Survey work grows faster than a permit cycle.
Larger sites, heavier sensors and longer corridors push survey operators from the open category into the specific one, usually right when a good contract arrives.
Why it needs an authorisation
Heavy lidar payloads, large areas and corridor mapping beyond visual line of sight fall outside what the open category allows. Some of this work fits standard scenario STS-02, which covers BVLOS flight with a C6-marked drone in sparsely populated, controlled areas. Work that does not fit needs a PDRA or a full SORA.
What drives your risk
- Ground riskRural survey benefits from low population density, and a controlled ground area can reduce the ground risk further where you can really keep people out.
- Air riskAgricultural aviation and helicopter traffic share the same low airspace. Your strategic mitigations need to reflect who else is out there.
- AircraftLarger and faster fixed-wing or VTOL survey aircraft land in a higher iGRC column. The choice of aircraft shapes the risk result before anything else does.
How Hespoire helps
Hespoire lets you compare scenarios before you commit. Try another aircraft or a different area type and see what happens to the risk result, then apply with the scenario that works commercially.