Drone ‘flyer’s licence’

Australia’s aviation safety authority will establish a “flyer’s licence” and mandatory registration for drones from July this year, coinciding with a world-first drone food delivery business to be run out of Canberra.

For the first time, anyone in Australia who wants to fly a drone will have to be accredited by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, making it easier for police to track down miscreants.

“It will certainly give us big advantages in terms of complaints or reports of drones being flown improperly or against the safety rules,” CASA spokesman Peter Gibson said.

Key points:

• Drone flyer data will be kept in a database to track users
• Those with drones of more than 250g will have to pass an online education course
• A drone delivery service is set to begin operation in Canberra once CASA approves it

“We’ll have a starting point to know who flies drones in that area, what sort of drone they fly.”

Prospective flyers of drones weighing more than 250 grams will need to pass an online education course and register their drone, according to policy documents prepared by CASA.

Flyer data would be kept in a database, finally allowing Australian authorities to get a picture of how many drones are flown in Australia, who is flying them and where.

“For the first time we’ll have an overall picture of the drone sector … probably there are tens of thousands, possibly even 100,000, but at this point we don’t know,” Mr Gibson said.

CASA said the cost of registration would vary for different types of drones and whether they were used for fun or profit.

It estimated it would cost $20 annually per person for recreational drones and for some model aircraft operators.

The annual fee for each commercial drone would likely range from $100 to $160.

Community groups have strongly objected to the technologies, saying their noise moved locals to tears.

Source
ABC News