CASA (he who wields the big stick over all things flying here in Australia) gave us a lovely Christmas message before they all close up shop and stuff their faces with turkey by outlining their latest drone infringement fines. Most weren't surprising but the LOS was a surprise.

Fines issued for drone breaches

CASA continues to issues penalties for breaches of the remotely piloted aircraft safety regulations. So far in 2017 more than 20 people have been fined for breaking the drone rules. Recently a recreational drone flyer was fined $900 for operating over a Victorian jumps horse race, which was deemed a populous area. A recreational drone flyer was fined $1050 for operating a drone over a state netball carnival in Queensland – again deemed a populous area. In Sydney, a recreational drone flyer who took to the air near the Harbour Bridge and Opera House was fined $540 for operating in the Sydney Harbour restricted airspace. A South Australian recreational drone operator was issued with a $900 penalty for flying beyond visual line of sight. All these fines were avoidable by simply following the safety rules at all times and in the case of the Sydney Harbour flight by using the Can I Fly There? app, which shows restricted airspace and other no-fly zones. CASA has also counselled many drone flyers for operations that potentially breach the remotely piloted aircraft regulations.

Of course they have to have proof that you are flying out of sight.
I'm not comfortable flying it Out of sight tbh.

The problem I have is what is "deemed a populous area" ?

nottuppaware Posted at 2017-11-23 22:37
Of course they have to have proof that you are flying out of sight.
I'm not comfortable flying it Out of sight tbh.

This is from the CASA regulation:

101.025 Meaning of populous area
For this Part, an area is a populous area in relation to the operation of an
unmanned aircraft or rocket if the area has a sufficient density of
population for some aspect of the operation, or some event that might
happen during the operation (in particular, a fault in, or failure of, the
aircraft or rocket) to pose an unreasonable risk to the life, safety or
property of somebody who is in the area but is not connected with the
operation.

That's an important news to know. Please follow the local regulation for a good flight experience.

I never fly over people or buildings (or at least am trying hard to see them and avoid them because I do not believe in 100% problem-less flights!).
But I am happy in my country we have no LOS rule - this will ruin the whole concept of having drone capable of long distance flights - my normal flight is around 7-8 km (1-4 km away), I very rarely film objects near me (but it also happens )

I never flew the mavic within visual line of sight (apart from first 3 flights)

CA Mavic Pro Posted at 2017-11-23 23:31
I never flew the mavic within visual line of sight (apart from first 3 flights)

How do you take off?

It's not worth the risk of a fine or anything else in the UK.

In NL we must always keep LOS.

In the UK VLOS is defined as a max 500M/1,640' away (horizontal) and a congested area is a group of >1,000 people (think football stadium and open air concert) - it also includes residential areas such as towns and cities.
In most cases as long as you are not near anyone, under 400' AGL and miles from the nearest airport then you should be OK but know that as soon as you hit 1,641' away you could get into trouble - especially if you crash and this leads to the authorities (UK CAA / Police) getting involved. Know the risks and know the laws/regulations and be prepared to face the consequences of your actions if you decide to break them.
Flying over the opera house in Sydney without permission is just a court case waiting to happen...

Idiots.........

So many restrictions. Wow

Flying over populous area = no no
                    restricted area = no, no
                    no-fly zone = no, no
                    events = no, no
                    OLOS = no...well.....yes....no.  

Rather than face the $1000 odd fines would it not be easier to get your PFCO (commercial ops licence in the UK) this would eliminate some of these rules and at the same time the course would perhaps tech best practices and safety too, also when long arm of the law appears you will at least be listened to as a professional.

Without being a kill joy safety and common sense really should be top of the list when flying (any type of aircraft) I fly heli's and there are still rules about flying over built up areas and in restricted airspace and they are there for a reason. A microlight, fixed wing or helicopter needs to be able to glide clear of a populated area so the height restrictions is for just that, but I'm not sure if an uncontrolled straight down drop from the sky after a power loss is considered gliding!

I think flying to VLOS is fair unless you have already survey the area you are flying to, last time I did this is was over the solent in the UK and my issue was Seagulls that took a dislike to the Phantom and started to attack and without the visualisation in LOS I could not see where they were coming from so it was back to base time for me.

