is it going to be worth it to take my Spark to Spain and Portugal? Are there sites on-line to find restricted airspace and specific regulations?
Spain and Portugal
- Thread starter RM Craig
- Start date
I dont see many supervisors or oversight on this subject here in Portugal, only in public events or near some famous locations. However we have lots of regulations. You can consult anac.pt or instal there app "voanaboa" you'll see some good information. Is the national agency for civilian aircraft's and flys in Portugal airspace.
I was in Portugal and Spain a few months back. Spain is very strict. Portugal is supposedly strict but I saw someone fly their Mavic Air without any issue. I don't know if they had ANAC authorization already or not. Other than that guy, I didn't see anyone else with a drone there - didn't seem to popular or people don't want to take the risk.
It seemed too much hassle and I left my Spark at home. You'll love PT. One of my favorite places.
It seemed too much hassle and I left my Spark at home. You'll love PT. One of my favorite places.
In Spain we have a new drone law since December 2017.
You can fly drones below 250gr. in Town day/night above buildings and agglomeration of people up to 20 meters.
Drones between 250gr. and 2 Kg like the Spark, in town, but not over buildings and agglomeration of people.
Outside town you can fly without restriction (Max. height 120m) and of course not in restricted areas(you can see them in the Dji go 4 app)
In place of national interest (I don't know the exact translation, sorry) like castles, etc. normally not, but you can ask.
Also you don't have to register your drone if it below 2kg.
If you use goggles you need a second person how have to watch the drone.
Hope that helps and enjoy your journey.
Have a nice day!
Hi Sparkay
Do those new rules also apply to the canary islands?
I'm going to Gran Canaria in August and would love to get some shots in the mountains with my little spark
Do those new rules also apply to the canary islands?
I'm going to Gran Canaria in August and would love to get some shots in the mountains with my little spark
Yes, because it is also Spain, so the same laws. I often fly my Spark here in Spain (near to Alicante) and never had any problem. Only take care not to fly near to aerports etc.
Enjoy your trip!
Great thanks for your reply. Absolutely no flying near airports or heliports
Can't wait to get back out there with sparky. We went twice last year so looking forward to getting back into the mountains and filming the amazing scenery.
Can't wait to get back out there with sparky. We went twice last year so looking forward to getting back into the mountains and filming the amazing scenery.
Just posted about it in "regulations" about Spain (and Portugal including Canary Islands).
Spain has a very touchy police on drones. They use to get police state excited on anything and drones are a today matter (with Catalunya separatism).
What's special about Spain : huge military areas (green rectangles on the Map) including in tourist areas where you can only fly no camera drones (the Spark is clearly a camera drone). However I did it at low height and on private property. No army or police came to arrest me.
Also take care that drone pictures in public areas are considered copyrighted by Spanish administration. Spain will sue you all over the world if you publish them on youtube or any other commercial area. Youtube makes money from the adds posted on your videos if you don't yourself get money from Google, so you still can be sued for copyright infringement.
Here is the map and the rules in Spain/Portugal.
IcarusRPA - SKYDRONEX - DRONEX ®
Every region of Spain has supplemental rules to consider.
I'm not sure about the 250 grams rule posted earlier. Where did you find that ? The weights are mostly around 400gr, 800gr, 1.5kg, 2kg depending on countries, especially in EU. The drone differences and use to take care of in Spain is hobby use or professional use, camera drone or no-camera drone.
Spain has a very touchy police on drones. They use to get police state excited on anything and drones are a today matter (with Catalunya separatism).
What's special about Spain : huge military areas (green rectangles on the Map) including in tourist areas where you can only fly no camera drones (the Spark is clearly a camera drone). However I did it at low height and on private property. No army or police came to arrest me.
Also take care that drone pictures in public areas are considered copyrighted by Spanish administration. Spain will sue you all over the world if you publish them on youtube or any other commercial area. Youtube makes money from the adds posted on your videos if you don't yourself get money from Google, so you still can be sued for copyright infringement.
