Transport Canada's Updated UAV Rules

What does everyone think of the new rules? Ive been flying 3 years and just bought the mavic which comes under the new weight. It seems to me that the biggest threat to hobbyists is the bylaws, in cities like Calgary you can only fly it over your house and not over parks or a street and you can't fly in any national or provincial park so it's almost getting a pointless hobby.
 
At first glance I don't see a difference....

Actually there is quite a difference in the new updated version.............

1. You don't need an SFOC (special flight operations certificate for all work related use of drones) - prior to this release you did (UAV over 35kg SFOC is still required) - huge change here (been available for a while now however)!

- UAV 35kg or less for example you can fly commercially without an SFOC - e.g. agriculture research, crop inspections, real estate filming (restricted to just that property) as long as you are flying and filming away from densely populated areas, highways and the usual list of where not to fly. There is a list of exemptions that you must meet to fly commercially without an SFOC - but bottom line is, you can fly n film commercially without the SFOC now and the exemptions are not by any means very restrictive at all.

If you meet the exemptions to fly commercially without an SFOC you need to provide Transport Canada with is.......

- your contact info
- UAV model
- Description of operation
- Geographical boundaries of operation (within VLOS) - lets face it if you are doing shoot for a customer for whatever 90% of the time you are flying VLOS anyway.

Having 3rd party liability insurance is suggested plus you do need to have ID markings on your UAV - just a couple of the requirements for non SFOC commercial flights

If you do require an SFOC and have a good flight record using an SFOC they will give you a "blanket SFOC" that is good for 3 years. In other words - reward you for safe flying (also been around for a while - takes around 20 days to get an SFOC and a couple of months for the blanket SFOC - again not as restrictive as you might think.

Flying as a hobby or recreational you don't have to register your UAV (under 35kg).

2. They have also outlined BVLOS to include...........(SFOC is required for BVLOS flight)
  • BVLOS flights cannot take place outside of restricted airspace, unless the operator can mitigate risk to an acceptable level i.e. through the use of ground-based radar
  • BVLOS flights must not be conducted over populated areas
  • BVLOS flights must be conducted in visual meteorological conditions
  • BVLOS flights cannot be conducted within controlled airspace
  • BVLOS flights can only be conducted within 5 nautical miles of the point of departure
  • The take-off and landing/recovery must be conducted within visual line-of-sight
  • Direct radio line-of-sight capability must be maintained throughout the operating area
Plenty of other info on the site but the changes are less restrictive than a lot of other countries.
 
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That is fantastic news!! I have not read the release yet but shall do. Thanks for posting.

Phantom P4 weighs in at 1.38kg

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I will say the Don't of "Closer than 150 metres from people, animals, buildings, structures, or vehicles" where I live will be challenging.
 

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