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Thread: Reporting Unsafe Drone Operations in AU

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    Default Reporting Unsafe Drone Operations in AU

    CASA have now put out a complaints form for Unsafe drone operations.
    If you wish to complain use this form,
    .


    Did you see any of the following?


    Drone/RPA flying beyond the operator’s direct line-of-sight


    Drone/RPA flying at night (outside of sunlight hours)


    Drone/RPA flying over a populous area


    Drone/RPA flying closer than 30 metres to people not associated with the operation


    Drone/RPA flying higher than 120 metres in controlled airspace


    Drone/RPA flying within 5.5km of an aerodrome or Helicopter Landing Site


    Other, please provide details
    Cheers, Tiny
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    It had to happen didnt it?
    While in theory this form looks great, who, when and how many are going to investigate any complaints?
    Of course if they get a barrow load from a given area, then expect a visit but will those who caused the initial complaint still be there or will it be a case of 'Catch Candy' on anyone unlucky enough to even be in the area during a visit?

    That last one regarding a Helicopter landing site is going to sterilize most of many Country Towns with or without a Hospital nearby.
    I stand unequivicably behind everything I say , I just dont ever remember saying it !!

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    yes, correct gordon.

    & also for nomeat, the populous area is now defined as,

    "For this Part, an area is a populous area in relation to the operation of an unmanned aircraft or rocket if the area has a sufficient density of population for some aspect of the operation, or some event that might happen during the operation (in particular, a fault in, or failure of, the aircraft or rocket) to pose an unreasonable risk to the life, safety or property of somebody who is in the area but is not connected with the operation."

    What the experts say about that;

    What makes an area populated?
    As the rule says, it is all based on risk.


    We need to evaluate the risk before we fly in order to determine if the area we are flying in is “populated”. This varies greatly depending on the type of RPA you are using.


    Imagine a scenario where you are flying a lightweight fixed wing RPA over a small country town, you may possibly be doing a survey or something similar. If your aircraft suddenly loses power, it will continue to glide at a ratio of around 15 to 1 and come to earth well away from the town. So in terms of our risk assessment, provided your altitude is sufficient, the risk of actually crashing in the town is minimal.


    However, with the same scenario, using a Quad-rotor like the DJI Inspire, any sort of power failure would cause it to drop like a stone scattering wreckage and litigation all over the place.


    So, in general, the higher you are with a fixed wing, the lower the risk to the area beneath it. The higher you fly with a multi-rotor, the greater the risk to the area beneath it.


    So what do I have to take into consideration when evaluating the risk to the general population?
    Restricting ourselves to Multi-Rotors, there are a number of things we need to consider.


    First is the number of rotors. If we are flying a Quad-Rotor (4 propellers), then we have to assume that if any component anywhere in the RPA fails, it will crash. It cannot fly on 3 propellers, so if a motor, propeller, esc or any other component fails, it will crash.


    Next is the controller. Controllers fail, there are a number of reasons:


    Mid-air reset
    Signal Loss
    Electronic Component Failure
    Physical Failure – The IMU chips for some popular controllers have been known to come loose inside the controller unit and cause erratic flight and crashes.
    Vibration Saturation – Excessive vibration in the airframe can saturate the IMU unit’s inertial sensors and cause the controller to lock up. This usually results in the aircraft flipping and crashing if you don’t notice the indicator LED in time.
    GPS units can fail, move or become completely dislodged during flight which can also cause very erratic behaviour – especially if Return to Home is triggered.


    In short, the regulation REQUIRES us to assume that a standard quad rotor WILL crash during or flight – a 1 to 1 risk ratio – because we have not taken any measures to mitigate the risk.


    So if you are flying a Phantom in the front yard of a house on a normal suburban block, then you are in a populated area. You cannot say with any measurable degree of certainty that the RPA will not suddenly malfunction and crash on the road or footpath or anywhere else close by, as you have not done anything to mitigate the risk.

