Height Clearance...AGAIN

[C2LLN]

I resurrected this from 'Old Posts' as I really am unsure of what height I can go out and fly. Is it 60mtrs from Kite to Ground where ever you are flying? I have also heard that size of Kite is relevant, is that true?

Old Post from October 2006

Quoting Simon from there: "I have been in touch with Brighton Kite Flyers contact at the CAA about this in the past and it is a very grey area, but by the letter of the rules yes you are breaking the CAA rules. We have a hill near us where when ever we fly there we get extra cover and this allows us to fly over the hill, if you do not have this the best thing is to fly lower than you think when flying over a hill just in case. But remember it is the distance from the kite straight to the ground below the kite that counts, If it is a hill that is often flown on the CAA can issue long term notams for that area giving you extra height clearance around that area. as an extra point when you get special permissions it is for an area more than just the grid reference you have asked for it's a bit like not flying in an area around an airfield.

Remember though these are not exclusion zones but advisory notices that should be read by all other flyers to stay clear.

Please will all members keep this in mind when flying on the top of a hill "

At the Sumners Pond bash Manta and Teddy were flying at 750feet and my delta was probably at a thousand!! A passing aerobatic light aircraft obviously saw it all and CIRCLED the kites then added his bit to the spectacle by putting out white smoke....FANTASTIC!

[Administrator]

Collin,

Height and line length are too different things Manta was on a line 75m long with a pilot above on say 40m giving a total line length of 115m (round figures of 3' a meter is 345') the angle of flight on average was 45 degrees

OK now to some old fashioned maths.

if the square of the hypotenuse is = to the sum of the square of the 2 shortest sides

Y²=Z²+X² where we know y = 345 and when the angle is 45^o Z = X then the hight was from the ground 243' accounting that we were flying up a hill and the incline was about 50' the height above the ground was 193'

But still impressive.

[C2LLN]

OK so we have ascertained I am not good with estimating distances, I think I just about have enough room in my kite bag for a theodolite and sextant and believe therefore that 60 mtrs (approx 180ft) in a straight line from kite to ground is the maximum height for a kite of any size, be it flown in Death Valley or top of Mount Everest?

As I also have a memory problem could I have this printed on my new BKF hoody sleeve for reference to:

" Y2=Z2+X2 where we know y = 345 and when the angle is 45o Z = X then the height was from the ground 243' accounting that we were fling up a hill and the incline was about 50' the height above the ground was 193' "

[Administrator]

OK so we all like high kites, but this quick sum also proofs we were within the 200' limit we are allowed to fly at without special CAA Permissions. This is one of the reasons we have lines of a set length and which kites we fly on which length lines, in which conditions etc. etc. So we know what height we the kite will be above the ground.

But for full reports see www.caa.co.uk/ below are some of the main extracts

KITE FLYING LEGISLATION
Civil Aviation legislation applicable to kite flying is contained in the Air Navigation Order 2000 (Statutory Instrument No 2000/1562) and the Rules of the Air Regulations 1996 (Statutory Instrument No 1996/1393). For the purposes of these documents kites are classified as aircraft.

The relevant parts of the above in relation to kites are:-

Article 86(2) (b) (iv)
A kite shall not be flown at a height of more than 30 metres above ground level within the aerodrome traffic zone of a notified aerodrome during the notified operating hours of that aerodrome. [Although it is generally accepted that for safety reasons you should not fly within 5km of any aerodrome].

Article 86(2) (b) (v)
A kite shall not be flown at a height of more than 60 metres above ground level.

The foregoing provisions may not take place without the permission in writing of the Authority and in accordance with any conditions subject to which that permission may have been granted. The application to be made NOT LESS than 28 days prior to the event

Article 63
Of the Order requires that a person shall not recklessly or negligently act in a manner likely to endanger an aircraft, or any person therein.

Article 64
Of the Order requires that a person shall not recklessly or negligently cause or permit an aircraft to endanger any person or property.

Rule 14 The Rules of the Air
A kite while flying at night at a height exceeding 60 metres above the surface shall display lights as follows:

(a) a group of two steady lights consisting of a white light placed 4 metres above a red light, both being of at least five candela and showing in all directions, the white light being placed not less than 5 metres or more than 10 metres below the lowest part of the kite;
(b) on the mooring cable, at intervals of not more than 300 metres measured from the group of lights referred to in sub-paragraph (a), groups of two lights of the colour and power and in the relative positions specified in that sub-paragraph, and, if the lowest group of lights is obscured by cloud, an additional group below the cloudbase; and
(c) on the surface, a group of three flashing lights arranged in a horizontal plane at the apexes of a triangle, approximately equilateral, each side of which measures at least 25 metres; one side of the triangle shall be approximately at right angles to the horizontal projection of the cable and shall be delimited by two red lights; the third light shall be a green light so placed that the triangle encloses the object on the surface to which the kite is moored.
A kite while flying by day at a height exceeding 60 metres above the surface

shall have attached to it's mooring cable at intervals of not more than 200 metres measured from the lowest part of the kite, tubular streamers not less than 40 centimetres in diameter and 2 metres in length, and marked with alternate bands of red and white 50 centimetres wide, or at intervals of not more than 100 metres measured from the lowest part of the kite, streamers not less than 80 centimetres long and 30 centimetres wide at their widest point and marked with alternate bands of red and white 10 centimetres wide.