EASA A1/A3 cheat sheet

Unmanned aircraft never have right of way; the remote pilot must give way to all manned aircraft, including gliders, balloons, helicopters and emergency flights.

Open-category limits: maximum 120 m above the surface, maximum take-off mass below 25 kg, visual line of sight at all times, no transport of dangerous goods and no dropping of objects.

Collision risk increases with airspeed, with decreasing separation from obstacles, and near aerodromes, heliports and low-level helicopter routes.

A pre-flight check covers airframe and propeller condition, battery state, control link, GNSS reception, failsafe settings and firmware status.

Any accident causing injury, damage to third parties or a serious incident must be reported to the competent national authority and recorded by the operator.

Alcohol, psychoactive drugs, impairing medication, illness and fatigue degrade judgement and reaction time and are incompatible with the remote pilot role.

Wind, gusts, precipitation, icing and low temperature reduce controllability and endurance; the aircraft's published wind limit is the operational ceiling.

Loss of visual contact with the aircraft, or loss of the control link, is treated as an emergency requiring the pre-planned failsafe response.

The open category is capped at 120 m above the surface; higher flight requires a specific-category authorisation or an operating certificate.

Member states publish geographic zones (geo-zones) where UAS operations are prohibited, restricted or subject to authorisation under Article 15 of Regulation (EU) 2019/947.

Around aerodromes, control zones, aerodrome traffic zones and flight restricted zones, flight is normally prohibited or requires prior authorisation from the air traffic services unit.

Temporary restrictions such as airshows, parachuting, firefighting, state flights and major events are notified by NOTAM and by national publications.

Permanent prohibited, restricted and danger areas are published in the national aeronautical information publication (AIP) with lateral and vertical limits.

Subcategory A3 requires a horizontal distance of at least 150 m from residential, commercial, industrial or recreational areas and no uninvolved persons in the flight area.

Subcategory A2 requires a horizontal distance of at least 30 m from uninvolved persons, reducible to 5 m when the low-speed mode is active.

Prisons, military installations, nuclear sites, government buildings and hospitals with helicopter operations are commonly protected by national law.

Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/947 contains the operational rules for the open, specific and certified categories, including remote pilot competency.

Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/945 contains the product requirements and the class markings C0 to C6 for unmanned aircraft and their accessories.

The open category is divided into subcategories A1, A2 and A3, defined by the class of the aircraft and its proximity to uninvolved persons.

The A1/A3 online examination has 40 multiple-choice questions, a 30-minute time limit and a pass mark of 75 per cent; the certificate is valid for five years.

Subcategory A2 requires a further theoretical examination on top of the A1/A3 certificate.

Operator registration is mandatory when the aircraft has a maximum take-off mass of 250 g or more, or carries a sensor able to capture personal data.

The operator registration number must be displayed on the airframe and is valid in all member states.

The minimum age for a remote pilot in the open category is 16 years unless a member state sets a lower age; the operator may be a natural or legal person.

On a tablet or phone screen, depth and height cues are poor, so distance to obstacles and to other aircraft is systematically misjudged.

Fatigue slows reaction time, reduces scanning and impairs decision quality; the effect is comparable to a low level of alcohol intoxication.

Complacency after repeated uneventful flights leads to skipped checks and reduced vigilance; written checklists remove reliance on memory.

Stress narrows attention and increases tunnel vision, reducing the capacity to monitor the airspace and the aircraft simultaneously.

When the aircraft is distant its silhouette becomes a single point, making drift, attitude and heading difficult to perceive.

Full dark adaptation takes roughly 20 to 30 minutes and is destroyed quickly by a bright light source.

The single remote pilot must divide attention between control, navigation, airspace scanning and battery monitoring; automation such as return-to-home reduces but does not remove this workload.

Illusions include wind drift mistaken for aircraft motion, sun glare hiding the aircraft, and featureless terrain or snow removing height references.

A site survey identifies obstacles, overhead lines, people, boundaries of restricted areas, prevailing wind and a usable emergency landing area.

The return-to-home altitude must clear the tallest obstacle on the return path while remaining below the maximum permitted altitude for the site.

The lost-link failsafe is configured before flight to hover, return to home or land, and its behaviour is verified during the pre-flight check.

Visual line of sight means direct, unaided visual contact; corrective spectacles or contact lenses are permitted, binoculars and displays are not.

Low temperature reduces usable battery capacity and causes voltage sag, cutting endurance and increasing the risk of sudden power loss.

A battery reserve for the return and landing is planned before take-off; the flight is terminated when the reserve is reached.

Emergency priority order: protect people, maintain control of the aircraft, then land at the nearest safe location.

Post-flight actions include powering down in sequence, inspecting the airframe and propellers, and recording flight time and any occurrence in the log.

Propellers can cause deep lacerations; bystanders are kept clear of the aircraft and the aircraft is never caught by hand.

Lithium polymer batteries are stored at approximately storage voltage, are never deeply discharged, and are charged only with a compatible charger.

A swollen, punctured or overheated battery is a fire risk and is isolated in a fire-resistant container away from combustible material.

Geofencing and return-to-home are software aids that depend on position data; they can be outdated or fail, and the pilot remains responsible.

Modifications that change the mass, the class marking or the structural integrity of the aircraft invalidate its compliance with the class requirements.

Compass calibration and a check for magnetic interference are performed away from metal structures, vehicles and reinforced concrete.

The published maximum wind resistance and operating temperature of the aircraft define the conditions in which flight is technically possible.

Propellers, motor mounts and the airframe are inspected before each flight; damaged or unbalanced propellers are replaced rather than repaired.

Images and video showing identifiable persons are personal data, so the GDPR applies to their collection, storage and publication.

Processing requires a lawful basis, a defined purpose and transparency towards the persons concerned where practicable.

Data minimisation: only footage necessary for the purpose is captured and kept, and irrelevant recordings are deleted.

Storage limitation: recordings are retained only as long as needed and stored securely with access restricted.

Flying over private gardens, homes and windows without justification interferes with private life and may breach national privacy or nuisance rules.

Publishing identifiable footage on social media or a website requires a lawful basis, which in practice may call for consent.

Special categories of data such as health, religious belief or ethnic origin require stronger protection and a specific legal condition.

National law may add restrictions on camera-equipped aircraft in public places, and these apply in addition to the GDPR.

Article 14 of Regulation (EU) 2019/947 requires UAS operators to hold insurance covering liability for damage to third parties where Union or national law so provides.

Insurance conditions for drones are set largely at national level, so cover valid in one member state is not automatically sufficient in another.

Third-party liability cover pays for injury to persons and damage to property of others; it does not normally cover the drone itself.

Hull or equipment cover for the aircraft is a separate product from third-party liability cover.

Commercial or professional operations commonly require higher liability limits than recreational flights.

Policies typically exclude illegal flight, operations in prohibited zones and flight outside the declared purpose or geographic scope.

Flying without required insurance can be an offence and leaves the operator personally liable for the full amount of damage caused.

Remote identification transmits the operator identity and aircraft position so that authorities can identify a drone in flight; disabling or tampering with it is prohibited.

Jamming, spoofing or unauthorised takeover of a UAS interferes with aviation safety and radio spectrum rules and is illegal.

Carriage of dangerous goods and dropping of any object are prohibited in the open category.

Suspicious drone activity near critical infrastructure, airports or public events is reported to the police or the national authority.

Operator credentials, registration accounts and control applications are protected by strong passwords and multi-factor authentication where available.

Controller and aircraft firmware are kept updated, and pairing or binding functions are used to prevent another device taking control.

Flight plans and operating schedules are not published in advance, as this discloses movement patterns that could be exploited.