The free SAIL calculator for UK drone operators
Add your drone, draw where you fly and answer a few questions about your operation.
Open each step in turn. Hover any iEach "i" explains the question beside it in plain English. for help.
Size, top speed and weight, straight from the manufacturer's spec sheet. Flying more than one? Add them all.
The figures from the manufacturer's specification.
Click the corners of your flying area on the map, or import a KML file. We add the safety margins and count the people underneath.
Click the map to place the corners of your operating area, then Finish. Or import a KML.
A festival, match, show, parade or similar. Population data cannot see events, so the CAA asks separately.
A small or medium event counts as the "up to 50,000 per km2" band; a large or popular event as the densest band. Either raises the ground score, and a large event rules out the sheltering safeguard.
Measures that cut the risk to people on the ground.
Optional. Answer Yes only where it applies to your operation; each one can take points off your ground score.
The airspace you fly in and how busy it is.
Your rating from I to VI, on screen, with a copy sent to your inbox.
Calculated against the in-force UK SORA (ORS9 Decision 46). The calculator gives a provisional SAIL on the standard UK SORA margins; the CAA confirms every rating at Assessment 1. Privacy
After your result
If you're new to UK SORA, this is where it gets tricky. Sound familiar?
Where do I even start?
Start with a free 15-minute call. We'll talk you through it.
What on earth is a contingency volume?
We do the volumes, the buffers and the maths behind every one.
Which population data am I meant to use?
Our service takes care of all of this. Just tell us where you plan to fly and we'll handle the rest.
Can my SAIL go any lower?
Our SORA expert will talk you through your options.
That's what we're here for
Our SORA expert holds your hand throughout and works with you to get your SAIL down where possible.
How it works
Want the detail first? See how the consultancy works
Quick questions
It is the score from I to VI at the heart of a UK SORA application (the CAA's risk assessment for more complex drone flights). The higher the score, the more you have to prove before you can fly.
It combines two risks. Ground risk: how much harm your drone could do if it came down, driven by its size and speed and by how many people are underneath. Air risk: how likely you are to meet other aircraft, driven by the airspace you fly in. Safeguards such as keeping people out of the area or fitting a parachute can bring either risk down, and with it your SAIL.
Yes. There is no account to create and no card to enter. We ask for an email so we can send you your result.
It is a provisional SAIL, worked out from the UK SORA rules in force today (ORS9 Decision 46). The CAA confirms every rating at Assessment 1.
Often, yes, and this is where our experience comes in. A lower SAIL significantly reduces the amount of evidence you have to submit to the CAA, which means less to write, less evidence to gather and a faster route to your Operational Authorisation.
We talk you through the options specific to your platform and your operation, tell you plainly which ones apply and which don't, and work alongside you to claim every mitigation you can support. Where a lower SAIL is achievable, we get you there. Talk to us.
Ready?