Anyone who deals with drones and the applicable laws is bound to come across the term “1:1 rule” sooner or later. You can find out exactly what this means in the following article.
1:1 rule for drone flights
The principle of the 1:1 rule is quickly explained. It states that the flight altitude must also correspond to the minimum distance to a zone that is prohibited for drone flights. This means, for example, that if a flight altitude of 15 metres is targeted, a distance of at least 15 metres must be maintained from this zone, the object or the gathering of people.
Exactly which restrictions apply depends on where the 1:1 rule is applied. According to the EU Drone Regulation, for example, the following restrictions apply to class C2 drones in the Open category:
- A minimum distance of 30 metres from people must be maintained (sub-category A2)
- However, when low-speed mode is activated (max. 3 m/s), the 1:1 rule applies in relation to height and distance to people. This means that at an altitude of 10 metres, you may fly up to 10 metres away from people. however, the distance must never be less than 5 metres.
As you can see, in this case reference is made to the 1:1 rule, although in this example this only applies when low-speed mode is activated and a minimum distance of 5 metres may still be maintained.
So whenever you hear something about the 1:1 rule, you now know that this means flight altitude = distance.
Further regulations when flying drones
If you would like to familiarise yourself with other important regulations, you should read our comprehensive summary of the EU Drone Regulation, which came into force this year. This is about to be transposed into national law, which may result in minor changes.
Don’t forget drone liability insurance
It is also important to know that insurance for your own drone is mandatory in Germany – even for small models such as the DJI Mini 4. If you are still looking for drone liability insurance for your drone, we can recommend helden.de insurance*. There you are already covered from €39/year, even with your part-time activity. Our link also activates our voucher , which you can use to save a monthly premium.
*The links contained in this article are so-called affiliate links. With these links DeinDrohnenpilot.de gets a commission for mediated purchases. The price does not increase for the customer.
