Communication on drones, July 2018

Communication re DRONES – July 2018

Dear Home Owners,

Flying drones have become more commonplace, and VRHOA thinks the information below might be useful as a guideline for this popular hobby.

Regulations apply to private use

If you’re only interested in flying your hobby drone for private use you won’t need to register the drone or obtain any licences, but the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) (Part 101) Regulations still apply.

What?

You’re allowed to fly a drone that weighs up to 7 kg, which shouldn’t be a problem as hobby drones only weigh up to about 1.5 kg. The drone may not carry any passengers or transport cargo.

When?

Apart from not being allowed to fly at night, be sure to keep an eye out for bad weather such as strong winds, rain or fog – let your common sense guide you. And in case you were wondering, you’re not allowed to drink and drive/fly.

How high and how far?

You may fly in Restricted Visual Line of Sight (R-VLOS) only, which means that you must always maintain a direct line of sight with the drone.

• Max distance: The drone may fly up to 500 m away from the pilot whilst maintaining a direct line of sight • Max height: The drone may fly up to the height of the highest object in 300m of the drone, and not more than 120 m (400 ft) above the ground.

Where?

You must keep away more than 50 m from people, roads and buildings, and you need explicit permission to fly over other people’s properties and doing so without permission amounts to trespassing.

NO FLY ZONES:

You must steer clear from (and within 10 km from) airports/aerodromes and respect other people’s privacy by not flying into or over their properties without permission – note that it constitutes trespassing if drone has a camera.

There are many more No Fly Zones (NFZ) in South Africa that you need take cognisance of. The NFZs include prisons, police stations, crime scenes, courts of law, nuclear power plants, and National Key Points or Strategic installations like the Union Buildings Presidency in Pretoria.

Other prohibited air spaces include restricted (FAR), danger (FAD) and environmental (FAP) areas such as SAN Parks. You may not operate drones within 457 m above the ground in any of South Africa’s National Parks. This is because some sightseers use their drones to disturb or chase wild animals. Only drones used for wildlife conservation and research purposes are allowed, subject to special permission.

Communication re DRONES – July 2018

Any hobby drone pilot who fails to adhere to these regulations may receive a 10-year prison sentence or a fine of up to R50 000, or both.

Below we attach a map highlighting the 10km exclusion zone around airfields, airports and Heli Pads.

You may not fly any drone within the blue No Fly Zone and the red circles on this map and that includes Hobby Drone Flying. Van Riebeeckshof falls within the 10km exclusion zone around the airport as well as Tygerberg Nature Reserve.

What to do if you want to report a illegal drone?

You need to contact Law Enforcement. Law Enforcement is a secondary arm of peacekeeping forces that operate within the municipality. Their primary function is to enforce by-laws throughout the city.

They also have a dedicated copper theft unit.

To report cable theft, call their 24-hour hotline on 0800 222 771. Alternatively, you can contact 107.

This number is toll-free from a landline and payphones. If you are using a cellphone, please call 021 480 7700.

Kind Regards,

VRMHOA Trustees