Wolferl
 Captain
Flight distance : 23793 ft
Austria
Offline
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Hi folks,
As an Austrian, I am also affected by our too strict regulations. Beside the Spark, I have two bigger drones (one 4kg, one 5.7kg) which are properly registered, and yes that does cost you at least 300 Euros per year per drone and can easily take 2 months to get the permit from AustroContol. And that only allows you to fly over unpopulated areas. If you need to fly over populated areas, there is more paperwork and more fees. And you need proper insurance.
Maximum altitude above ground is 150m. Pilots needs strict line of sight at all time and need to know about NFZs.
Model pilots with no onboard cameras and drones below 250 grams of takeoff weight are excluded from registration, but pilots are still required to stick to the rules.
Fines are /up to/ 20,000 Euros. I am flying drones for more than 15 years now and have never heard anybody got ticketed for unauthorized drone flying (current law is in effect since 2014), if there was no accident (crash) involved.
Yes, they make money out of this. But I also see why this regulations have been imposed: it is due to some idiots that are so cool at flying near airports, at densely populated areas, at highways or industrial facilities and endanger other aircrafts like rescue helicopters. And of course, ignoring everybodys right on his privacy.
I admit I haven't registered my Spark. I only fly it on a large empty field with permission of the land owner.
I personally hope that EASA will imply new, a bit more relaxed rules.
Cheers,
Wolferl |
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