You can get some beautiful photographs of parts of the Forres area from the air, but there are some important things to remember.
Please abide by the rules:
- Follow the Drone Code
at all times.
- Do not fly above 120m.
- Keep your drone within sight and don’t fly more than 500m away from yourself.
- Keep your distance from other people according to the rules for your weight of drone.
Flight Restriction Zones (FRZ)
RAF Lossiemouth is inside a flight restriction zone (FRZ) and drones should not be flown within the boundary of this zone without permission. The boundary is 2.5 nautical miles radius from the centre of each runway and 5km x 1km from the end of each runway. Air maps will show this boundary accurately.
Kinloss Barracks (formerly RAF Kinloss) has a runway which has now been decommissioned. The FRZ was permanently withdrawn in January 2022, although will still remain on some maps.
This means that drones can now be flown in Forres, Findhorn and Findhorn Bay without permission from the RAF, but of course subject to all existing drone laws, some of which prevent flying over property, or near to people. Check the CAA website for clarification.
DJI owners will still have to apply to have Kinloss ‘unlocked’ until they remove the FRZ from their maps.
Kinloss Barracks remains a military base, and drones should not be flown within 50m of its boundary.
- RAF Lossiemouth ATC: 01343 817426