This prompted Narooma police to remind all drone owners that new legislation from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority is now in force.

From September 29, if you are flying for any form of economic gain, you need to have an RPA (remotely piloted aircraft) operator’s certificate, or if you're flying an drone weighing less than two kilograms, simply notify CASA.

If you are flying for fun and not commercially, then the regulations are less restrictive and allow you to fly an RPA without needing to be certified, providing you follow some simple safety rules.

These include only flying by day, keeping the drone within line of sight, not flying higher than 120 metres, keeping the drone 30 metres away from any people, staying 5.5km away from a You must not fly in a way that creates a hazard to other aircraft, so you should keep at least 5.5 km away from airfields, aerodromes and helicopter landing sites. and not flying drones over populous areas including parks or beaches where people are present. More information at www.casa.gov.au

While licenced drone operators including Ian Edwards of South Coast Drones have welcomed the regulations, they also hold concerns the new regulations “opened the floodgates” and could result in more drones above us and less safe skies.

The new regulations are the same ones that govern licenced operators such as himself and as such were good guidance, however he said with smaller drones less than 2kg costing as little as $1000, he could see a lot more being purchased and flown.

He said education was vital for all drone operators and there was even a push by the aviation industry and some politicians to overturn the new regulations, replacing them with more rigorous requirements.

“It’s up to everyone to familiarise themselves and make sure they are doing the right thing otherwise it will reflect badly on us licenced operators,” Mr Edwards said.

He also reminded all drone pilots that the CASA safety legislation was just one set of regulations covering the unmanned aerial vehicles, and that there were also privacy regulations and even wildlife regulations.

For instance, a Bermagui based drone pilot got some great footage of southern right whales off Tilba beach but after posting it online, he got comments from authorities reminding him of the National Parks regulation that stipulated drones most not fly within 300 metres of whales.

Mr Edwards is a former commercial pilot of full-scale aircraft and also flew for Angel Flight, so he is aware of general flying regulations. He always carries a VHF radio so he can communicate with any passing aircraft while flying his drones.

Just the other week, while flying over Narooma and Dalmeny he was able to communicate with a firefighting helicopter pilot flying over town and warn him of his drone being airborne. 

He has been a CASA licenced drone operator for about eight months now and demand for his South Coast Drone business was strong and growing.

Real estate agents wanting a bird’s-eye view of rural properties were among his most regular clients, but he has also been shooting video for the Narooma Golf Club to show off the spectacular course and has booking to do aerial shots of weddings and commercial events. 

You can check out his website and see all he has to offer at www.southcoastdrones.com.au