Metro Vancouver BC Canada Pilots

[Detritalgeo]

It would be great to have the bylaws summarized here.. I have read any city park across metro-van has anti-rc aircraft bylaws... it is an incredible pain (it seems) to find anywhere to legally fly,.. Even just to hover to test out the gear lol..

 

[Kazo]

New Mavic Air pilot in Richmond, and also just go my Basic Pilot Certificate (what a pain!!!) on Saturday.

Flew for the first time on Saturday afternoon at a closed construction site in South Van, only to find out later that this was not a legal site.

Be very careful which app/map you use to determine safe fly zones. The DJI map does not properly reflect the NAVCAN restricted zones. See the two maps below, DJI on the left, NAVCAN on the right. Very different. According to the DJI map, areas such as downtown, Stanley Park, Steveston are OK, but they are not OK according to NAVCAN.

View attachment 75395 View attachment 75396

Well I think that NAVCAN map is not current (with the new regulations), whereby DJI is working with the authorities to have drones included on approved list and their map is probably more current to comply with the regulations. For some reading about past restriction (2015) is attached document below.
We can hope that NAVCAN comes with the update. However in conditions of the operations (new ones) there's no mention of compliance with NAVCAM, only hard boundaries from the airports, heliports , people etc. and flight height restriction. We have to comply with that.
https://flitelab.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/vr-fir-uav-best-practices-vruav-2015-final.pdf

 

[VancityS4]

Well I think that NAVCAN map is not current (with the new regulations), whereby DJI is working with the authorities to have drones included on approved list and their map is probably more current to comply with the regulations. For some reading about past restriction (2015) is attached document below.
We can hope that NAVCAN comes with the update. However in conditions of the operations (new ones) there's no mention of compliance with NAVCAM, only hard boundaries from the airports, heliports , people etc. and flight height restriction. We have to comply with that.
https://flitelab.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/vr-fir-uav-best-practices-vruav-2015-final.pdf

Hmm, hate to disagree but I don't think you are correct.

In addition to the hard boundaries, the Basic Pilot Certificate clearly states "Remain in uncontrolled airspace" and, according to NAVCAN (Government of Canada!), everything in the red area is controlled airspace. The map overview also states:

"The map uses colour to identify areas that require additional caution, or are prohibited from drone flights. Areas filled with red are prohibited. Areas filled with yellow require additional caution due to other air traffic. Areas filled with orange require permission from the Nav Canada, Parks Canada, National Defence, or an airport operator."

Seems pretty clear that with a Basic Pilot Certificate we cannot legally fly in any of the red zones, which is roughly the entire west side of the city (west of Burnaby) extending from the North Shore to the US border.

More input welcome on this subject as this is a BIG deal for us in the Vancouver area.

 

[Kazo]

Well, had to do bit of digging, as everyone suspects low altitude restrictions outside airports don't make sense, no aircraft (except helicopter) flies around at/ below 400ft,
so this is print from the interactive map for 700ft and below airspace:
Don't quote me , but everywhere else you should be fine, and in the violet you should get permission if you have advanced license - NFZ otherwise.

violet - surface to 2500ft
green -surface to 4000-8000ft

play with it here:
Canadian Airspace Viewer

and current NAV canada publication: http://www.navcanada.ca/EN/products-and-services/Documents/DAH_Current_EN.pdf

 

[f13dfx]

Hello all, I'm here too. I've flown a couple times out at deer lake park, south-west corner.
Is that the only"seems"to be legal place to fly?
thxs

Is flying at this location at Deer Lake Park still allowed. Checked City of Burnaby bylaws but didn’t see anything prohibiting drones.

 

[Detritalgeo]

Is flying at this location at Deer Lake Park still allowed. Checked City of Burnaby bylaws but didn’t see anything prohibiting drones.

I have heard that all parks across metro van prohibit drones.. But at least in the case of NewWest it relates to some archaic bylaw from a pre-RPAS so it was addressing the use of RC-plane in parks I assume.

It would be good the have a clear metro-van list compiled of where it is not prohibited instead of leaving people to guess..

 

[drone111]

I'll help those wondering about where to fly very easily.

You can't fly near an airport and have 3 nautical miles. But some airports have control zones that extend FARTHER than the 3 nautical miles and your not allowed to fly in there with your basic drone license. A control zone starts at GROUND level and goes up, which includes anything below 400ft. So if you are flying in a control zone with your basic drone license you are flying illegally.

IF you have your advanced one you can fly there PROVIDING you have nav canada approval.

Any questions just ask.

Update/edit: OH and where are the control zones, if your in vancouver you're best to buy a VTA map that will show you, otherwise some services like airmap seem to be up to date and will show you the control zones.

 

[f13dfx]

I'll help those wondering about where to fly very easily.

You can't fly near an airport and have 3 nautical miles. But some airports have control zones that extend FARTHER than the 3 nautical miles and your not allowed to fly in there with your basic drone license. A control zone starts at GROUND level and goes up, which includes anything below 400ft. So if you are flying in a control zone with your basic drone license you are flying illegally.

IF you have your advanced one you can fly there PROVIDING you have nav canada approval.

Any questions just ask.

Update/edit: OH and where are the control zones, if your in vancouver you're best to buy a VTA map that will show you, otherwise some services like airmap seem to be up to date and will show you the control zones.

So as I’m looking at AirMap, anything inside the Blue & Purple Zones are all No Fly Zones?

