Category Archives: Drones

Drones, R/C aircraft, UAVs, Uncategorized

Australia proposes A$20 license fee per model aircraft

The proposal would assess a fee of about A$20 for each model aircraft owned, plus a fee of A$100 to A$160 for each commercially used model aircraft:

CASA is planning to introduce a drone registration and accreditation scheme later this year.

Source: Drone registration and accreditation scheme – update | Civil Aviation Safety Authority

The UK is proposing an annual fee of 16.5 pounds. The U.S. assesses a fee of US$5.00 per pilot, good for 3 years; the registration number is applied to all aircraft operated by the pilot.

Drones, Uncategorized

Britain to require licensing, registration, allow police to issue fines and seize drones

Exclusion zones around airports will be extended and drone users will have to be registered under the plans.

Source: Police to get new powers to tackle illegal drone use – BBC News

Plus

  • Airport exclusion zones will be enlarged to 5 km (3 miles) (in the U.S., its already 5 miles). Additional exclusion zones will be added.
  • All users must be licensed and their model aircraft registered. (Like Mexico, this may end up prohibiting non-UK permanent residents or citizens from flying drones in the U.K.)
  • Police can order any drone flyer at any time to land the drone. Failure to land a drone or show your license and registration will be a fine-able offense.
  • Police will be allowed to “search premises and seize drones – including the electronic data stored within the device”.

This is done in the aftermath of the invisible drones at Gatwick Airport. At this time, the only provable drones in the air over Gatwick Airport were those operated by the Sussex Police, which they admit, were unmarked and were likely many of the reported sightings. After they admitted this, there have been no further updates on the investigation.

Drones

Proposed UK law to require drones to be trackable, possibly required to file flight plans before flight

Told ‘ya:

The planned legislation would aim to introduce the mandatory use of an app – most drones are flown through a smartphone or device – which all fliers would have to download.

This would mean they would have to register and provide information which would make them more easily traceable, in a situation where a pilot was committing an offence.

The app could also allow a means of real time two-way communication between the user, other users around them, and relevant government authorities.

Users could even be pushed to pre-file notification of their flight before using a drone at certain heights.

There may be a push for consumer-level drones to have a short battery life of say less than 10 minutes. This would reduce the distance over which a consumer drone could be used for malicious purposes.

Source: Are drone laws going to change after the Gatwick incident? | The Independent

Drones

New drone regulations take effect in Canada in 2019

Transport Canada is advising a minimum age of operation of 16 in those zones, and would-be pilots would also have to pass a written test, register their devices and affix government-issued registration marks to the aircraft.

….

Diana Cooper, senior vice-president of policy & strategy at PrecisionHawk, a commercial drone and data company, said the U.S. is currently moving forward with rules for remote identification of drones.”(It) is similar to a license plate for cars, it allows law enforcement to remotely identify information about a drone such as the name and the location of the operator,” she said.

Source: Canada to impose stricter rules for drone operation next year | CTV News

Looks like my predictions about future regulations are spot on.

Good thing that eco-warriors and terrorists will put their government issued registration number and remote identification system on all their own model aircraft!

A lot of “FUD” will be used to justify regulatory burdens on everyone, yet such regulations will not not solve any of the original problems.

The goal is not to actually solve problems – the goal is to make model aircraft flying de facto so expensive and cumbersome that few will participate. The FAA already did this to the ultralight aircraft industry and they will do it to the consumer drone industry too.