Quadcopter/Drone Thread

[ninjaman509]

My house is in Queensburgh right on the edge of the orange circle around the old airport. The red spot is Kenneth Steinbank nature reserve which I know is a big no no

 

[Segg]

general aviation has a minimum height of 500ft above ground level to maintain

Just need to point out for safety sake, this is not true.

GA is allowed to operate as low as we'd like away from built up areas and outside of controlled airspace, as per CAR 91.06.32 § 1B

Is it still an active airport?

The old Durban airport is no longer registered, and there is no civilian traffic operating out of it, however the old military hanger is still operational with helicopter traffic.

 

[bwana]

Cool thanks for the reply, my worry is the 10km radius around airports rule as my house is within 10km of the old Durban airport. So even though I want a drone I cant seem to find anywhere nearby that I could actually fly a drone. According to this website https://drones.org.za/drone-map/.

Which is weird because apparently lots of fishermen are using bait drones close to virginia airport.

I don't want to spend R10k+ and then get hit with a R5000 to R500000 fine

DJI's software doesn't abide by SA regs so it will let you fly in areas that you really shouldn't.

 

[ninjaman509]

DJI's software doesn't abide by SA regs so it will let you fly in areas that you really shouldn't.

That is part of my dilemma, I really would like to get a Dji Mini of some sort but I also wouldn't like a fine of the same value of the Dji Mini

Whereas my cousin in China, his Dji will only takeoff where it is allowed to, unless overridden in the app as mentioned in this thread.

Just need to point out for safety sake, this is not true.

GA is allowed to operate as low as we'd like away from built up areas and outside of controlled airspace, as per CAR 91.06.32 § 1B



The old Durban airport is no longer registered, and there is no civilian traffic operating out of it, however the old military hanger is still operational with helicopter traffic.

My understanding of this is that outside of the 10km radius around an airport and away from built up areas GA 9s allowed to operate at any altitude? Does this mean drones are not safe anywhere in SA essentially?

 

[neoprema]

I was thinking of upgrading my mavic air but given how more and more no fly zones are becoming it’s pointless it lies in the cupboard almost permanently. My last 3 holidays had no drone flying. In South Africa you basically have to drive into nowhere in case you hit a plane at 50m altitude that’s 5km from an airport ( im not a pilot and I know if your aircraft is at 50m 5km from an airport you have bigger problems than a drone).

Most awesome scenery is banned in many countries too. Went to Mauritius in 2019 - not allowed to fly in many of the great places. Went to cape town - nothing on parks, mountains, reserves etc. went to some islands in the Med: can’t fly close to airports and they so small radius basically is the entire island.

I wonder if there is even a future for “recreational” drones.

 

[bwana]

I wonder if there is even a future for “recreational” drones.

I'm lucky - it's a straight run down the hill to the sea and my neighbours are decent about flyovers so there's plenty of space to fly.

 

[BouncyNinja]

I was thinking of upgrading my mavic air but given how more and more no fly zones are becoming it’s pointless it lies in the cupboard almost permanently. My last 3 holidays had no drone flying. In South Africa you basically have to drive into nowhere in case you hit a plane at 50m altitude that’s 5km from an airport ( im not a pilot and I know if your aircraft is at 50m 5km from an airport you have bigger problems than a drone).

Most awesome scenery is banned in many countries too. Went to Mauritius in 2019 - not allowed to fly in many of the great places. Went to cape town - nothing on parks, mountains, reserves etc. went to some islands in the Med: can’t fly close to airports and they so small radius basically is the entire island.

I wonder if there is even a future for “recreational” drones.

I vaguely recall something about drones in the sub 250g range ( the mini/mini 2)

 

[bwana]

I vaguely recall something about drones in the sub 250g range ( the mini/mini 2)

Overseas mainly. IIRC it's the threshold for registration in many countries.

 

[Leno]

Edit - Claimed - not available anymore

I am packing up my flat for moving back to UK,
I have a old hexacopter I built maybe 9 years ago that needs a home to someone in PE who leans towards the DIY side of drones
Its probably about 60-70cm across

The controller board is arducopter (the first one) and probably needs replacing

Also a few 1S and 3S lipo batteries that may be bad by now (I didnt keep them charged) but worth testing

Also a rather large RC 3d helicopter (looks like 45cm blades)

I think I have the controllers, lipo/lead acid charger, 12v power supply

Only PE peeps as it would be really hard to package this for shipping etc, and shipping old lipo's may not be too wise even by road

Price: Free

 

[Leno]

tagging @bwana in case he wants it ^^^^

 

