This morning, Minister Garneau released new law regarding recreational drone flight in Canada. Currently, commercial drone operators with a valid Special Flight Operations Certificate are unaffected by these changes, however anyone that is not a SFOC holder has to now abide by the following as per the Interim Order Respecting the Use of Model Aircraft:
(5) (1) A person must not operate a model aircraft
(a) at an altitude greater than 300 feet AGL;
(b) at a lateral distance of less than 250 feet (75m) from buildings, structures, vehicles, vessels, animals and the public including spectators, bystanders or any person not associated with the operation of the aircraft;
(c) within 9 km of the centre of an aerodrome;
(d) within controlled airspace;
(e) within restricted airspace;
(f) over or within a forest fire area, or any area that is located within 9 km of a forest fire area;
(g) over or within the security perimeter of a police or first responder emergency operation site;
(h) over or within an open-air assembly of persons;
(i) at night; or
(j) in cloud.Based off this restriction alone, you can see that flight within the city of Edmonton is pretty much completely ruled out. Add in the lateral distance restrictions of 75m, and that extremely restricts flight within the vicinity of Edmonton.
What does this mean for you? If you’re a commercial operator with a valid SFOC allowing ops within these built up areas and within certain airspace, you’re currently unaffected. If you’re a recreational operator, you’re going to have to obtain a Special Flight Operations Certificate from Transport Canada in order to fly within the new laws that were set out today. If you’d like to discuss any of this further, please don’t hesitate to contact us today!
Via UAV North