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New rules for drones in Canada

Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2017 10:51 am
by OntPhoto
New rules for flying recreational drones in Canada announced today and is effective immediately.

Affects drones weighing more than 250 grams or about 8 ounces / half a pound.
Can't fly it higher than approx. 270 feet or within 225 feet of people, animals or buildings.

http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/politics/ca ... -1.4027486

Re: New rules for drones in Canada

Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2017 11:36 am
by DChan
Just go to this page to learn more about flying a drone in Canada:

https://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/civilaviation/ ... gally.html


This existing one pretty much tells you there're a lot of places you can't fly a drone:

Do not fly your drone closer than nine km from the centre of an aerodrome (any airport, heliport, seaplane base or anywhere that aircraft take-off and land).

9 km covers a lot of area.

Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2017 3:08 pm
by E.J. Peiker
Just as an FYI on how it compares to the US, since many people travel back and forth between our two countries:

The Canadian rule is tighter than the US which is 400 feet AGL for height.  But the US regs are a mishmash of inconsistency.  The only true legal authority is the FAA but many municipalities have gotten into the act.  If those ever got challenged in Federal Court they would likely lose since in our Federal Law there's this:
The Federal Aviation Administration is the SOLE regulator of all US airspace from the surface to 60,000 feet.

There's also federal aviation regs that says you can't fly it within 5 miles of an airport without getting permission from the entity that controls the airspace around that airport.  You also can not fly them over any lands administered by the National Park Service.  It is legal to fly them over National Forest lands unless you are flying it over a tract of National Forest land that is designated a Wilderness area.

In the US, there's an app and also a website where you can check the legality of your flight (but it doesn't include those local ordinances which aren't really legal under federal law):
http://knowbeforeyoufly.org/air-space-map/

the app is B4UFly

Finally there are a list of guidelines from the FAA for non-commercial use:
http://knowbeforeyoufly.org/for-recreational-users/

Commercial and heavy drones are a completely different ball game and fall under FAR Pt 107