§ 01 — Regulation & authorities
- AESA
- Spain’s State Aviation Safety Agency: the authority that regulates, registers and authorises drone operations.
- ENAIRE
- Spain’s air navigation manager. Publishes the official UAS geographical-zone map at drones.enaire.es.
- Open Category
- Low-risk operations with no prior authorisation, within limits: up to 120 m altitude, drone < 25 kg and away from restricted zones.
- Specific Category
- Medium-risk operations needing AESA authorisation or operating under a standard scenario after a declaration.
- STS
- European standard scenario (STS-01 in VLOS, STS-02 in BVLOS) that lets you operate with a simple operational declaration.
- Aeronautical safety study
- A risk analysis of a specific operation, required for many specific-category operations.
§ 02 — Airspace & operation
- UAS / UAV
- Unmanned Aircraft System / Vehicle: the technical term for a “drone” and its control system.
- VLOS
- Visual Line of Sight: flying while keeping the drone within the pilot’s direct field of view.
- BVLOS
- Beyond VLOS: flying past the field of view; requires specific authorisation.
- Geozone (UAS zone)
- An area with flight restrictions or conditions: airport surroundings, cities, ports, natural parks or sensitive infrastructure.
- CTR
- Control zone around an airport. In Barcelona, El Prat’s CTR affects much of the city.
- NOTAM
- An official notice of airspace restrictions or activity to check before flying.
- Maximum altitude
- The general limit is 120 m above ground; it can be lower depending on the zone.
- Mossos d’Esquadra
- In Catalonia, urban flights or flights over crowds are notified to the Catalan police – Mossos d’Esquadra.
§ 03 — Credentials & equipment
- UAS operator
- The person or company registered with AESA, legally responsible for the operation; their number is marked on the drone.
- Remote pilot
- Whoever controls the drone; must hold the relevant training and competency certificate.
- A1/A3 & A2 certificate
- Pilot credentials by proximity to people: A1/A3 (basic training) and A2 (additional exam).
- Operator registration
- The number AESA assigns to the operator, which must be visible on the drone.
- Liability insurance
- Mandatory third-party liability cover. Ours is €1,500,000.
- Radio operator
- Accreditation for aeronautical radio communications, required to fly in controlled airspace (CTR).
- MTOM
- Maximum Take-Off Mass: the drone’s maximum take-off weight, which sets its subcategory.
§ 04 — Technical
- Gimbal
- A stabilised mount that keeps the camera level and makes shots smooth.
- Orthophoto / Photogrammetry
- A geometrically corrected aerial image / a 2D-3D model built from hundreds of photos.
- RTK / PPK
- High-precision (centimetre) GPS position correction for surveying and photogrammetry.
- Thermography
- Capturing thermal (infrared) imagery to spot leaks, damp or faulty solar cells.
- LOG / ProRes
- Professional video profiles and codecs that retain maximum latitude for colour grading.