Here is the map and the rules in Spain/Portugal.
IcarusRPA - SKYDRONEX - DRONEX ®
Every region of Spain has supplemental rules to consider.
I'm not sure about the 250 grams rule posted earlier. Where did you find that ? The weights are mostly around 400gr, 800gr, 1.5kg, 2kg depending on countries, especially in EU. The drone differences and use to take care of in Spain is hobby use or professional use, camera drone or no-camera drone.
Last edited:
As Sparkay said, there is a new drone law since December 2017. You can find it easily on Google, for example here.
For professional use you need license, but for hobby, you only need to follow the law. There is no restriction about camera drone or no-camera drone.
About copyrighted areas, basically is something that only applies inside cities, and to certain buildings. So no one will be suing you for that.
My recommendations are that never fly inside cities, never fly over crowded places, and never fly over National Parks. I have been flying around many places following these rules, and I have never encountered any problems.
But, if you are visiting Gran Canaria, you will have to be careful. Teide is a National Park, so theorically you are not able to fly there. You can check the map and all restrictions at ICARUS.
For professional use you need license, but for hobby, you only need to follow the law. There is no restriction about camera drone or no-camera drone.
About copyrighted areas, basically is something that only applies inside cities, and to certain buildings. So no one will be suing you for that.
My recommendations are that never fly inside cities, never fly over crowded places, and never fly over National Parks. I have been flying around many places following these rules, and I have never encountered any problems.
But, if you are visiting Gran Canaria, you will have to be careful. Teide is a National Park, so theorically you are not able to fly there. You can check the map and all restrictions at ICARUS.
Sure, that zone is free of no-fly zones.
Another recommendation is that if you want to fly on the beach, you should do it in the last hours of the day, when the beach is not crowded, so firstly you follow the law, and secondly, you avoid any complains people may have.
I have to say that, here in Spain, I have never faced any complains from people, they usually are curious about the drone, and some have asked me about battery duration, video quality, and other specs, but I have never faced anyone bothered just for flying it.
So have a nice trip, and show us your videos
!The no camera thing is completely apart from the drone general rules. It's about the military areas. (on the Icarus map, the green rectangles).
Professional use is something very blurry. It is in France, it may be in Spain. I remember the days at the beginning of the 70s when reflex cameras were rare, and tourists taking photos on the Champs Elysées in Paris were taken off their cameras, for that the police claimed those were professional cameras...
Also in Italy I took photos of some good looking buildings in Rome, some years ago and got arrested by the army (they went after me with a Nato vehicle), who told me that that building was an official building, forbidden to take photos (not written anywhere). I have to show my Id and I have to show them I deleted the picture from my smartphone. Just imagining what would have happened with a drone.
However that's Italy and Spain. France has become a very cool country. You can do plenty of thing you can't anywhere else, even forbidden things provided there is not a huge rush on fines which brings money to the bankrupt administration. There is a fine for about anything and most of the things are illegal but no one cares...
Professional use is something very blurry. It is in France, it may be in Spain. I remember the days at the beginning of the 70s when reflex cameras were rare, and tourists taking photos on the Champs Elysées in Paris were taken off their cameras, for that the police claimed those were professional cameras...
Also in Italy I took photos of some good looking buildings in Rome, some years ago and got arrested by the army (they went after me with a Nato vehicle), who told me that that building was an official building, forbidden to take photos (not written anywhere). I have to show my Id and I have to show them I deleted the picture from my smartphone. Just imagining what would have happened with a drone.
However that's Italy and Spain. France has become a very cool country. You can do plenty of thing you can't anywhere else, even forbidden things provided there is not a huge rush on fines which brings money to the bankrupt administration. There is a fine for about anything and most of the things are illegal but no one cares...
Hi I have just returned from annual holiday in Portugal flew my spark numerous times over beaches and cliffs with some wonderful footage, only issue I encountered was the seagulls who were very aggressive.
Similar threads
