Queensland gets it right with Drone parks

[deleted member 877]

Well having these 10 sites is far better than the ONE that BCC originally had, can’t remember where that was or if it’s one of the places available now, but that was a woeful effort for ratepayers and visitors wanting to have a bit of a fly.

Out of interest I went to the park on Voyager Dr Kuraby today.
A strip for pilots to stand, seperated by some vegetation overlooking an oval shape patch of mowed grass about 60m x 30m.
Less than 30m from the north end of the patch is a children’s playground, and further all round is quite thick scrub and tall trees.
Quite ok for new flyers to practice basics of flying their UAVs, but very uninspiring for experienced pilots looking for an interesting place to film / photograph.
I didn’t bother putting my MP up.

You're right about these parks being pretty ordinary but providing interesting places to fly drones was not the Council's intention. I only use them to test settings and travel to the coast or out in the country for the serious stuff.

 

[AnzacJack]

if anyone wishes to take council or local governments to task on local laws vs federal laws, join the Australian Association for Unmanned Systems. This national body has consulted with aviation lawyers and will advocate fro anyone wishing to fight any charges. I went to a conference a couple of moths ago that was based mainly of fed and aviation law and jurisdictions. At the end of the day, legal experts say that local restrictions will not stand up as long as all CASA rules are followed.
i believe there is a bloke in Darwin planning to fight such a case, but at the end of the day, until this is tested in court, who knows what precedent could be set.
id love to test it, but time and $ better spent on my next project

 

[AnzacJack]

You're right about these parks being pretty ordinary but providing interesting places to fly drones was not the Council's intention. I only use them to test settings and travel to the coast or out in the country for the serious stuff.

i think low profile is best course of action

 

[AnzacJack]

our biggest problem is staying on top of what local laws want. I thought i was all over that Brisbane Council expectations, but have found they have again been rewritten. Without some form of registration, there is no way for information to be disseminated to all.

also looking at those sites, for anyone flying at Carindale and Preston Rd, look up at pretty much anytime of day and watch all the aircraft flying directly over you on approach into Brisbane. Sure they are higher by far than 400ft, but i would not feel comfortable flying here. I always like to have worst case scenario in mind, and those big jets are coming in low.

 

[deleted member 877]

our biggest problem is staying on top of what local laws want. I thought i was all over that Brisbane Council expectations, but have found they have again been rewritten. Without some form of registration, there is no way for information to be disseminated to all.

also looking at those sites, for anyone flying at Carindale and Preston Rd, look up at pretty much anytime of day and watch all the aircraft flying directly over you on approach into Brisbane. Sure they are higher by far than 400ft, but i would not feel comfortable flying here. I always like to have worst case scenario in mind, and those big jets are coming in low.

Chill out. Stay below 400 feet and there is ZERO potential for conflict with commercial aircraft - no point in even worrying about that kind of worst-case scenario unless you fly too high.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

I was surprised to see no signage whatsoever and Kuraby too, no sign indicating that is the right spot (it must be as it’s the only groomed part within 500m either way), nor anything advising the public of possible drone flying activity.

Anyway, thankfully when I visit QLD for work trips, at least I can legally hunt out some beaut National Parks to do some bushwalking and flying.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

You're right about these parks being pretty ordinary but providing interesting places to fly drones was not the Council's intention. I only use them to test settings and travel to the coast or out in the country for the serious stuff.

They’d be fine for some fpv racing mini course setup, provided it was club sanctioned to fly fpv etc.

I fly some big parks, rivers, etc in suburban areas, not bcc, but use my head, generally early morn light, skip dusk / sunsets as there are generally people about then.

 

[AnzacJack]

Chill out. Stay below 400 feet and there is ZERO potential for conflict with commercial aircraft - no point in even worrying about that kind of worst-case scenario unless you fly too high.

Not a matter of being chilled out, but thanks for advice.
I’m more concerned with public perception of being seen flying under that flight path. Also the problem of those that don’t follow our altitude limit. There are so many more appropriate paths that could have been chosen

 

[deleted member 877]

Not a matter of being chilled out, but thanks for advice.
I’m more concerned with public perception of being seen flying under that flight path. Also the problem of those that don’t follow our altitude limit. There are so many more appropriate paths that could have been chosen

There's a big sign indicating that the area is a drone park for the public to see - so I would suggest that the public perception is positive. Furthermore, I have discussed this with someone at BCC who informed me that they consulted with CASA before allocating the drone parks. What more could they do?

As for the "problem" of those who don't follow our altitude limit, how can you even estimate how often that actually occurs? I doubt very much that it is a problem at all.

 

[AnzacJack]

Ok, I’m not inclined to argue with you. Merely saying I think it could have been done better, and that I personally don’t like flying under approaching aircraft, reguardless of altitude. Maybe my 20 years RAAF operational experience has shown me plenty of examples of where things can go wrong and guiding my personal opinion

As you have already stated, if we fly following CASA regs, there should be no problems, and really no need for designated parks.