They are stunning images of Huddersfield from on high.
But the shots from a remote-controlled model aircraft have landed a Huddersfield company with a headache.
Staff at Maplin, the electrical retailer on the Leeds Road Retail Park, wanted to help out a customer interested in buying one of their remote-controlled quadcopters, fitted with a camera.
The aircraft was flown over the car park and filmed scenes including the busy Leeds Road and the nearby John Smith’s Stadium
But when they posted the film on the internet, they discovered they were possibly breaching strict Civil Aviation Authority restrictions governing unmanned aircraft.
Click below to watch the video
“We removed the film as soon as we were aware it could be a problem”, said the store’s assistant manager Trevor Sheldon.
“We had taken the quadcopter out of the box to show a customer and flew it over the car park. We didn’t realise at the time there were so many restrictions”.
The firm sells remote-controlled helicopters and several quadcopters, which are fitted with rotors at all four corners.
They sell from £29.99 up to £900 and many are fitted with tiny, powerful cameras.
Mr Sheldon said: “The customer asked for a demonstration and we flew it in the car park. It has a range of up to 300 feet and is remote controlled.
“We have had lots of people interested in the quadcopters, many of which are fitted with cameras.
“As soon as were told there may be a problem with a flight and with filming, we took the film off the internet. There are a lot of regulations and we have made sure our staff and now aware of them”.
A spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority said: “There are restrictions on what are classed as unmanned aerial craft.
“It’s fine for someone to fly them in a park or open space but if people intend flying them over buildings, roads and areas where there are large groups of people, they need our permission.
“We have given permission in the past to many organisations, such as farmers and building companies who need to do aerial searches”.
The CAA advice says unmanned aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles or drones range in size from small devices weighing less than 3kg, which are similar to model aircraft, through to larger devices the size of a light aeroplane. The rules and regulations governing the use of civil unmanned aircraft have been established, and are evolving, to create a safe environment.
The spokesman said: “Unmanned aircraft, irrespective of their size, are still classified as aircraft - they are not toys. Similarly, the person in charge of operating the controls of an unmanned aircraft is referred to as the pilot. The Civil Aviation Authority will not allow unmanned aircraft to present or create a greater hazard to anyone (or anything) than the equivalent operations of manned aviation”.
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