Know your stuff

The rules for non-commercial drone flying in SA

What drone can I fly?

Any drone lighter than seven kilograms is legal. Most hobby drones are much lighter, no more than 1,5 kilograms on average.

Where can I fly it?

The set rules are: no closer than 10 kilometres from an aerodrome (any airfield, airport or helipad); no closer than 50 metres from people, groups of people, buildings or roads (this also means no flying over roads); you need permission from the owner to fly over private property; all national parks are out of bounds; stay away from prisons, police stations, power stations, national key points as well as active crime and emergency zones. There are many other ‘no-fly’ zones that may not be obvious, so find out what these are in the area you plan to fly. Familiarise yourself with aeronautical maps and drone-safety flight maps.

What are the rules for flyers?

Respect other people and all air traffic, which includes helicopters and paragliders (birds don’t like drones and some will attack smaller drones). A drone can only be used in Restricted Visual Line of Sight (R-vlos). This means you must fly within 500 metres of yourself and never go above the height of the highest obstacle within 300 metres of you, while maintaining direct visual contact with the drone at all times. Flying at night is prohibited, nor may you drink and fly.

When it comes to weather, know the limitations of your drone; in stronger winds, it will not be able to hold its GPS position and bringing it back may become impossible. The rule of thumb is: if in doubt, don’t fly.

Read the SA Civil Aviation Authority legislation at caa.co.za.