Drone operator counts costs
Drone operator counts costs

Drone operator counts costs

Ogone Tlhage
A local drone operator, Paulo Coelho, says the absence of clear drone regulation is threatening the viability of his drone business.

He told Namibian Sun that he has not been able to shoot any pictures or videos because he cannot fly his drones at the moment.

Feeling hard done by the decision taken to restrict the movement of drones, Coelho said: “I stand to lose quite a bit as I may not be able to sell or produce any video content with my drones. I would not dispose of them, but if push ever comes to shove, I would sell them online in another country.”

Drones have been used in the past by Afrikaans radio station Kosmos to capture incidents of bad driving by motorists.

While a ban on the use of drones has not been imposed, there are limitations to what drone operators can do following the adoption of a conceptual framework by cabinet.

“Yes I do, I firmly believe that proper regulation needs to be in place to protect both the drone operator and the aviation community. I however do not agree with some of the rules they are proposing and have advocated for a workshop where we can address concerns on both sides,” said Coelho.

“I believe that we will get this sorted out; we are in the process of forming an association that will create one reporting channel between hobbyists and commercial drone pilots and the DCA/Namibia Civil Aviation Authority,” Coelho said.

Drones are unmanned aerial aircraft used for surveillance, deliveries and photography, to mention but a few of their functions.

Coelho said the process of forming an association is done, “members will be invited to register their drones and hopefully receive a registration number identifying the drone and thus incidents can be reported and the culprit can be identified so that action can be taken. There is an absolute possibility that we can all co-exist with safety as the number one priority”.

Meanwhile, drone pilot Clay Elves recently expressed his dissatisfaction at the lack of drone regulation.

“The biggest problem is that there is not a set legislation to deal with drones. The NCAA is still discussing. The truth of the matter is, they do not have the capacity to regulate the use of drones, and they will need a dedicated team. The NCAA has their work cut out for them. The biggest problem is the lack of stipulated legislation,” he said following discussions with the authority.

Operators of drones will now also be required to apply for a pilot's certificate through the NCAA.

With the recently adopted regulations, no person may operate a drone flying in excess of 100 miles per hour, nor will any person operating a drone fly higher than 400 metres, nor will any person be allowed to operate a drone under the influence of alcohol.

OGONE TLHAGE

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Namibian Sun 2024-11-23

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