Poland Lets FPV Pilots Fly Without a Visual Observer — Here’s What the Rules Actually Say

Poland’s Civil Aviation Authority (ULC) has issued a temporary exemption that lets FPV pilots in all three Open Category subcategories fly without a visual observer, effective February 12, 2026, through October 12, 2026. The decision, reference number LBSP.503.1.2026.ULC.1, was signed by Paweł Szymański, Director of the ULC’s Unmanned Aircraft Department. You can read the full official decision directly from the ULC’s website here (PDF, Polish).

This is a meaningful move. The observer requirement has been the single biggest compliance gap in European FPV flying since EU Regulation 2019/947 took effect. The rule on paper says VLOS must be maintained. FPV goggles break VLOS by design. The workaround was a dedicated observer standing next to you. In practice, most FPV pilots flew anyway without one, putting them outside the rules.

Poland has now closed that gap, at least temporarily, with actual conditions attached.

What the Polish ULC Exemption Actually Covers

Poland’s ULC exemption applies to Open Category FPV operations across subcategories A1, A2, and A3, each with different weight and distance limits. Pilots no longer need a visual observer, but the other subcategory requirements under Regulation 2019/947 still apply in full, including pilot certification, no-fly zones, and geographic restrictions.

The specific limits per subcategory:

• A1: Drones up to 250g (privately built or C0-labeled), or up to 900g if C1-labeled. Maximum horizontal distance from pilot: 200 meters. Maximum altitude: 50 meters AGL.
• A2: Drones up to 4 kg with a C2 label. Maximum horizontal distance: 200 meters. Maximum altitude: 50 meters AGL.
• A3: Drones up to 4 kg. Maximum horizontal distance: 500 meters. Maximum altitude: 50 meters AGL. Must maintain at least 150 meters horizontal separation from residential, commercial, industrial, or recreational areas.

The 50-meter altitude cap applies uniformly across all three subcategories. That’s not an arbitrary number. It matches the typical operational profile for FPV racing and freestyle, where most flying happens well below that ceiling. Anyone flying proximity gaps or low-level freestyle runs is already operating at heights where this limit is irrelevant.

The Legal Mechanism Behind the Exemption

Poland didn’t invent new rules. The ULC used Article 71 of EU Regulation 2018/1139, which allows national aviation authorities to grant temporary, proportionate derogations from EASA-level rules when there’s a genuine operational need and an acceptable residual risk level. The exemption carries the designation LBSP/SPEC/O/2026-04.

The decision document is direct about why it exists: the current rules require VLOS, FPV goggles physically prevent VLOS, and the practical solution of “just use an observer” is not how the FPV community actually operates. The ULC conducted a risk assessment covering A1, A2, and A3 operations and concluded that, given the weight limits, altitude caps, distance restrictions, and existing subcategory rules already in force, a limited VLOS derogation is defensible.

The exemption does not override geographic restrictions. If a specific drone zone requires VLOS or mandates an observer, this decision does not remove those obligations. It only removes the default observer requirement that flows from the VLOS rule itself.

Why This Matters Beyond Poland

Every EU member state has the same Article 71 tool available. As far as DroneXL is aware, no other EU member state has yet used it to issue a comparable FPV observer exemption. The structural mismatch between the VLOS rule and FPV reality is not a Polish problem. Pilots in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and elsewhere face the exact same gap. Poland just demonstrated there is a legal path to address it without waiting for EASA to revise the underlying regulation.

The ULC has stated it will monitor incident data during the exemption period and may use the findings to push for permanent legislative solutions at the national or EU level. That matters. If Poland collects eight months of FPV flight data under this exemption and the incident rate doesn’t spike, it becomes hard evidence for a formal EASA rule change. Other national authorities will be watching.

We’ve been tracking Poland’s increasingly active drone policy posture, including its independent counter-drone program built outside the EU’s stalled drone wall framework. The FPV exemption fits a pattern: Poland moves when Brussels doesn’t.

DroneXL’s Take

The observer requirement has always been the rule that separates those who know the regulations from those who actually follow them. FPV flying under goggles and VLOS are structurally incompatible — a spotter standing next to a pilot cannot meaningfully track a 3-inch freestyle quad threading gaps at speed. The rule exists on paper. In practice, it’s widely ignored.

What the Polish ULC has done here is pragmatic. Instead of continuing to pretend the observer rule works in practice, they acknowledged reality, ran a risk assessment, attached real conditions, and issued a legal framework that FPV pilots can actually operate under. That’s how regulation should work.

The eight-month window is also smart. It’s short enough to maintain oversight but long enough to gather meaningful data before deciding what comes next. If this approach spreads to other EU member states, it could accelerate pressure on EASA to finally revise Regulation 2019/947 to reflect how FPV flying actually works.

My prediction: at least two other EU member states will issue similar Article 71 exemptions before Poland’s expires in October. Germany, given the size of its FPV community and the regulatory pressure that’s been building since the mainstream visibility FPV gained at the Winter Olympics in February, is the most likely candidate. If the ULC incident data comes back clean, expect Poland to push this to a permanent national rule before year end and to formally request EASA address the VLOS/FPV disconnect in its next regulatory revision cycle. And if EASA still doesn’t act, expect more national authorities to stop waiting.

For FPV pilots in Poland: read the actual decision. The conditions are specific. The 50-meter altitude cap and the horizontal distance limits are hard constraints, not suggestions. Flying C2-class hardware at 200 meters horizontal range under goggles without an observer is now legal. Flying outside those parameters is not.

Editorial Note: AI tools were used to assist with research and archive retrieval for this article. All reporting, analysis, and editorial perspectives are by Haye Kesteloo.