Published: 20 December 2018

With Christmas at our doorstep and drones looking to be one of the most popular presents once again, even Santa has ditched his reindeer for a fleet of drones. So whether you’re Santa or Santana, here are 10 tips to think about when flying your drone this festive season.

1. Keep an eye on it, preferably two

Hope you ate your carrots as a child because you need to be able to see your drone at all times when flying. That unfortunately also means you’re generally not allowed to use those awesome First Person View (FPV) immersive goggles unless you join a club authorised by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA).

2. No higher than the Great Pyramid of Giza

You’re not allowed to fly higher than 400 feet AGL (Above Ground Level), which is about 120 metres, so about 35-storeys, which is a bit lower than the tip of the Great Pyramid.

The ‘Above Ground Level’ reference is there because if you’re standing on top of Mount Kosciuszko where your ground level is already 2,200-odd metres above sea level, then 120 metres above ground level has you flying at about 2,320 metres above sea level. I’m not advocating that you fly your drone on Mount Kosciuszko, just making the distinction.

Although if you do want to fly in a National Park, you should first check with the local rangers because sadly, some National Parks have restrictions on drones while others don’t allow drones to be flown at all.

The sky’s the limit – well, up to 120 metres.

3. Day flights only folks

Even if your drone has sweet LED’s where it’s probably way more visible and safer at night, unfortunately this is not allowed. Jury is out as to whether some amazing sunset drone photography is allowed, just get down before it’s nightfall.

4. 30-metre person perimeter

Stay on the lookout for others because you are not to fly within 30 metres of a person not directly associate with your flight.

5. No flying in a ‘prohibited area’

This rule is about as grey as the audience at an Andre Rieu concert. Let’s try to explain it as simply a possible. The Civil Aviation Safety Regulations tell us that the details of prohibited and restricted areas are published in the AIP or NOTAM. If you’re not a pilot, you’re probably thinking “NAA” i.e. Not Another Acronym.

At the risk of another acronym: FYI, the AIP = the Aeronautical Information Package, provided by Airservices Australia; and NOTAM = Notice to Airmen (I’d prefer NOTAP – “People”, because both men and women fly too!)

You can get some more information on AIP’s here.

As to NOTAM’s, check out this site.

This stuff gets pretty technical so it may be worth getting some training and/or guidance if you are unsure.

6. No play in the RA

RA is another acronym for ‘Restricted Area’ and they are numbered RA3, RA2 and RA1 where the number refers to the types of restricted area. RA1 is the least restrictive, whereas RA3 covers hardcore no-go zones, think military airspace.

This means that you can’t fly in any of these UNLESS you have the permission of the authority controlling the area.

Again, this stuff gets pretty technical, so it may be worth getting some training and/or guidance. One way to help you avoid inadvertently flying over the Lucas Heights Nuclear Reactor is to check out CASA’s ‘Can I Fly There?’ App.

7. Thou Shalt Not Fly in a ‘Populous Area’…Popu-what?

If you haven’t come across the word ‘populous’ before, join the club. Populous is of Latin origin meaning ‘people’. So…don’t fly over the people? Well, pretty much.

While ‘populous’ isn’t an acronym, it’s nonetheless another confusing concept to add to the list. Ok, let’s try to wrap our heads around this.

The definition of ‘populous’ in the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations is, to be frank, bloody confusing. Let’s use the quote credited to Einstein – “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not Simpler” The definition in its complete glory can be accessed here.

In short, a populous area is an area where there are enough people around where if your drone conks out it would pose an unreasonable risk to life, safety or property of someone in the area not connected to your flying. CASA gives some examples of populous areas such as as festivals, sporting ovals, busy beaches, busy roads and footpaths.