DJI Mavic pilots - Australia

[StevietheWorm]

The MP was my first drone, still love it, does what I ask and get pretty decent footage.
All I've done is put the Platinum 8331 props on it, it's so quiet, much less intrusive than my Spark.



That would be the drone I'll upgrade to, if / when I feel the need
Mostly for that camera.

Bunnings, now yeah ! The special orders desk can get you an amazing array of products you don't normally expect.
And usually they will beat pricing by 10% and have a great returns policy etc.

You won't see DJI instore, but go to their website and search
Pricing very high, but the price beat policy is there to use.

The Hasselblad camera is a worthy upgrade, I can see it in the pics but I do miss the zoom functionality.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

The Hasselblad camera is a worthy upgrade, I can see it in the pics but I do miss the zoom functionality.

I'm not that familiar with the M2P camera detail, does it have any zoom, even a little digital ?
I expect you may have had a M2Z ?
(Edit - just saw your post again from before, shame about M2Z meets mountain !)
Have seen a few pic examples of that in some threads here, it does look impressive for getting a better look / photos while keeping distance from wildlife etc.
I think for what I like doing, it'd be the M2P though, but don't think I could part with the MP anyway :/

 

[StevietheWorm]

Only had it a day so I may have missed it, but I don't think so. Given the higher res pictures it takes you can crop in to 12mp and achieve a zoom that way but it's not as effective or helpful as doing it on the fly. The biggest benefit for me, and the main reason I didn't get a zoom again was for the low light shots you can get with the M2P.

Yes, had the M2Z and went for the M2P this time.

 

[bushie]

Welcome JSM, and Kaz . . . I have a son in Melbourne, and a nephew in Mackay !
I grew up in Bowen Kaz, some nice place up there in NQ to film . . . and lucky you, in QLD all the National Parks are ok to fly to CASA guidelines

Lived in Townsville for many years. Also spent a few years in Bowen building the Abbot point and Newlands railway.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Lived in Townsville for many years. Also spent a few years in Bowen building the Abbot point and Newlands railway.

Townsville, how that place has changed, we used to go up there maybe once a month or two with the parents, seemed like a big drive as kids, but not so much later years.
Some very picturesque scenery with all the Burdekin cane region on the way, lovely little towns, and big Queenslanders (stately homes) on the properties.

Abbott Pt development was a little bit after I was a teen up there Bushie.
I remember the controversy reading the papers down here about Abbott Pt development.

Dad used to take us (2 brothers) up to Keila (sp?) Valley from the time we could wade without drowning (lol) in the swamps, and go duck hunting during the season . . . 12 Sundays a year, from 2pm - 4pm (I think it was, may have been 6pm), bag limit 12 ducks per hunter.
The place was so natural then, no development.

We'd cut small pines down on the first day driving up, to set up your hide / spot for the season on the edge of your favourite waterhole.
Bodies covered in petroleum jelly to help prevent 'duck itch' from small biting parasites in the water.
Drove home-made crude timber platform seats on about 10' long wooden nailed to 2x2 stakes into the mud to sit on, 12 weekends later they'd be driven right down to water level (or slightly below !) by your weight while sitting in them, decoys out on the water.
Flocks of black, whistler, teal or such would come in to land, you'd stand on try on hit one at 60+km/hr etc as they winged in (dad thought it was poor form to shoot them on the water).

They were great times as kids up there, thanks for the memory jolt.

 

[Kaz Mavic Pro]

No worries mate, and the rules for National Park varies around the country . . .

QLD and WA, all good to fly to CASA rules, plus don't annoy wildlife.
NT you can apply and get relativley easily a permit to fly as a hobbyist.
NSW I believe you can approach local parks offices and ask if ok to fly (sensible simple flight plan to show you're empathetic to all visitors, and safe).
SA, VIC, and TAS are very hard to get permission as hobbyists, even licenced pilots have to jump through hoops.

Even in the banned states, you can take off from outside park boundaries, and fly OVER, but with VLOS rule, well it's still basically a ban in reality.

Hopefully that might change with upcoming hobbyist licensing and drone registration etc coming in.

Thanks so much. So drone rego will be a thing here?

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Yep.
Plus a couple of other small imposts on legal flyers.
A simple online test so they know you know the rules.
You will have to put your hobbyists rego number on your drone(s).
Edit - and pay your annual fee, supposedly going to be fairly low, around $20 a year.

I wonder what all the cowboy flyers have to do, the ones that won’t bother with any of it.

Not sure how CASA will educate the public about the changes.
Maybe media blitz and leaflets mandatory with new drone sales ?

 

[grinder]

Yep.
Plus a couple of other small imposts on legal flyers.
A simple online test so they know you know the rules.
You will have to put your hobbyists rego number on your drone(s).
Edit - and pay your annual fee, supposedly going to be fairly low, around $20 a year.

I wonder what all the cowboy flyers have to do, the ones that won’t bother with any of it.

Not sure how CASA will educate the public about the changes.
Maybe media blitz and leaflets mandatory with new drone sales ?

