunny day, etc.
Category A3
Category A3 refers to the flight of privately built or legacy drones over 250g and C3 and C4 certified drones that must maintain a minimum distance of 150 meters from populated areas at all times of operation.
To prepare for the A1-A3 exam from the AACR platform, La Orizont and Skyline Drones offer you an interactive and well-structured course that you can find here (RO).
Category A2
In Category A2 starting from January 2024, only drones with certification class C2 with a weight between 900 g and 4 kg are included. This category can be flown close to inhabited areas, 30m away from people/buildings in normal mode and 5m away in reduced speed mode.
We always have to take into account the 1:1 rule, that is, if the height from the populated area is 40 m, the vertical distance must be at least 40 m.
To better understand the regulations of each category of flight and drones, you have attached a detailed article here.
Remote ID and geovigilance
Drones with certification class C0, C1, C2, C3 must have the function of transmitting both telemetry information and pilot data (identification code). When we enter the operator code in the drone software, a broadcast signal (WiFi/Bluetooth/radio) will be emitted and it can be received within a limited range by dedicated applications or specific receiving equipment.
This helps to report any violations of the law during the flight to the local authorities, but also for the safety of the pilots/drones as it will be possible to track in real-time if there are several remote controlled drone operations in an area Active ID.
Geovigilance is similar to No Fly zones and involves uploading local maps with flight restrictions for UAVs. These maps can be downloaded from the official ROMATSA website in .json format and then uploaded to the drone control application, in our case DJI Pilot. If we do not have the local maps, we can still use the maps provided by the manufacturer and to unlock the restricted areas we will have to make a request on the DJI website.
4. Compliance with flight rules
If we are registered, have the recommended certifications for the drone we have, and understand the laws we need to follow, the next step is to check if the flight area has no flyovers or not.
In short, we need to check if we are in an area with heavy air traffic (TWR) which we usually find near an airport or in an area with restrictions from MApN due to the existence of military bases, embassies, public institutions , cities with permanent restrictions such as Bucharest, etc. Depending on how restricted the area is we will have to take several steps. If we have no restrictions, we are free to fly.
For full information on the steps you have to take depending on the restrictions found on the map, you have a full article here (RO) on the restricted areas and the documents you need to do to get legal flight confirmation.
5. Before the flight
There are a few things you should check before taking your first flight:
- Check that the batteries of the drone and the remote control are charged, and if you use your phone, have it charged as well;
- Update your drone and remote controller software at home; install the recommended app on your phone if needed; log in to your account where necessary;
- Make sure all propellers are installed correctly according to the manual and are not damaged;
- If the area where you want to fly is a tower-restricted area, do not forget to announce the start and end of the operation to the number on the ROMATSA map.
6. During the drone flight
- Take your time if you are a beginner, double check each stage;
- Get comfortable with the drone’s control system without flying at high speeds;
- Fly at a slightly higher altitude for more safety;
- Try to make your first flights in open areas without many obstacles;
- Always be alert to aircraft and the position of your drone. If an aircraft enters your area of operation, reduce altitude and attempt to bring the drone home manually. Always in this scenario the least gives way because you can see the aircraft, but the pilot of the aircraft has little or no visibility of the drone;
- Don’t forget to capture photo/video data too;
- Enjoy the flight!
7. After the flight
- Download and save your photos and videos.
- Check the status of the drone and the battery to make sure that everything is in order, do not exceed the percentage of 10% because over time you risk battery damage at a faster rate.
- If you don’t use it for a long time, check if the drone battery goes into storage mode by itself or you have to do this procedure yourself.
To remember!
Respect other people’s privacy and avoid filming or taking pictures in private places.
Land the drone if you notice any signs of technical problems or if you are in a dangerous situation.
Flight equipment insurance is also recommended, in case of accidents you can repair or replace the drone at a low cost.
For the pilot’s safety in case of damage to third parties, liability insurance can be carried out, in the hobby or professional category.
By following the rules and paying attention to technical details, flying a drone can be an exciting and safe experience. Always follow the rules and regulations in force and enjoy exploring the world above!
If you want to purchase a professional drone, visit our webshop and do not hesitate to contact us at phone number +40 724 339 757 or at the e-mail address ciprian.iorga@skylinedrones.ro.
