Calculating the 50M Distance Rule

Calculating the 50M Distance Rule using the Pythagorean theorem.

How do you know when your 50M away from a person, people, vehicle etc not under your control?

You maybe 50M away on the horizontal plane when the drone is on the ground.

But what happens when the drone takes off and starts to climb?

 

CAA Diagram 50M Bubble Rule

https://dronesafe.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Dronecode_2018-07-30.pdf

With the 50M rule the drone operates within a bubble around the object not under your control.

But how do you calculate how far away the drone should be on the horizontal plane if the height is known?

In calculating the 50M Distance Rule you need to go back to trigonometry.

“In mathematics, the Pythagorean theorem, also known as Pythagoras’ theorem. Is a fundamental relation in Euclidean geometry among the three sides of a right triangle”.

“It states that the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides”.

With the theorem it can be seen that the drone at 50M above the surface is actually 52M away from the object. The operator is only 17M away.

Using a protractor, the horizontal distance can easily be worked out by using scaled measurements on the protractor.