Legal Height

[Zeus1980]

I have a friend who has been getting hassled by a local aviation company about him flying his little drone around. He is flying it off the coast of Newcastle taking some awesome videos of the coastline. My questions are:

1. What is the maximum legal height he can flying before requiring an approval/licence?
2. Off the coast of Newcastle is the entry/exit to Williamtown airspace and coastal northbound/southbound. Is there a height difference if there is an approved aircraft traffic lanes?
3. He is looking at maybe doing this as a job what course/s and licences are required?

Obviously there has been a well documented issue with a drone vs Westpac Rescue and he doesn't want to be the next news story.

Sorry if some of this has already been covered off I am new to the drone thing myself.

Thanks Zeus

[Mongrel Dog]

G'day Zeus,

Have a look at the thread below this one regarding SuperSix's upcoming courses.

I've done one and rate them highly.

Does your friend have a pilot's licence?


Drone Commander

[helothere]

He needs to be a minimum of 3Nm from a licenced airfield and not above 400 feet. Here's a pic I put together:



Here's an extract of the reg's:

viewtopic.php?f=16&t=10&p=451#p451

[Zeus1980]

Thanks heaps! No he doesn't but I do though. I have been doing my research but I thought it best to get it straight from the guys who do it daily. I will tell him about your course too thanks as I am also thinking about it too.

Is there a minimum distance from controlled/restricted air space not just aerodrome like we do for helicopters e.g. Williamtown airspace starts at Nobby's but aerodrome is 5nm from there? Or is it just stay clear? To be honest the poor guy just bought it for a bit of fun and didn't think he would get abused over have a fly of a hobby.

He has been told that he is putting helicopters and the fighter planes in jeopardy because the aircraft fly at 500ft for entry to Williamtown or transit through via coastal route. Considering I did my flight training there I would be more concerned about the hang gliders that just pop up to say hello...

I will also have to check to see if Lake Macquarie (Belmont) is re-registered again yet too.

Thanks for your help

Zeus

[helothere]

To operate in controlled airspace above 400 feet you need written permission from ATC or CASA. Permission from ATC would normally be granted via CASA’s RPAS office through a Letter of Agreement. The 3Nm limit applies from a controlled aerodrome boundary as well.

Belmont is not in ERSA so you should be good to go. Good airmanship would see you carry a handheld VHF tuned to the CTAF frequency when operating anywhere nearby though...