It will start out as a simple $20 fee. Within 3 years the government will be talking cost recovery for CASA, online exam and education marketing blitz. The fee will likely hit $200 p.a. within 5 years. They will probably mandate insurance in that time. Surprise surprise interest in drones drops and the commercial aspect falls away because hobby flyers (the incubator for most commercial drone pilots) will become an endangered species.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

It will start out as a simple $20 fee. Within 3 years the government will be talking cost recovery for CASA, online exam and education marketing blitz. The fee will likely hit $200 p.a. within 5 years. They will probably mandate insurance in that time. Surprise surprise interest in drones drops and the commercial aspect falls away because hobby flyers (the incubator for most commercial drone pilots) will become an endangered species.

That could well be true mate.
Nothing surprises me with GOVCO, they are always looking to create new industry where it's not really needed, they need more $$$ coming from new sources constantly to keep the house of cards standing ?

I personally feel that if there are the majority of hobbyist drone flyers signed up all legit, the costs to register and monitor alone would be quite negligible, probably a $20 per hobbyist would cover this from an administrative aspect.
This would be a reactive system, like they have now . . . all rules, and no / little proactive enforcement.

However if they pursue enforcement strongly, Aerospace technology brought into all controlled airspace, someone to monitor and act on this (a small team required at major airports), other enforcement at major events, a group in some little control room somewhere scrolling social media pages looking for indiscretions, etc, then it would be a huge ongoing cost.

Personally, I feel like I will go for my RePL fairly soon anyway, the cost is coming down to a fairly reasonable level now.
I would only register one drone, and (not 100% sure about this) would one still have to register as a hobbyist to fly for personal time in the air ?
Not sure, but I expect that is possible.
You would have your commercial drone rego # and personal info on your commercial drone, and others just your ARN or whatever they require hobbyists to display on their machines.

Or maybe RePL holders can just use their existing ARN on their non commercial drones.
Who knows as yet.

I would like RePL to enable safe (legal) personal flights at night for some cool city lights photography and such, but still have to check out if doing so for a non specific client requires operation under someones ReOC ??

 

[Choppers]

choppers .Just joined ,from north east Vic .hope to learn a lot from everyone's mistakes as I make many more.lol

 

[noosaguy]

Welcome Choppers. Have fun stay safe.

 

[JSM]

Welcome C, what are you flying?

 

[noosaguy]

Hi guys,
Can some kind soul point me in the right direction for realistic priced drone insurance in Australia?
Please!

 

[JSM]

Hi guys,
Can some kind soul point me in the right direction for realistic priced drone insurance in Australia?
Please!

Check with your House / Content insurer as they may cover you for lost or damaged property; a friend lost a Mavic and was covered by this.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Hi guys,
Can some kind soul point me in the right direction for realistic priced drone insurance in Australia?
Please!

Really depends what kind of insurance.

1. Against theft (from home or vehicle, sometimes off site items are covered)
2. Against loss of equipment while in use (cost of drone itself, replacement / damage repair if crashed)
3. Liability cover against damage to property or person if it hits something / someone.

Item 1. should be coverable under most home contents insurance IF it is specially purchased, mostly nowadays it's an optional extra.
It would be VERY difficult to get items 2. and 3. under hobbyist conditions, but if you have RePL / ReOC and run a drone type biz, any of that should be available . . . would be MUCH more likely to find suitable cover through a broker, they generally have a bit of clout and flexibility with insurers, and can get things done.

Maybe after all this new hobbyist registration / testing etc comes in next year, more options may become available.

 

[Phill]

Check with your House / Content insurer as they may cover you for lost or damaged property; a friend lost a Mavic and was covered by this.

Mine will only cover theft - nothing else.
They rewrote their policies esp for drones.?

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Just remembered what to ask for if theft from vehicle away from home.
They call it 'portable' contents cover, and usually have to ask for it to cover $x worth of drone / photography / computer gear, or whatever ou are taking away from the home location with you.

 

[JSM]

Mine will only cover theft - nothing else.
They rewrote their policies esp for drones.?

Do your homework, there are a couple of Oz Insurers that are still covering for Drones however with excess considerations..................

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Do your homework, there are a couple of Oz Insurers that are still covering for Drones however with excess considerations..................

Can you point out links to these ?
There are specialist drone covers that have become available in recent years, no one "still covers drones" as it's a fairly new development / industry.

AFAIK, QBE has done a fairly good report on drones and insurance considerations in Oz, but they only offer insurance (from a biz cover perspective, loss of equipment, public liability etc) with the condition of being for commercial operators only.
"In order to provide cover for damage to the RPAs itself and accessories/equipment, the operator must hold an ReOC."
Same applies to public liability cover.
ReOC of course requires RePL, which most hobbyists won't want to complete as the 2 combined are quite expensive to undertake and maintain.

Brokers Bill Owen and AB Phillips are others I found a while back touting business drone insurance, again only for licensed commercial operators . . . not sure who underwrites them, didn't look further but probably in the PDS.

It's all moot if @noosaguy is asking as a hobbyist, but he may be an RePL / ReOC holder, so only guessing with cover here anyway.
He may also only want portable contents cover, for theft away from home, which just about any domestic insurer will take on.

 

[noosaguy]

It's all moot if @noosaguy is asking as a hobbyist, but he may be an RePL / ReOC holder, so only guessing with cover here anyway.
He may also only want portable contents cover, for theft away from home, which just about any domestic insurer will take on.

No, I'm a simple hobbyist (with the emphasis on simple )

I let my Mavic cover lapse unintentionally on my M2P and now I get nervous when I fly.