pm07
lvl.2
Flight distance : 13104 ft
South Africa
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There has been a lot of controversy about Drone Flying in South Africa,
The CAA(Civil Aviation Authority) basically wants no Drones in the Air Purely of "FLY UNSMART" drone Pilots.
I understand the point of the CAA, but at the same time they should not have allowed sales of drones in the country.There should of been serious taxes and regulations of drone purchases after the new laws had come into place if they really don't want it to get out of hand or in the air for that matter.
I personally was unaware of the regulations after i impulsively purchased my first drone (Phantom 3 Proffesional) and did some homework on where i could fly it in South Africa.
but thats my 2c.
View Link Below of the NDZ in South Africa.
http://www.safedrone.co.za/no-drone-zones
The SACAA has adopted new regulations for operating RPAS (drones) in South Africa, which came into effect on 1 July 2015. This article is a basic overview of the new regulations, and links to further info on each topic.
This article should not be considered legal advice! Refer to the official CATS and CAR documents linked to below for the actual regulations.
Also see the article: Legal Requirements for operating drones in South Africa.
New Drone Regulations for South Africa:
New rules for drones in South Africa include (basic overview):
Do not fly more than 400 feet above the ground (about a 40 story building).
Do not fly more than 500 meters away from the pilot (line of sight).
Do not fly closer than 10km from an airport (any registered aerodrome, airstrip, helipad, etc).
Do not fly closer than 50m from people.
Do not fly closer than 50m from buildings.
Do not fly closer than 50m from roads.
Do not fly any drone more than 7kg for hobby use (up to 20kg for commercial use).
Commercial Drone Pilots:
Commercial RPAS operations require all of the following:
RPL -Remote Pilots Licence (incl.: Aviation Medical Certificate , English Language Proficiency Certificate , RPL pilot training).
Restricted Radio Licence.
RPL - RPAS Letter of Approval (incl.: Flight Manual , Technical Specifications , Maintenance Program , Safety Case).
ROC - Remote Operator Certificate (Operations Manual , Security Manual , Safety Management System , Quality Management System).
Air Service Licence (from the Air Services Council - Department of Transport).
The drone must be registered (with SACAA).
For night flying the RPA (drone) must be approved for night flights, including strobe lights and navigation lights.
Must have a transponder and special approval from SACAA to fly in controlled airspace.
Must have handheld Fire Extinguisher and a First Aid Kit.
Listed approvals in the Ops Spec (Operational Specifications): The commercial operator may have special approval to operate drones closer than 50m from people, buildings and roads, or within 10km from airports, within controlled airspace, etc.
Hobby Drone Pilots:
Private operations means the use of and RPA for the individuals personal and private purposes where there is no commercial interested, outcome or gain.
Private drone operation does not require any of the licenses, but the regulations do still apply.
Do not need an RPL (Remote Pilots Licence).
Do not need to register their RPAS aircraft.
Do not need Ops Manual, ROC, RLA, etc.
No not need Air Service Licence.
Can fly RPAS up to 7kg weight.
Can fly at night in R-VLOS only (previous not allowed for any RC aircraft).
Can fly up to the height of the highest object in 300m of the drone (or up to a max of 400 feet, whichever is the lower of the 2).
Can fly up to 500m away from the pilot, while maintaining direct line of sight (RVLOS).
Need to keep more than 50m from people.
Need to keep more than 50m from roads.
Need to keep more than 50m from buildings.
Need to keep more than 10km from a registered aerodrome (registered ones have letters such as FAOR ).
May not fly in controlled airspace at all (not even with permission from ATC).
May not fly in No Fly Zones.
Do not need handheld Fire Extinguisher.
Do not need a First Aid Kit.
Corporate / Non-Profit Drone Pilots:
Same as Commercial drone operator above, except that the Air Service Licence (from the Air Services Council) is not required for corporate or non-profit operations.
Download the complete new Regulations for RPAS (part 101)
The first step is to read through all the regulations and documents to gain a good understanding of all the requirements:
New Part 101 in CAR (Civil Aviation Regulations) - download CAR here from SACAA website .
New Part 101 in CATS (Civil Aviation Technical Standards) - download CATS here from SACAA website .
Technical Guidance Material (TGM) docs and Aeronautical Information Circular (AIC) docs - download all TGM and AIC here from SACAA website .
Fees payable to SACAA for RPAS - download fees here from SACAA website .
Read the main RPAS pages on the SACAA website .
Read More on http://www.safedrone.co.za |
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