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Drone Licence FAQs

If you have been thinking about getting your drone licence you may have a few questions along the way.

Here at Global Drone Solutions, we provide drone courses in person and online Australia-wide.

Common Drone Licence Questions:

Is There A Minimum Age To Become A Drone Pilot?

To become a CASA Certified Drone Pilot you have to be at least 16 years old to get accredited (CASA Drone Accreditation)

If you are simply flying for fun you need to know the Drone Flying Rules.

However if you want to become a licensed drone pilot in Australia and fly for work or an employer you will have to acquire an accreditation from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA). This accreditation is known as a Remote Pilot License (RePL) and it is mandatory for anyone who wants work outside the exclude category for commercial purposes.

Do I Need A License To Fly A Drone?

Like before, you need a drone license that proves you have undertaken CASA-approved drone pilot training if you wish to fly your drone commercially or for an employer. However, if you are only occasionally flying a drone for fun and making no profit from it, you won’t need a drone pilot’s license. You will however need to know the Drone Flying Rules.

Where Can I Fly My Drone?

For safety, there are a few rules surrounding where you can fly a drone, when you can fly a drone, and how high your drone can go.

  • Always ensure you can see your drone at all times with your own eyes
  • Only fly your drone during the day
  • Avoid flying your drone through smoke, fog, cloud
  • Do not fly your drone behind anything that obstructs your view
  • Only fly one drone at a time
  • Do not fly your drone any closer than 30m to members of the public
  • Do not fly your drone over or above people at any time
  • Do not fly near any emergency operations
  • Do not fly your drone near or above a prohibited or controlled airspace

What Happens If My Drone Goes Out Of Range?

If your drone goes out of range it can have several potential outcomes, depending on the design of the drone and its control system.

For example:

  1. Smaller models may lose power and fall to the ground
  2. Some can potentially fly off course
  3. Other drone models may return to their starting point, or they may stabilise and hover until you can reach a place where you can get back in range

What happens to your drone when it goes out of range will depend entirely on the make and model of your drone equipment.

What Careers Are There For Someone With A Drone Licence?

If you have been wondering whether you can make money with your drone, we are here to tell you that this is completely possible. Many industries are crying out for qualified drone pilots and they are willing to pay great rates for someone who has the skills they need.

Industries needing drone pilots include:

  • Film and media Industry
  • Engineering maintenance companies
  • Asset Inspections
  • Resource Industry
  • Agriculture
  • Disaster / Emergency Services

A drone license opens up a variety of career opportunities in a number of industries, the above is just a short list of sample career opportunities.

What are the essential drone safety rules I need to follow?

1. Keep it under 120 metres:
Make sure your drone doesn’t go higher than 120 metres above the ground.

2. Maintain a 30-metre distance from people:
Always keep your drone at least 30 metres away from other people and never fly directly over anyone.

3. Daylight hours only:
Avoid flying your drone at night.

4. Avoid crowded areas:
Don’t fly your drone over populated areas.

5. Prevent hazards:
Do not fly your drone in a way that could be dangerous to other people, aircraft or property.

6. Keep visual contact:
Always keep your drone within your line of sight. Avoid flying in conditions where your vision is impaired.

7. Steer clear of emergency situations:
Do not fly near areas where there are emergency operations.

8. Maintain distance from aerodromes:
For drones over 250 grams, stay at least 5.5 km away from controlled airports. If your drone is 250 grams or less, you can fly up to 45 metres high within this zone, but stay outside the airport boundary. Keep your drone away from paths used for takeoff and landing.

9. Move away from smaller airports:
Near smaller, uncontrolled airports, you can fly within 5.5 km, but keep your drone away from nearby aircrafts.

10. Keep clear of helicopter landing sites:
You cannot fly your drone within 1.4 km of a helicopter landing site.

11. Recreational vs. commercial use:
If you’re flying your drone recreationally, there’s no need for registration or accreditation. However, if you’re using it for work, you’ll need to register your drone and obtain a licence or accreditation.

12. Use a drone safety app:
Use a drone safety app to check where you can and can’t fly. Some recommended CASA-verified drone safety apps are Aerologix, FlyFreely and ok2fly by Avsoft.

Get in touch.

If getting high-quality drone training and finally getting your hands on your drone licence sounds like something you want to do, Global Drone Solutions are here to help you along the way.

With our CASA Certified Drone Pilot Training, you can be confident you are getting the best training to give you the ultimate head start in your chosen industry.

Call us on (08) 9355 0687 or use our online contact form to see how our expert team can help you.

Contact us

(08) 9355 0687

/ Office

1300 437 663

(1300 4DRONES)

sales@gdronesolutions.com

/ Course Information

info@gdronesolutions.com

/ General Enquiries
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Office

(08) 9355 0687

1300 437 663

(1300 4DRONES)

Course Information

sales@gdronesolutions.com

General Enquiries

info@gdronesolutions.com

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