Australia

[Prt60]

Greetings all,
Apologies in advance if this is in the incorrect forum. I've just purchased a mini 3 and I'm located in Victoria Australia. I'm curious what others think the future will be for Drone flyers. Between CASA rules and the Victorian State Government & Australian Government rules, it is almost becoming too hard to find areas to fly. I may be incorrect with my thinking, but from my understanding, it's obviously nowhere near airports or flight paths, near helicopters flying (which is virtually impossible to know when they fly), no national parks, not over people in general, limited with beaches due to population, nowhere near sporting events, nowhere there are police, fire & ambulance etc, cannot fly over peoples properties or homes, etc etc. It's a real challenge to find a place that are allowed before you get to the challenge of actually finding something worthwhile filming & flying. Cheers

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

A few states are reasonably drone friendly for flights in National Parks.
Unfortunately, SA, Vic, Tas, and NSW / ACT are not.

But there are plenty of places to fly, all be it using a pinch of common sense.

I personally avoid suburb flying anyway, but if I chose to I'm sure I could find a park or open area I could fly from and avoid people / vehicles etc.
I do fly a local park for testing, but rarely.

A crowded beach can be flown from just out over the ocean, avoiding swimmers etc, and shooting back towards land.
As for sporting events and emergency locations, well yeah they are off limits, as they should be.

Not sure where you are in Vic, but even if metro you don't have to go too far to get to some bush north, east, or west, and if lucky enough to live near Port Phillip Bay, there are plenty of places you can fly, avoiding Moorabin and Avalon.

OpenSky, Ok2Fly or Airmap, all are good to check out an area.
Nothing to stop you flying any airspace at uncontrolled airports (with some approach / departure path notations), or 99% of heliport zones, the apps tell you if there are rare specific restrictions.

Hit me up for any area you'd like a double check on.

 

[Elthree]

I don't feel especially restricted flying around Melbourne and on various regional trips (yes, within the CASA/etc regs as per accreditation). Having a <250g drone does allow a little more room around airports I suppose.

 

[Squidinc]

Greetings all,
Apologies in advance if this is in the incorrect forum. I've just purchased a mini 3 and I'm located in Victoria Australia. I'm curious what others think the future will be for Drone flyers. Between CASA rules and the Victorian State Government & Australian Government rules, it is almost becoming too hard to find areas to fly. I may be incorrect with my thinking, but from my understanding, it's obviously nowhere near airports or flight paths, near helicopters flying (which is virtually impossible to know when they fly), no national parks, not over people in general, limited with beaches due to population, nowhere near sporting events, nowhere there are police, fire & ambulance etc, cannot fly over peoples properties or homes, etc etc. It's a real challenge to find a place that are allowed before you get to the challenge of actually finding something worthwhile filming & flying. Cheers

Hi
I live on the NSW mid north coast. I fly a MA2 and have a myriad of beautiful coastal areas to choose from, although I agree with what you are saying with the restrictions. It’s gradually getting harder to find great spots that are unrestricted to fly, particularly in my case National Parks.

 

[dave canada]

surely there,s lots outbvack i live in a rural area in new mexico and finding people might take a couple of days. lots of scenery and wildlife that dosen,t care if you fly

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

surely there,s lots outbvack i live in a rural area in new mexico and finding people might take a couple of days. lots of scenery and wildlife that dosen,t care if you fly

For sure Dave, and that's where I love flying mostly, on trips.
There are few restrictions away from capital cities here, and the country is VAST.
Likewise, very few limitations on our coastline.

Some I know don't like to / aren't able to travel far and make trips specifically to fly, so no qualms about people flying suburbs.
You just have to have empathy for others, a bit of common sense, and have a bit of a response map in your head if approached by anyone, privately or official looking.

I fly in a council (city of) area that bans drone and other model aircraft from flight in their parks.
I still do, maybe 5 or 6 times a year.
This is done mid week, during business hours, I rarely see anyone, if I do I go elsewhere or up the other end of the park and fly with caution keeping away from them, their dog, etc.

There's a nice coastal park here that's a CP (Conservation Park), same rules as National Parks in South Oz.
The boundary is at the clifftop, and there are many little deviations in the clifftop track and CP boundary that allow me to fly from certain points out over the ocean (out of the park).

Just a little thought and you can fly a lot of places fine metro.

 

[Glenh]

Great to hear of your experiences. Yes, the laws are wacky in Australia. So, as you do, I respect people, animals and privacy concerns. In the USA the airspace is owned by the FAA and not the local municipalities etc. Ku ring gai National Park has a request form - for flying over the park. It seems reasonable but yet to try it out. They require that your drone is registered - which is not ideal. CASA has the sole authority over airspace so they override Municipal and Law Enforcement Officers here (as long as you abide with CASA laws).

There are some places that you can take off - Balgowlah (SYD) and get some good aerials over the park.

Do Magpies (birds) have CASA accreditation? I have been attacked or befriended on a number of times recently.

 

[JimSteadman]

Any restrictions in Northern Territories? Will be coming to OZ in the next year or so.

 

[Gagey52]

Any restrictions in Northern Territories? Will be coming to OZ in the next year or so.

Just the usual Jim, some National Parks have a permit system, many don’t. But their is still plenty of interesting places to fly.
Regards

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Yes, the laws are wacky in Australia.

Cheers Glen.
Just the different regulations between states and councils regarding where one can operate from is hard enough.

In the USA the airspace is owned by the FAA and not the local municipalities etc.

So too here, CASA has airspace authority, not any local land management dept.
Some have tried terminology like 'no flying over' land under their care, but they can't, just like the US and other countries (UK and National Trust for example).

Ku ring gai National Park has a request form - for flying over the park. It seems reasonable but yet to try it out. They require that your drone is registered - which is not ideal. CASA has the sole authority over airspace so they override Municipal and Law Enforcement Officers here (as long as you abide with CASA laws).

I once thought NSW Parks was reasonable to get permits from, but other pilots in NSW here have found it difficult.
Coupled with the fact drone flights are very often spontaneous, and that makes getting a permit very hard in reality.

Drones are not yet registerable for hobbyists (and then it will likely be just pilot accreditation), so this sort of lends itself to permits possibly being available to RePL holders only ?

Do Magpies (birds) have CASA accreditation? I have been attacked or befriended on a number of times recently.

They are out.
Yet to have an encounter with any, in the air or on the ground.

 

[Elthree]

Do Magpies (birds) have CASA accreditation? I have been attacked or befriended on a number of times recently.

It's crows which have been restricting my flights most recently in Melbourne.
They're very territorial, and seem to have claimed the airspace nearby.
Hopefully this will ease off (with the magpies too) once chicks fledge.

 

[Glenh]

Some useful information on the subject of Drone flying in Australia.

https://www.drones.gov.au/

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Some useful information on the subject of Drone flying in Australia.

https://www.drones.gov.au/

Good to see yet more pointers to CASA info, can't have too much to assist new pilots finding info.

Also, good to see links to various state drone rules and privacy being addressed.
The links are quite 'deep', covering many council policies too.

Just checked the one designated UAV designated park in Adelaide City Council district.
I've had the idea a few times in the past to go there and just have a fly, as it is in general an area you wouldn't promote any sort of model aircraft use, being under the ADL airport approach / departure area . . . and the ACC does NOT mention anywhere in the guidelines that there are 40m and 50m altitude restrictions from CASA to fly there !!

Shame though, their policy on what can be flown there is VERY limited, almost all regular consumer drones are out with a camera fitted

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