Safe & Legal use of Drones
When you go on an epic hike with breath-taking sceneries, the safe, legal and skillful use of a drone can capture so much awesome aerial video footage and photography to enhance the memories that you take home from your adventures.
Depending which make and model of drone you buy, the manufacturer and other experienced drone users have abundant videos on youtube to help you acquire the skills to fly, control and take awesome videos with your drone.
In this section, we share tips from our actual experience for the legal and safe use of drones. PLEASE NOTE THE TIPS PROVIDED ARE GENERAL GUIDES ONLY. FOR DETAILED & UPDATED REGULATIONS PLEASE CHECK THE WEBSITES OF THE RESPECTIVE COUNTRY / REGIONAL JURISDICTIONS.
With proliferation of of recreational use of drones by the public, it is necessary governments and local jurisdictions to implement laws and rules governing where, when and how drones may or may not be used. In some countries, it is also necessary that you register the drone owner, operator and the drone itself, and require operators to take a test before getting an operator certificate.
These laws are updated regularly including areas where you can or cannot fly your drone, so be sure to always check the latest laws and restrictions before flying.
General restrictions on recreational drone use:
Below are some common restrictions on recreational drone use in many countries BUT PLEASE ALWAYS CHECK DIFFERENCES OR CHANGES PER COUNTRY BEFORE FLYING YOUR DRONE!
1. Drones weighing not more than 250 grams usually have much less restrictions than larger / heavier drones.
2. Recreational use of drones are not allowed within stated radius of airports and airfields (including helicopter landing sites), military installations, prisons, wild life protected areas (varies pr country), and other restricted areas.
3. Generally you have to fly the drone within distance of unaided vision and not higher than 100 metres above you.
4. Proximity restrictions on flying near or over private property, and people.
5. Other restrictions per respective jurisdictions.
General tips on drone use governing bodies, requirements of use by country / region:
1. USA
Governing body: FAA (Federal Aviation Authority).
Drone registration : If your drone weight more than a certain weight, you must register your drone with the UAS. At time of this posting, it was 0.55 lbs, but please check the latest limits.
https://www.faa.gov/uas/recreational_flyers/knowledge_test_updates
Operator training / registration : You are required to pass an online test on rules governing flying drones with the UAS (Unmanned Aircraft System) for recreational drone flyers.
https://www.faa.gov/uas/recreational_flyers/knowledge_test_updates
Recreational drone use Apps : There are several Apps providing airspace restrictions information, such as B4UFLY, AloftAirControl, DroneDeploy.
https://www.faa.gov/uas/getting_started/b4ufly
2. Europe
Governing body: European Union Aviation Safety Agency. I found that there were more opportunities for legal flying of recreational drones in most EU countries such as Italy, Switzerland, Spain than in the USA.
Drone registration: You may register your drone and as a drone operator with any EU member country - usually the first country where you plan to fly your drone. One such organisation is the DGAC the French Civil Aviation Authority. Their website:
https://www.ecologie.gouv.fr/en/french-civil-aviation-authority-dgac
Operator training / registration: you are also required to pass an online test to show that you have studied and understood the regulations and restrictions around recreational use of drones in the EU. One such organisation is the Formation Telepilote Civil Aviation in France. Their website:
https://formation-telepilote.aviation-civile.gouv.fr/fr/users/sign_in
Recreational drone use Apps: There are several popular Apps in the EU providing airspace restrictions information, such as DJI GO 4, and DroneDeploy
https://www.dji.com/au/downloads/djiapp/dji-go-4
3. Australia
Governing body: CASA
Drone registration: Please check latest local regulations with regards to drone registration which is usually governed by size or weight of your drone.
Operator training / registration: Training and operator licencing are required for commercial drone operators. This usually depends on the size and weight of the drone. Regulations may change any time - please check before flying.
Recreational drone use Apps: Australia is very restrictive in terms of places where you may fly a recreational drone. Other than the restrictions around airports, military installations, prisons, State Parks and National Parks are no fly zones.
While there is an App called ok2fly that has an interactive map to show you where you can and cannot fly your drone, you basically are not allowed to fly it in any interesting hiking areas. There are a very few little pockets in suburban areas where you could take your drone out to hone your flying skills.
4. New Zealand
Governing body: I found there are mush more opportunities for legal use of drones in New Zealand than in Australia. The full rules for flying a drone in NZ can be found at below website of the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand.
https://www.aviation.govt.nz/assets/rules/consolidations/Part_101_Consolidation.pdf
Drone registration: Register your drone on Airshare website or App.
Operator training / registration: You should register yourself on Airshare. You should also study their section on "Know the Rules"
Recreational drone use Apps: The best country App I have found is Airshare of New Zealand - also known as the the hub for recreational and commercial drone users. Having used it, I feel they genuinely want to "air share" in a safe and control manner and they make it easy for recreational drone users. The interactive map shows you exactly which areas you can or cannot fly your drone, lets you register your drone so you feel legit and responsible, and also let's you register the date, time and area that you plan to fly. This let's other aviation operators (eg helicoptor pilots) know exactly where and when you have your drone in the air; at the same time making you feel you are 100% doing the right thing. The App is called Airshare and thier website is: https://airshare.co.nz/
Enjoy making awesome videos of your epic hiking adventures but be sure to always check latest regulations before hand; register yourself, your drone and your flights where available or required and fly only when legal and safe so that no one gets hurt and so that regulations need not be tighter than they already are.