    So how can we mitigate the risks involved?
    Firstly, we can use an Octo-Copter (8 propellers), as these can continue to fly in a stable and controllable way if one rotor fails. So this gives us our first degree of risk mitigation.


    Next, we can install a dual controller system (there are several good systems on the market, but they are not cheap). Installing a dual controller will normally mean that we will also have dual GPS, introducing another 2 degrees of risk mitigation.


    Finally, we can install a parachute. This is usually activated by an excessive rate of decent or radical roll / pitch / yaw movements. This gives us another degree of risk mitigation.


    So with an octo-copter with dual controllers, dual GPS and a parachute, we can be confident to say that it is extremely unlikely to crash and that the risk of damage or injury is minimal.


    THIS DOES NOT NEGATE IN ANY WAY THE 30 METRE RULE! You must still be at least 30 metres – HORIZONTALLY MEASURED – from any person that is not directly involved with the flight.


    There are other ways you can mitigate the risks. For instance, you can tether your drone (literally tie a strong tether to it and secure the other end to the ground). This sounds like a good idea, but you need to bear in mind that the tether will need to prevent the RPA from leaving your controlled area. So if you are in the front yard, the rope must be short enough so that the drone will not reach the footpath. This in turn will limit your altitude to the length of the tether.


    Don’t forget that every infringement could cost you $850 and 3 points of your RPC (you only have 12), as well as a separate $850 fine for the UOC holder and 3 points of your UOC.


    CASA will have no hesitation in tearing up your RPC and your UOC once you get to 12 points!


    You need to understand that CASR 101.025 can be applied retrospectively. So if you have an incident and some injury or damaged occurred and you did not take measures to mitigate the risk, then you were most likely in a “populated” area.


    In the end it’s not about the money or the points, it’s about safety.
    Cheers, Tiny
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    On reading that and still trying to understand it all, I see THREE choices,
    One is to simply get rid of the Drone/RPA forthwith.
    Two is to go outside and do a 360 around AND ABOVE you.
    I say ABOVE because I am on the Flight path I believe for both 'Heavy' Commercial aircraft at 10,000 feet plus heading WEST but below that in both directions are 'Light Aircraft heading East and West and the odd Military Cargo craft flying East to Richmond.
    Throw into that mix is flights by Polair and the Medical Helicopters flying from Orange and Bathurst to Sydney and return.
    Thirdly is Around of course and those who may use the road along side my house and one house around 50 metres way, the others are more than a 100 m away.

    Here's another bone to chew on, every year or so one of the Power authorities overfly both the High Voltage Mains as well as the street network checking for defects..........They have flown so low here I could look up the observers nostrils as he is peering out the side of the Helicopter.
    Last edited by gordon_s1942; 20-01-18 at 06:26 PM.
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    These safety rules have been around since I started flying RC fixed wing aircraft 40 years ago, when you joined a club to use their airstrip, they informed you of the rules.
    The only reason that it has become important now; is that people buy UAV/drones/RPA & don't know that there are any rules.

    Personally I'm surprised CASA hasn't asked for a set of rules to be accompanied with any purchase of a UAV/drone/RPA.
    Last edited by Tiny; 20-01-18 at 06:43 PM.
    Cheers, Tiny
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    Maybe drones should be as regulated as bangsticks. If they were a lot harder to get it might be better for the industry.
    I'm out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message...

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    Quote Originally Posted by lsemmens View Post
    Maybe drones should be as regulated as bangsticks. If they were a lot harder to get it might be better for the industry.
    What on earth are 'bangsticks'?

    PLEASE speak English!

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    Quote Originally Posted by lsemmens View Post
    Maybe drones should be as regulated as bangsticks. If they were a lot harder to get it might be better for the industry.
    Hmm, yes this is a double edged sword scenario!
    If the law makers (bureaucrats) make it a requirement that the purchaser has a licence to operate, which they already have for commercial operation, then the industry continues at maybe a lower level of sales, however if you don't then the law makers (bureaucrats), may just ban them for public sale/usage.
    Last edited by Tiny; 20-01-18 at 07:45 PM.
    Cheers, Tiny
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    Quote Originally Posted by tristen View Post
    What on earth are 'bangsticks'?

