CAA drone regulations

Back on this subject and I asked a mate of mine who is an avid drone pilot and racer about this..His main thing is flying FPV with his goggles, tricks and racing. He is a member of club etc..He said unless you have turned your drone into a business or have huge drone larger than 3m and 5kg you do not need licenses etc. and your drone is a "model aircraft" and so long that you avoid no-fly zones, private property, roads and people you can gaan mal.
 

Enigma

Moderator
As a manufacturer and drone Hobbyist I have been in contact with SACAA as well as SAMAA in terms of the Drones and Drone fishing

The general drones used for purposes of fishing ie Phantom 4, Cuta Copter, Swellpro etc, etc are indeed Model Aircraft

"Remotely piloted aircraft" (RPAS) means an unmanned aircraft which is piloted from a remote pilot station, excluding model aircraft and toy aircraft.

"Toy aircraft" means a product falling under the definition of aircraft which is designed or intended for use in play by children.

"Model aircraft" means a non-human-carrying aircraft capable of sustained flight in the atmosphere and used exclusively for air display, recreational use, sport or competitions.

The CAA regulations are clear and concise and included in their web page:

http://www.caa.co.za/Pages/RPAS/Remotely%20Piloted%20Aircraft%20Systems.aspx
 

Enigma

Moderator
Key points:

Operation in terms of public and public safety.

The 50m rule, all comes down to respect and courtesy and realising that if you by accident or purpose injure anyone or damage property as a result f your actions with the Drone you are and will be held LIABLE

If you use you drone for financial gain in filming, surveying, security etc you are required to complete the RPAS Pilots license as your work will put you over, between people and buildings

You must fly Visual Line of Sight

You may never exceed 50m altitude.

Airports and key points are no fly zones and Drones from reputable suppliers have pre-installed software limiting flights in these areas. I have a Military airfield close to where we fly on a registered SAMAA field and when we encroach on the border you can actually see how the software pushed the craft lower and lower as you encroach on controlled airspace. It is a Virtual Cone in the air around and above the flight zones.

As for camera's and encroaching on Business, Personal and National security there are very clear privacy laws of which South Africa probably has the most outdated and draconian law's in the world on Arial photography WTF people are trying to hide is beyond me.

I fly with a FPV camera mounted with no recording but to get a Virtual in Craft flight experience in our racing drones running courses at 0-180km/h between the trees and obstacles.
 
Enigma wrote:
I fly with a FPV camera mounted with no recording but to get a Virtual in Craft flight experience in our racing drones running courses at 0-180km/h between the trees and obstacles.

Epic! Wow that must be amazing..I watch my mate do it. He gave me a tinywhoop when they imported a bunch, which is hellava fun, until the battery is dead in 5 minutes but with my drone skills..I'm not going to be flying through any trees, rather into them!Thanks for your input above..
 

Enigma

Moderator
Mate of mini is a top pilot, does barrel rolls at 150km/h and comes out of a loop at 140km/h

Most impressive was putting the drone down on a dust track and diving (straddled) over the idling drone. He was in the passenger seat flying the drone with goggles on.

Took off and chased down the car doing 80km/h, circled it and landed on the roof carrier in the drive.
 
Top