I do agree thought the fines seem pretty harsh when comparing to other more serious offences (easy targets I guess and likely to pay it as your can afford a drone)

Still rules are made to be broken just within reason!

We are not so sad yet. But with quiet steps we are approaching the rules of Australia ...

These creeping laws beg the question about drones being used in a fully autonomous way as companies like Amazon etc. are aiming to use them for small item deliveries... maybe the introduction of drone transponder beckons is the next step.

Schmooit Posted at 2017-11-24 06:10
Rather than face the $1000 odd fines would it not be easier to get your PFCO (commercial ops licence in the UK) this would eliminate some of these rules and at the same time the course would perhaps tech best practices and safety too, also when long arm of the law appears you will at least be listened to as a professional.

Without being a kill joy safety and common sense really should be top of the list when flying (any type of aircraft) I fly heli's and there are still rules about flying over built up areas and in restricted airspace and they are there for a reason. A microlight, fixed wing or helicopter needs to be able to glide clear of a populated area so the height restrictions is for just that, but I'm not sure if an uncontrolled straight down drop from the sky after a power loss is considered gliding!

The remote pilot license here is expensive $400 for 12 months and then $1500 for the training courses to do it- which is done by a third party. It’s a bit of a ripoff

Get real. With an RPL one can earn about $120-$150Au an hour if you're any good at inspecting silos and oil rigs. Like $400 is a few hours wages but you do require more than a toy so look at the investment for a thermal/multi-spectrum camera and a decent bit of machinery to carry it + spares and a backup. Even shark/crocodile patrolling pays if you don't mind to travel a bit.

* Hex *

Hexacopter Posted at 2017-11-24 22:05
Get real. With an RPL one can earn about $120-$150Au an hour if you're any good at inspecting silos and oil rigs. Like $400 is a few hours wages but you do require more than a toy so look at the investment for a thermal/multi-spectrum camera and a decent bit of machinery to carry it + spares and a backup. Even shark/crocodile patrolling pays if you don't mind to travel a bit.

* Hex *

Maybe but for a hobby?

Drone-Mike Posted at 2017-11-24 01:11
How do you take off?

It's not worth the risk of a fine or anything else in the UK.

Sure, if you put it that way, I do take of VLS but it takes less than 1 min for me to lose VLS. But obviously regulation is different for each country and I wouldn't fly it the same way in the UK..

"to pose an unreasonable risk to the life"

Whew I always fly in a manner that only imposes a reasonable risk to the life, so I'm not worried! ;-)

nottuppaware Posted at 2017-11-24 22:35
Maybe but for a hobby?

So for  a hobby. why do you need an RPL ?

* hex *

Hexacopter Posted at 2017-11-26 00:35
So for  a hobby. why do you need an RPL ?

* hex *

I suggested that even for a hobby if the fines are steep it might be better to spend the money and get the RPL which would reduce the types of fines you could get unless being really silly and as you would be deemed professional it would be much easier to talk your way out of the fine with Mr Plod.

You dont need an RPL for a hobby but then you run the risk of breaking the laws for your country and that would be a fine which might well be around the same ball park as the cost of doing the RPL without the added bonus of once you have your licence you can then earn it off by selling some footage or doing some small aerial work for the likes of estate agents which could cover the costs.

You could get away with using something like a P3P or P4P and lots of batteries for that type of work.

Since I have been flying Ive been offered several jobs for thing like snagging works on new build warehouses and maintenance works.

It costs around £1200 for PFCO over here from zero to hero, and if the fines are in that region then maybe it worth the investment you could do basic weddings work or act as a freelancer at local events and just sell the footage later (just ask for permission first if you are near crowds)

All we get in the UK is idiots who insist on flying near airports (which is fine if you are not in the circuit and keep an eye for climb outs and final approaches) or trying to race planes so drones get a bad rep sometimes if I had £1 pound every time someone made a comment Id have £20! Most people are quite interested as they have never seen them and are amazed how goo they are.

Model aircraft have been around for years with no real issues but then you had to have skills to fly them Drones are pretty easy to get going and the older ones become very price attractive to the non enthusiast but still carry the tech that was ground breaking a few years back.