    PLEASE speak English!
    Hey tristen, settle down, AFAIK bangstick is slang for gun.
    Cheers, Tiny
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tiny View Post
    & also for nomeat, the populous area is now defined as,

    "For this Part, an area is a populous area in relation to the operation of an unmanned aircraft or rocket if the area has a sufficient density of population for some aspect of the operation, or some event that might happen during the operation (in particular, a fault in, or failure of, the aircraft or rocket) to pose an unreasonable risk to the life, safety or property of somebody who is in the area but is not connected with the operation."

    What the experts say about that;

    You seem to be getting pleasure out of nitpicking and telling me off that I can't fly my drone anywhere in my suburban area with that rubbery dribble about populated areas that you keep going on about.

    The rule 30m from anybody and anything and 120m height makes sense and I can adhere to that, as well as getting my neighbour's permission.

    However that bureaucratic dribble can mean just about anything.
    In this over regulated country you can't even fart in the wind without an MAAA affiliation and CASA exemption.
    The only place where you are really likely to have personal injury are at registered RC Club fields where the area can really get populated at times.

    So how about you clearly tell me if I can I fly my tiny DJI spark that can land in the palm of my hand(I can even stick my finger in the rotating collapsable props without a scratch) in a park or sport field that is located within a populated area or not?

    I see the likelihood of head injury from a cricket ball coming at 100km/h much higher.

    I still think I would prefer a DJI Inspire coming down towards me than a real helicopter with crew literally flying acrobatics to get the best shots over the heavily populated area of a F1 event for example.
    Also most drone accidents (with personal injury) I found after a websearch have actually been in sports or big events, basically from professional use.

    This hate is getting like all people with drones are considered terrorists or something.
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    Quote Originally Posted by nomeat View Post
    You seem to be getting pleasure out of nitpicking and telling me off that I can't fly my drone anywhere in my suburban area with that rubbery dribble about populated areas that you keep going on about.
    Lol, I didn't make the rules, just quoting them.
    Cheers, Tiny
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tiny View Post
    CASA have now put out a complaints form for Unsafe drone operations.
    If you wish to complain use this form,
    .


    Did you see any of the following?


    Drone/RPA flying beyond the operator’s direct line-of-sight


    Drone/RPA flying at night (outside of sunlight hours)


    Drone/RPA flying over a populous area


    Drone/RPA flying closer than 30 metres to people not associated with the operation


    Drone/RPA flying higher than 120 metres in controlled airspace


    Drone/RPA flying within 5.5km of an aerodrome or Helicopter Landing Site


    Other, please provide details
    So nothing about flying near State Prisons?
    If u want to go on an expedition get a Land Rover, if u want to come home from an expedition get a Landcruiser!

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    BangStick - i.e. sticks that go Bang! Usually spitting a little bit of hard stuff (mostly lead) out of a little hole in one end. Not recommended to get in the way of said hard stuff.




    For the unejumukatded they are sometimes called Fire Arms, though they look nothing like arms to me, and rarely emit fire.

    Gun is another term, but unless the holder is an expert, then "gun" is also a poor name.
    I'm out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message...

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    Never heard of anybody getting killed by a hobby drone, which I will just define for now at less than 1kg weight. So hardly a comparsion to "Bang sticks" which kill over 30,000 every year in the greatest country of unregulated bang sticks, the USA.

    The only drones you REALLY need to worry about are those professional ones from governments: Military Drones.
    Maybe with a big bang stick you might have a slight chance of survival:

    Last edited by Uncle Fester; 22-01-18 at 12:22 PM.
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    Quote Originally Posted by oceanboy View Post
    So nothing about flying near State Prisons?
    See number 4 at
    Cheers, Tiny
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    Checking out the web app, It's surprising how much area is restricted.

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