Registering your drone :
Yes! You need to register your drone at the Romanian Civil Aviation authority just like any other aircraft. I have several drones registered, the process is...well a little bit time consuming.
Documentation requirements to register your drone:
You need to send the Aviation Authority a proof of purchase, in one word the invoice you got from the seller from where you bought the drone, a schematic drawing of the model/type and the invoice of the registration fee which sets you back with 90euros + VAT.
After all the necessary doccumentation is sent by e-mail to the Aeronautical Authority you'll get a confirmation. You'll need to wait between 2 weeks/ a month to be called to their headquarters in Bucharest. You can personally get there or send the drone by curier. Once there you’ll get a registration number sticker applied on your drone, the approved registration document and you'll also get a chip installed/glued inside your drone.
Certificate of identification
The required documents which need to be completed can be found accessing the following link. Scroll down to the title with the number 21.
http://www.caa.ro/pages/aacr-forms-149
Note: The glued chip contains your name,adress etc it’s used for identification in case if you lose your drone or crash it. The info can be read out only from a couple of meters so don’t be afraid you can’t be tracked and identified from a greater distance.
Things you need to know: Drones under 500grams do not need to be registered but still need an authorization for filming from the Ministry of National defence (MAPN). You might think that’s all. Well we are not even halfway... This is when the fun part begins. If till now you hated to fill out documents and draw basic geometrical structures it’s time to get used to it.
Two forms need to be completed in order to obtain flight and filming authorization. The first step is to obtain the authorization from the National Civil Aviation Authority. You need to fill a word document with your name, the date of flight type of drone gps coordinates/height and distance. The document can be downloaded by accessing the following link.
The second document for filming towards the Ministry of National defence is very similar to the first one, the same info needs to be added just like in the previous one. Separately you need to send a print screen of the location of filming, I mainly use Google Maps. You need to limit/isolate the zone of filming, each point of filming spot needs to be highlighted with the exact GPS location coordinates.
Note: In order to get the authorizations you need to send the the inquiry 10 working days before the planned flight.
Flight in urban areas / cities/ is forbidden and is punished by law. The only possible way to fly in cities is if you land and take off at the outskirts of the cities which in most cases is impossible.
Tip: Don’t apply for just on day of filming I usually ask for a longer period of time. Let’s say the filming is on the 15th of June, I ask for the permission from 15th till 20th June. You can’t really know the weather conditions 10 days before, so this way you are covered.
There’s one more step.... so let’s say you got the authorization and the day of flight and filming came. You need to call the Civil Aviation Authority to announce them 30minutes before flight and communicate your intention of flight. During this call youll be asked to give your name/phone number/time of starting you activity and registration number of your drone. Usually this process takes about 1 minute.
Flight guide:
- Drones may not be flown over densely populated areas and crowds of people or in cities. For special exceptions to these restrictions an application may be made to the AACR.
- Drones may not be flown higher than 300 meters (984 feet).
- Drone pilots must maintain a visual line of sight with their drone at all times.
- For drones weighing more than 20 kilograms (44 pounds) insurance is mandatory.
- Stay well clear of airports (at least 5km away)
- DO NOT fly near or above crowded areas where you have a lot of people
Unfortantely I can not show you a permit from the National defense Ministry since its distribution is strictly forbidden.
Who can verify your activity?
The Police and the Gendarmerie can ask for authorizations. You need to have with you a copy of the drone registration document all the time, authorization for flight/filming also has to be shown othervise you might get a pretty hefty fine 4000 Euros. Flight with an unregistered drone might get you a criminal file also. For now this is the process which I undergo... hopefully better days will come that will ease our life a little bit.
Preparations:
Since obtaining the authorizations is such a hassle being well prepaired is a must. Preparing means owning a minimum of 3 batteries and keeping them fully charged is also necessary. I backup my data and format my memory cards everytime I get to do a new job. Invest in your equipment! Owning just the latest drone is not enough. When doing professional work having the right gear not only eases your workflow but also helps you to deliver qualitative work for for your clients. Having a backpack, a case in which you can store all your gear is the first step.
I use the PolarPro app quite often, it's not for just only calculating which ND filter you need, but also its one of the best weather checking app too. I mainly check the windspeed in different areas.
Owning ND & polarized filters are also necessary. Needless to say you need fast micro SD cards I recommend 2x 64gb ones. Just have your charger with you all the time I also bought a dual charger so I can leave all three batteries charging.
Last year I’ve been filming at several locations in Romania most of them have been for my clients. I carry out all sorts of jobs from real-estate to documentaries. Here are some of my projects I took part just for yout to make an idea, you can also check all my photos uploaded on skypixel ;).
https://www.skypixel.com/users/szabolcs-ignacz-38ff0574-e0a2-40b9-8ecf-6f5a7729365b
Last but not least here's one of my favourite clip I worked on last year! Be sure to check it out, definitely will make your day better.
Let me know what you think, and feel free to hit me up with any sort of question. Hope my thread has been informative ;).
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