 

[f13dfx]

 

[VancityS4]

Yes, that's certainly my understanding. Since NAVCAN is the governing authority in Canada, I'm using their map as i posted in post 79 above. Anything red is controlled airspace, and flying in controlled airspace is forbidden. Seems pretty clear.

 

[drone111]

Correct, these are all controlled airpsaces. you can't fly where there is a circle. FURTHER , airmap does not list all of the restricted airspace. Eg: Niagara falls say your clear to fly over it (on the canadian side of the border) HOWEVER ... its restricted airspace. Not by an airport, not a control zone, its restricted by actual planes right down to the ground. UAV's are not allowed there and you can easily be fined.

The only way you will find that out is on a VNC/VTA map that you can buy at basically any private airport. Walk in, get a map, they are very useful. A lot of what you need to know will depend on how to read a VNC/VTA/VFR map.

Edit: Adding: Now with your advanced license you can fly in all these areas as long as you get nav canada's approval. You can even fly in restricted airspace if you get nav canada's approval but I imagine you'll need a dam good reason... eg. Filming a commercial for Ontario's travel and tourism might get you an exception for flying over Niagara falls.

 

[VancityS4]

Correct, these are all controlled airpsaces. you can't fly where there is a circle. FURTHER , airmap does not list all of the restricted airspace. Eg: Niagara falls say your clear to fly over it (on the canadian side of the border) HOWEVER ... its restricted airspace. Not by an airport, not a control zone, its restricted by actual planes right down to the ground. UAV's are not allowed there and you can easily be fined.

The only way you will find that out is on a VNC/VTA map that you can buy at basically any private airport. Walk in, get a map, they are very useful. A lot of what you need to know will depend on how to read a VNC/VTA/VFR map.

Edit: Adding: Now with your advanced license you can fly in all these areas as long as you get nav canada's approval. You can even fly in restricted airspace if you get nav canada's approval but I imagine you'll need a dam good reason... eg. Filming a commercial for Ontario's travel and tourism might get you an exception for flying over Niagara falls.

For Canadian airspace, I "think" the NAVCAN Drone Selection Tool is clear and complete. Big red circles around Niagara Falls, which is different from AirMap, and VERY different from GO. Would be interesting to see how closely the NAVCAN map compares to the paper maps you mentioned. I would hope they would be the same as, surely, NAVCAN has it right.

As I said before, I'm going to rely on the NAVCAN map as they are the governing authority. If you get nailed, I don't think they will care that AirMap or GO show it is OK to fly in a particular area.

Here's a link if anybody needs it: Drone site selection tool | National Research Council Canada

 

[drone111]

For Canadian airspace, I "think" the NAVCAN Drone Selection Tool is clear and complete. Big red circles around Niagara Falls, which is different from AirMap, and VERY different from GO. Would be interesting to see how closely the NAVCAN map compares to the paper maps you mentioned. I would hope they would be the same as, surely, NAVCAN has it right.

As I said before, I'm going to rely on the NAVCAN map as they are the governing authority. If you get nailed, I don't think they will care that AirMap or GO show it is OK to fly in a particular area.

Here's a link if anybody needs it: Drone site selection tool | National Research Council Canada

Think its odd that some of the smaller airports have an "x" shape around them and not a circle? If the transport canada rules say a radius, any idea why this map shows otherwise?

 

[drone111]

It would be great to have the bylaws summarized here.. I have read any city park across metro-van has anti-rc aircraft bylaws... it is an incredible pain (it seems) to find anywhere to legally fly,.. Even just to hover to test out the gear lol..

Correct me if i'm wrong but if the park doesn't say remote control aircraft are banned... then your ok if you do this .... the airspace ABOVE the park is not theirs to control, the part they "get you" is taking off from the park. So it might be fair to assume .... if you drive to the park (or if your allowed to drive into the park) then you can put the drone on the roof of your car and take off - since motor vehicles are allowed in that spot because obviously your car is there and so is your drone)... once you take off, you are no longer "in the park" as your drone is regulated by transport canada and nav canada and not the park authority. Just land your drone back on top of your car.

Anyone see any issues with this?

 

[Detritalgeo]

I can see your point of exploiting technicalities, I assume by that logic we can fly into national parks as the regs only state no take-offs or landings.

I imagine that either way, if there is an uninformed complaint, it's still not a fun day.

 

[drone111]

I can see your point of exploiting technicalities, I assume by that logic we can fly into national parks as the regs only state no take-offs or landings.

I imagine that either way, if there is an uninformed complaint, it's still not a fun day.

With the way the media perceives drone fliers if you have a drone, it will happen sooner or later because uniformed people will assume your operating without a license even if you are.... and those same people think a camera is watching them when your flying your drone and they have been taught by the media as (see drone = call police)... sad.

 

[Yarko]

Hi! New Mavic Pilot here, based in Port Moody. Testing my Air on Bowen this weekend. Happy to meet up with others sometime!

 

[f13dfx]

Welcome from Richmond!

 

[Yarko]

This is the site I'm using to check airspace, anyone else doing same? I like how you can filter by altitude and other factors. Canadian Airspace

 

[f13dfx]

This is the site I'm using to check airspace, anyone else doing same? I like how you can filter by altitude and other factors. Canadian Airspace

I use the National Research Council Drone Setup Tool here:

https://nrc.canada.ca/en/drone-tool/flightMap.php