UAVNZ Welcomes Drone-specific Rules

UAVNZ Welcomes Drone-specific Rules

Wednesday 26 August 2015 “UAVNZ believes the new Civil Aviation Rules are a great step towards recognising the significant potential and rapid growth of the drone industry by not applying a one size fits all model and by allowing for technology advancements such as First Person View (FPV) systems,” said Shaun Mitchell, Chairman of UAVNZ, the national industry organisation for Unmanned Aircraft.

Mitchell explains “instead of all flyers operating under model aircraft rules, with the introduction of Part 102 there is now the opportunity to apply for an unmanned aircraft operator certificate [UAOC] if you wish to operate outside of Part 101 restrictions.”

The rules were discussed as part of UAVNZ’s recent inaugural meeting. Its executive committee supports the creation of Civil Aviation Rules for drones. Chairman Shaun Mitchell states “UAVNZ, a division of Aviation NZ, is the industry body representing NZ Commercial UAV operators” and, Mitchell explains, “from discussions so far with our members we expect a large proportion of them to apply to the CAA for a UAOC.”

Mitchell acknowledges there has been some negative reaction to the rules from people who think they are onerous for hobbyist flyers. However in his view a safe, shared airspace requires all flyers to understand their obligations including how high they are flying, where they are flying and respecting safety and privacy, as well as understanding the Civil Aviation Rules.

Mitchell also suggests that some of the new additions to Part 101 help both recreational and commercial flyers, “for instance requiring operators to have knowledge of the airspace designation should contribute to a safer environment through flyers understanding if they are in controlled airspace, a low flying zone, or military operating area”.

“Also, Part 101’s ‘shielded operations’ should enable flying to occur without Air Traffic Control (ATC) authorisation for hobby and recreational flying. A ‘shielded operation’ is generally an operation within 100m of and below the top of a natural or man-made object (e.g. a tree or building), outside an aerodrome and with a physical barrier between an aerodrome and the UAV,” said Mitchell.

UAVNZ understands people may have concerns around the new UAV/drone industry and is drafting a code of conduct that all members will be required to sign covering the expectation that members will understand and adhere to Civil Aviation Rules, act responsibly and safely, and respect existing privacy laws. Mitchell suggests commercial operators should join UAVNZ to make sure their views are heard and represented on topics such as Civil Aviation Rules.

UAVNZ is a collaborator on www.airshare.co.nz with Airways, CAA and Callaghan Innovation and encourages people to join the airshare buzz. Airshare aims to help UAV owners and flyers understand their responsibilities by providing information on the Civil Aviation Rules to operate drones safely, log flights, request access to controlled airspace, and view dynamic airspace maps to understand for instance if you are in a control zone.

ENDS

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