No Drone Zones
 

I've been fielding questions from family over the last 2 days after the news of the events at Gatwick regarding no fly zones for drones.

Considering that 50% of houses in Sydney are located in a no drone zone, either near the harbour or Sydney airport. Is a kid flying his drone in the front yard at below treetop height an offense?

My take of the regulations is flying a drone even 1cm above the ground if you are in a no fly zone could get you into hot water.

I called CASA, they said they don't know, and someone will call me back. No one ever called.

The local cops believe no fly means, no fly at any altitude, even 1m above the ground, but are not 100% sure. One said he would confiscate any drone until the law is clarified.

If your drone weighs more than 100g, you must keep at least 5.5km away from controlled aerodromes. Flying within 5.5km of a non-controlled aerodrome or helicopter landing site (HLS) is possible,but only if no manned aircraft are operating to or from the aerodrome. If you become aware of manned aircraft operating to or from the aerodrome/HLS, you must manoeuvre away from the aircraft and land as soon as safely possible.

You must not fly your drone higher than 120 metres (400ft) above the ground.

You must keep your drone at least 30 metres away from other people.

Link from CAsA website to this.
https://droneflyer.gov.au/

What is the dimensions of the front yard?

The size of the front yard is irrelevant to the question. But to appease the pedantic, lets take my cousins front yard at San Siouci, on the foreshore of Botany Bay and right next to Sydney airport. The front yard measures 17m wide by 9 m deep. There are two 15m tall oak tress in the front yard. On Christmas morning when the kids get their 1kg drones and fly them in the front yard at a hight of 2-3m, if a council ranger, police car or CASA vehicle drive past, will they be charged with an offense.

If you live within 5.5 km of an airport, can you fly a drone "not above 120m".........or not at all.

If your drone is under 100 grams you can fly it up to 120 meters high with or without oak trees (trees are not part of the law) within 5.5km of the controlled airport.

But yours is 1,000 grams - so in your location you will be breaking the law should you fly it. Council Ranger or CAsA on a Christmas morning would be like winning lotto.

So to answer your question it totally depends on the weight.

You can and I know was recently done - fly a sub 100 gram drone, inside an open hanger at a busy International Airport.

CASA vehicle on Christmas day? hahahaha It's a miracle.

Probably technically illegal. Like drinking wine on the beach. Would you be at any risk of prosecution? Probably not.

Council or CASA - unlikely.

Police, possibly, the location being so close to the airport and particularly if a near neighbour is annoyed/busybody enough and/or aware of the Gatwick business decides to dob you in.

As the link provided above says, quoted again:

And to be pedantic, 5.5 km from WHERE in the controlled aerodrome?
Is that 5.5.km from any point on the perimeter fence? From the control tower? End of the runway(s)?

There is nothing like a poorly defined (or explained) rule to attract those who like to test the definition.

It's defined in CASR and Instruments, 3NM (5.5KM) from the movement area of a controlled aerodrome, but to make it simple for users, the "Can I Fly There" app and CASA maps depict the areas.

http://www.casa.gov.au/aircraft/stan...one-safety-app
http://casa.dronecomplier.com/external#

FWIW some councils/shires prohibit operations at parks and public areas.

https://www.smh.com.au/technology/dr...07-p4yzjz.html

I expect the perimeter fence - and any area you require to have an ASIC card.

Answer is no you can't. Get the CASA Can I Fly There App, it's free.

In NZ they have a shielded operation exemption, you can fly in your front yard ok. Makes sense as any aircraft you might crash into shouldn't really be below the tree or mast near you.

What are the rules for flying shielded?

A shielded operation must meet the below requirements:

• An operation of an aircraft within 100 metres of, and below the top of, a natural or man-made object; and
• Outside of the boundary of the aerodrome; and
• In airspace that is physically separated from the aerodrome by a barrier that is capable of arresting the flight of the aircraft.

I don't get the "only below 400ft" mantra and the 3mn from airports since CASR101 only aeems to be regulating things above 400ft as far as I read them. Can anyone quote me chapter and verse of the regulations or instruments that prohibit unmanned aircraft of any description (and model aircraft in particular) from flight above 400AGL and within 3nm of an airport?

To get it you MUST understand above and below 100 grams.

If you fail to understand that, then there is no hope.

101.075 Operation near aerodromes

(1) A person may operate an unmanned aircraft at an altitude above 400 feet AGL within 3 nautical miles of an aerodrome only if:
(a) the operation is permitted by another provision of this Part; or
(b) permission has been given for the operation under regulation 101.080.
Penalty: 25 penalty units.

(2) A person may operate an unmanned aircraft over an area mentioned in paragraph (3)(a) or (b) only if:
(a) the operation is permitted by another provision of this Part; or
(b) permission has been given for the operation under regulation 101.080.
Penalty: 25 penalty units.

(3) The areas for subregulation (2) are:
(a) a movement area or runway of an aerodrome; and
(b) the approach or departure path of a runway of an aerodrome.

(4) A person must not operate an unmanned aircraft in such a manner as to create an obstruction to an aircraft taking off from, or approaching for landing at, a landing area or a runway of an aerodrome.

101.085 Maximum operating height
(1) A person may operate an unmanned aircraft above 400 feet AGL only:
(a) in an area approved under regulation 101.030 as an area for the operation of unmanned aircraft of the same class as the aircraft concerned, and in accordance with any conditions of the approval; or
(b) as otherwise permitted by this Part.

Its an interesting discussion, if there's debate here among people in the aviation industry imagine what the general public must think?
At the end of the day drones are simply not controllable from the authorities POV. Oh there are regulations in place for sure as they need to be but we also have road rules, who obeys them all? NO ONE on the planet!
As soon as mankind invents something it gets abused, all the rules under the sun mean zip, fact of life!

That's why the app and brochures have been produced i.e. so they don't have to wade through CASR Part 101 and other regulatory material.

Given they are legally defined as aircraft, you'd be guilty of interfering with the operation of an aircraft ...

What does a 100g drone look like? Sounds like a good christmas present considering its man christmas shopping day!

Part of the problem is that the general public can purchase a drone from a retail store and are not made aware (In most cases) that there are rules governing the use of them. If the government advertised the fact that there are rules governing drones, maybe the message would get out a bit better. Commercial television advertises plenty of educational information relating to road safety which appears to have a positive effect particularly for the honest people.