FPV UK secures 2026 Article 16 approval for race venues

FPV UK said the Civil Aviation Authority renewed its Article 16 Operational Authorisation for 2026, its eighth approval, preserving the rules that keep race venues open for training days and competition weekends. The practical difference is simple: inside a sterile area at a closed course, members can fly FPV without a competent observer, instead of being boxed in by standard Open Category limits.

The association said the authorization also covers non-multirotor model aircraft above 400 feet, widening the operating space for members who race, club fly and mix in other model-aircraft activity under the same framework. The CAA says model aircraft clubs and associations can apply for Article 16 authorisations and that members fly under the conditions set by the association’s approval. FPV UK sits alongside the British Model Flying Association, the Large Model Association and the Scottish Aeromodellers Association as one of the organisations with an Article 16 authorisation.

For race organizers, the renewal matters because it keeps the sport’s operating script intact. FPV UK’s 2025 handbook lays out the mechanics that make an event possible: competition guidance, sterile areas, choosing a racing location, risk management, event maps, height limits, race directors, marshals, attendee numbers, frequency management, pilot briefings and the rules for flying FPV with a competent observer. The handbook also covers minimum age, safety accountability, remote pilot competence, separation distances, free-flight model aircraft and incident reporting, showing how tightly the authorisation is tied to day-to-day event control. FPV UK said the handbook accompanies the CAA Article 16 Operational Authorisation and was reviewed and approved by the regulator as part of the issuance process.

That long runway did not appear overnight. FPV UK said it was founded in 2009 and persuaded the CAA to issue an exemption for FPV flying that same year. Those provisions were renewed annually until the rules were folded into UK law when the framework changed on December 31, 2020. FPV UK said its sixth Article 16 authorisation ran from December 19, 2023 to December 31, 2024, and the seventh followed before the 2026 renewal extended the chain. Membership remains priced at £24.99 a year and includes £5 million public liability insurance, a small fee for the kind of access that can decide whether a race can actually happen.