[bwana]

tagging @bwana in case he wants it ^^^^

Yeah - I think I might take that off your hands

 

[BouncyNinja]

I have no idea where that info has come from, but outside of controlled airspace we are basically free to fly however we want to, but think of this in a 3D view

Johannesburg for example, has the OR Tambo, Lanseria, Waterkloof, and Wonderboom CTR's which are controlled from ground level to around 6500ft, and the Rand and Grand Central ATZ's

Above these airspaces are the Johannesburg and Waterkloof TMA's but they cover pretty much the entirety of Gauteng. Above the TMA's are CTA's which are even larger

Between the CTR's and ATZ' s in Johannesburg are the special rules areas which operate between ground and 7600ft

Outside of main centers generally aircraft are free to operate as they'd like between ground and 19500ft, as the entire countries airspace becomes controlled again from 20 000ft upwards

A lot of my misconceptions then come from avcom, sadly the seem very dronephobic ( I think there are a lot of salty heli operators who have lost their monopoly on arial photography)

As I understand, if you in your own property , under 40ft and keep line of sight , you good

 

[Segg]

My understanding of this is that outside of the 10km radius around an airport and away from built up areas GA 9s allowed to operate at any altitude? Does this mean drones are not safe anywhere in SA essentially?

I have no idea where that info has come from, but outside of controlled airspace we are basically free to fly however we want to, but think of this in a 3D view

Johannesburg for example, has the OR Tambo, Lanseria, Waterkloof, and Wonderboom CTR's which are controlled from ground level to around 6500ft, and the Rand and Grand Central ATZ's

Above these airspaces are the Johannesburg and Waterkloof TMA's but they cover pretty much the entirety of Gauteng. Above the TMA's are CTA's which are even larger

Between the CTR's and ATZ' s in Johannesburg are the special rules areas which operate between ground and 7600ft

Outside of main centers generally aircraft are free to operate as they'd like between ground and 19500ft, as the entire country's airspace becomes controlled again from 20 000ft upwards

For drones the safest thing to do is just remain within line of sight, and don't fly too high.

Most airports have their VFR traffic patterns at 1000ft AGL, but obviously aircraft are in the process of taking off and landing so will operate right down to ground level

 

[Rouxenator]

I took a photo of a drone, does it count?

 

[bwana]

Brief flight this morning - people in the UK seem a lot less uptight about casual flights, must be the relaxed regulations compare to SA

 

[The Voice]

Brief flight this morning - people in the UK seem a lot less uptight about casual flights, must be the relaxed regulations compare to SA

View attachment 1305056

As long as it’s under 250g yes. Anything heavier and that photo is technically a red flag (unless you’re A2 CofC certified, but even that is still limited compared to the sub-250g category - no built up areas, no crowds, etc).

Got my operator and flyer IDs ages ago, just been waiting for the Mini 3 to drop.

 

[DTBA]

As long as it’s under 250g yes. Anything heavier and that photo is technically a red flag (unless you’re A2 CofC certified, but even that is still limited compared to the sub-250g category - no built up areas, no crowds, etc).

Got my operator and flyer IDs ages ago, just been waiting for the Mini 3 to drop.

Just wondering any leaked specs on what the mini 3 is bringing ?

 

[The Voice]

Just wondering any leaked specs on what the mini 3 is bringing ?

Loads available online for a few weeks already, but some highlights are a better camera (f1.7 - not sure about the sensor), gimble that can rotate up and slightly longer flight time. Also comes with cheaper version of the RC Pro controller.

Watched a few videos that this guy posted yesterday of him flying it around, including night shots which looked amazing, but see that he’s taken them all down today (guess someone grassed him because it isn’t officially available in the UK yet):

 

[DTBA]

Loads available online for a few weeks already, but some highlights are a better camera (f1.7 - not sure about the sensor), gimble that can rotate up and slightly longer flight time. Also comes with cheaper version of the RC Pro controller.

Watched a few videos that this guy posted yesterday of him flying it around, including night shots which looked amazing, but see that he’s taken them all down today (guess someone grassed him because it isn’t officially available in the UK yet):

Thanks will have a look.. Also had a google, dji might as well release all the info :?

 

[The Voice]

Thanks will have a look.. Also had a google, dji might as well release all the info :?

Their “official” launch is only tomorrow, but people have been leaking info for more than a month already, so probably figured everyone already knows everything lol. Nice to see that everything so far has been accurate.

Oh, and Argos (think UK Makro) actually had it online but out of stock last week for £849 (drone + new controller). The flymore pack was sold separately at £150-ish.