Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Terms

• Drone (Not strictly accurate as it implies works autonomously)

• UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle)

• RPA (Remotely Piloted Aircraft) preferred term used by Casa (Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority)

• CASA Civil Aviation Safety Authority

Types of UAV

Micro UAVs are considered toys, Useful for training and tormenting the cat but little else.

 A Small UAV is defined as an unmanned aircraft of mass greater than 1 kilogram yet less than 150 kilograms (fixed wing) or 100 kilograms (rotary wing). This is a wide variance and as such can include toys such as the AR Parrot which can be controlled via the Wifi or Bluetooth functions of a smartphone or tablet to High end RPAs

SMALL UAV

A Large UAV is defined as an unmanned aircraft of mass greater than 150 kilograms (fixed wing) or 100 kilograms (rotary wing). A person must seek CASA approval for the operation of a Large UAV.

Large UAVs

KOAX X-240

NEO S-300

• 10 meters per second

• 10 – 15 minutes flight time

• Start at about A$650 but with options can go up to around A$2000.

• Can carry a GoPro style camera. Option of a gimbaled camera mount

Phantom

Safety

• Do not fly closer than 30 metres to vehicles, boats, buildings or people.

• Do not fly over any populated areas such as beaches, other peoples backyards, heavily populated parks or sporting ovals where there is a game in progress.

• Do not operate within 3 nautical miles (5.5 km) of an aerodrome or helicopter landing site without approval.

• Only operate your RPA during daylight, good weather and in Visual-Line-of-Site.+

• Do not fly above 400 feet.

• FPV Flying may be illegal without an Advanced Amateur Radio Licence

• Do not fly a RPA at night.

The Future

RoboBee

As of 12th October 2014 the rules are still:You may NOT fly ANY Drone for commercial gain WITHOUT certification. This will change in the near future but you will still have to have certification if you fly ANY drone above 2kg for a hobby or commercial gain. In the future you will be able to fly a Drone BELOW 2kg for commercial gain without certification ONLY if you follow the rules in the poster. That means you will NOT really be able to do real estate or other photography for commercial gain all over Australia but only in places that are far away from helicopter landing sites, airfield etc. Don’t be misled by shops telling you can fly anywhere in Australia as long as it is below 2kg.

It is NOT true

Legislation

• A UAV must not be flown over a Restricted or Prohibited area without written approval from the relevant authority

 • A person must apply for an area approval from CASA to be permitted to operate a UAV

above 400ft or less than 3 nautical miles from an airfield • When operating in controlled airspace, a person must have area approval and comply to all

air traffic control instructions • Operating a UAV near a runway, movement area, approach or departure path is prohibited

unless exceptional grounds • A UAV may be operated under 400ft without an area approval given they meet all other

CASA requirements • A UAV must not drop or discharge an object that poses a risk to another aircraft, persons or

property • UAVs must only be operated in Visual Meteorological Conditions unless prior approval and

training is sought • UAVs must only be operated at night once prior approval and training is sought