CAA permission unmanned free balloon UK | Stratoflights

GO for your launch in United Kingdom!
Register your weather
balloon at CAA

To make sure you get your ascent permit by CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) in UK, especially if you want to launch a weather balloon or better called unmanned free balloon for the first time in United Kingdom, we will help you step by step through the application process. Here we answer the most important questions:

How does the registration process work?

To be allowed to launch your weather balloon or as CAA says unmanned free balloon in UK, you must register your weather balloon in a smoothly online notification form at CAA to get permission. To do this you need to provide a few details about your mission, but it’s quiet easy. Your application to launch a weather balloon or unmanned free balloon will be reviewed by CAA and you will be issued the ascent permit.

What information does CAA need?

In summary, to verify the ascent of your weather balloon or unmanned free balloon in UK, CAA requires different things from you in the notification form, some samples are:

Start location;
start time;
details of equipment;
total weight;
reason for ascent;
etc.

You simply complete all this in an online tool provided by the CAA and then, after passing the test, you will receive your weather balloon or unmanned free balloon ascent permit in the UK.

Further information & notification form

FAQ: You have the questions,
we have the answers.

What are the costs for a CAA ascent permit for my weather balloon or unmanned free balloon?

The review of your documents takes some time and depends how complex your mission is. Further information.

How long does it take for CAA to process my weather balloon or unmanned free balloon? What documents do I need to submit to CAA to get an ascent permit?

The review of your documents can take up to 28 days, so start early with the preparation! Further information.

Can anyone obtain an ascent permit for a weather balloon or unmanned free balloon in United Kingdom?

Yes! No matter if private person as a father-son project, in the context of a school project at schools or as a company. As long as the ascent permit is in place, everyone is allowed to launch their weather balloon in UK. Further information.

Where exactly do I need to register my weather balloon with CAA? Where can I find the contact details for CAA?

After you have completed the notification form and obtained proof of insurance for your unmanned free balloon launch in UK, all documents shall be uploaded in the notification form tool. If you further question, here you find the contact details of CAA in UK.

Contact details of the civil aviation authority in UK:
Airspace Regulation
Safety & Airspace Regulation Group
Civil Aviation Authority
K6, CAA House, 45-59 Kingsway, London, WC2B 6TE.
E-mail: arops@caa.co.uk
Fax: 020 7453 6593

What equipment am I allowed to use in UK? Do I need special weather balloons?

Here you will find the highest quality equipment for a successful mission into the stratosphere over Australia. Our equipment has already been successfully used by numerous customers for flights in Australia. So you are on the safe side that your mission will be a complete success. Whether Weather Balloon, reliable GPS Tracker, Weather Balloon Kit or a detailed manual “How to launch a weather balloon”: You still need equipment? Click here to go to the Online-Shop.

Get all necessary information & documents

Stratoflights
Who we are

Stratoflights is a full-service filmproduction company based in Germany. In 2012 we were searching for a unique project on how to send up a camera to the highest altitude. There were no tutorials, no construction kits, no nothing. Just our idea. It took us 6 months of trial and error until we finally launched our first stratospheric balloon.

The footage was amazing and our project resulted in a simple YouTube video. This video went viral over night and we were featured in the news and got invited to famous TV-Shows. People saw our video and asked us how we did it.

As we finished university we thought: Why don’t we help other people to get access to the stratosphere and make a startup with this idea? Stratoflights was born. Since then we grew our company and specialized in stratospheric flights all over the world. We want to make the stratosphere accessible for everyone and use the fascination of space for brands. We deliver that feeling with our filmproduction and expanded our services to Live-Events to get the atmosphere of a space mission for a larger community, may it be online or in real life.

We are creatives with more than 10 years of experience and are excited for new challenges. Our customers are companies and agencies from small businesses to global players like Mercedes Benz, LEGO, Microsoft or Amazon Prime Video.

In addition to our marketing projects our aim is to inspire young students for science. That’s why we offer Weather Balloon Kits and teaching material all over the world that everyone who is interested in doing some research on the edge of space, can do it easily on his own.