Another Aussie...

[heathkin8]

Hi everyone! I have been flying Phantom 4's for around a year now, both at work and pleasure. Lucky me! I work in a local government organisation and was given the job of managing the organisation's drones. Currently we have two (PHP4+ & PHP4) and I have an Advanced +.

At work we own and manage the local airport which does not have a control tower. That sounds like a huge benefit to the drone pilots but really is not. While the industry, politicians and the manufacturers all struggle to find a balanced approach to the management of these new aircraft, we have to find a way of working both legally and effectively through the mess of regulation and responsibility. I do recognize the issues and sympathize with our local federal body, CASA. I feel like the current environment is unworkable and that there are a huge number of responsible operators in the industry. Surely, together we can come up with a less "Nanny State" like approach.

 

[LuvMyTJ]

Hello,
It is a pleasure to welcome you to the Phantom Pilots forum.
I hope that you will be able to use the forum to further your safety knowledge and for the exchange of innovative ideas and as a resource for current developments in DJI quadcopters.
*GO 4 APP MANUAL: DJI Go 4 Manual

 

[msinger]

Welcome to Phantom Pilots!

 

[heathkin8]

Thank you for the welcome. I am hopeful that this forum is one where we can all work towards a common goal of making this industry one of cooperation and reason. My personal view is that we should not have manufacturers involved the regulation although lets face it, even the automobile industry is now having to embrace a whole raft of rules and regulations as it stumbles ahead into driver-less vehicles. Lets not let the fear mongers influence/control this new industry. I'm possibly trying to close the gate after the horse has bolted on this one but I can only try.

 

[dirkclod]

Welcome to the forum .
I hope you will find our site helpful and look forward to any input , photo's/video's you might post .
Don't be shy and ask anything if you can't find it by searching .

 

[WV. Rootman]

Thank you for the welcome. I am hopeful that this forum is one where we can all work towards a common goal of making this industry one of cooperation and reason. My personal view is that we should not have manufacturers involved the regulation although lets face it, even the automobile industry is now having to embrace a whole raft of rules and regulations as it stumbles ahead into driver-less vehicles. Lets not let the fear mongers influence/control this new industry. I'm possibly trying to close the gate after the horse has bolted on this one but I can only try.

Welcome. I hope things work out well for you. We need someone or organization to be a benchmark.

 

[tevek]

Thank you for the welcome. I am hopeful that this forum is one where we can all work towards a common goal of making this industry one of cooperation and reason. My personal view is that we should not have manufacturers involved the regulation although lets face it, even the automobile industry is now having to embrace a whole raft of rules and regulations as it stumbles ahead into driver-less vehicles. Lets not let the fear mongers influence/control this new industry. I'm possibly trying to close the gate after the horse has bolted on this one but I can only try.

Firstly, welcome to probably the most useful forum out there at the moment. WRT to either product or federal legislation creeping into our hobby, there is a thread raging at the moment regarding the DJI app in the US whereby users have to complete a 'quick quiz' prior to flying. Not a big deal but opinions are divided over whether it's an overeach by DJI in self regulating (for commercial reasons) or whether such a test should exist to prompt users to understand the basic rules for flying.
I suspect that 'feature' will soon be rolled out in Australia in line with CASA's guidelines. Again no big deal, but the kid down the street that's about to get a visit from Santa with his $200 drone package will not have any restrictions on the use of his new toy (height, distance, NFZs and login in requirements) and potentially create more of a hazard than I ever would.
I suspect that when the final report from CASA is released and implemented, there will probably be quite a few switching from platforms like DJI and opting for lower tech offerings that can sneak under the radar, so to speak.

 

[heathkin8]

Thanks for the welcome tevek. I'm still trying to get my head around all these issues and am finding it quite a challenge. Privately I use my drone as a camera with a safer tripod that reaches slightly higher than a ladder. It is probably a bit of overkill but never-the-less it is a great tool. In this arena I am frustrated but understanding of the large number of $200.00 drones from Santa this year that have the potential to create havoc around airfields.

As a government employee, I note the sever restrictions we now have accessing valuable infrastructure for the purposes of inspection and maintenance. WHS is now preventing us to climb our water towers to inspect. We can certify employees to do this but it is expensive, time consuming and we have a high turnover of staff so not efficient. The drone was our solution, it being low cost, safe and extremely effective. I have faith that in this arena government departments can work together without too much regulation getting in the way. I'm an optimist!

From what I have read so far, a large percentage of comments are politically or emotionally motivated. I'm an IT manager and so I hope I look at this from a more logical viewpoint. I somehow doubt that these issues will be resolved logically though.

It was good to make contact with you.

 

[tevek]

Thanks for the welcome tevek. I'm still trying to get my head around all these issues and am finding it quite a challenge. Privately I use my drone as a camera with a safer tripod that reaches slightly higher than a ladder. It is probably a bit of overkill but never-the-less it is a great tool. In this arena I am frustrated but understanding of the large number of $200.00 drones from Santa this year that have the potential to create havoc around airfields.

As a government employee, I note the sever restrictions we now have accessing valuable infrastructure for the purposes of inspection and maintenance. WHS is now preventing us to climb our water towers to inspect. We can certify employees to do this but it is expensive, time consuming and we have a high turnover of staff so not efficient. The drone was our solution, it being low cost, safe and extremely effective. I have faith that in this arena government departments can work together without too much regulation getting in the way. I'm an optimist!

From what I have read so far, a large percentage of comments are politically or emotionally motivated. I'm an IT manager and so I hope I look at this from a more logical viewpoint. I somehow doubt that these issues will be resolved logically though.

It was good to make contact with you.

Having worked under various iterations of either OHS, WHS, HSE, OSHWA and a multitude of other snappy named departments, I'm surprised you haven't received any blow back from them regarding appropriate accreditation for flying that is also underpinned by risk assessments and SOPs. Enjoy it whilst you can.

 

[heathkin8]

I hear you brother...

 

[swansmadman]

I hear you brother...

Welcome to the forum you will find it a great resource to use all members have been very helpful to me great to see another Aussie member join

 

[Loz]

Welcome to the forum you will find it a great resource to use all members have been very helpful to me great to see another Aussie member join

That thread was 2017 but hey I agree welcome [emoji6] [emoji106]

 

[andy p3se]

Hi there all, I'm Andy and live in northern NSW, I personally have never had a bad word from anyone whilst flying the p3se, people here just seem to leave you alone, it's great, but I have got to say, i do try hard to do the right thing. Anybody near Uki?

 

[tempestuous]

If your drone weighs under 2kg a licience is not needed even for professional use... i live in a no fly zone within 5k of canberra airport so going through accreditation so i can atleast test fly at home

Oh yeah and hi guys...haha