Drone Training: Should it be Compulsory?

As Drones become more cost-effective, we are starting to see more and more of them buzzing around, being used for everything from travel blogging videos through to professional services such as agriculture, surveillance and more.

Drones have certainly improved over the years in terms of technological advances, and using them has become much easier to learn.

However, there are a number of safety issues relating to drones that everyone should be aware of.

Between 55,000 to 120,000 drones were sold in Australia last year alone, mostly for recreational use, bringing the cost of drones down for consumers, however, it can mean headaches for the Australian aviation industry.

Apart from many near misses between drones crashing into people or even vehicles, there have been numerous near misses with commercial aircraft and drones due to careless operation by the Drone operators.

Due to this, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) have implemented stricter rules for the operators of both recreational and commercial drones, primarily to protect the safety of the public.

These new rules include prohibiting drone operators from flying their drones in areas where emergency operations or police, fire and medical activities are taking place, as well as banning them from within 5.5kilometres of airports without control towers.

There are also some people looking to try and implement the introduction of additional rules that would see operators have to undergo compulsory drone pilot training even before they can purchase a drone.

A drone can be a fun machine, a serious vehicle for work, or it can be dangerous, depending on the level of experience of the operator.

And this is why the call to make mandatory drone operator training makes complete sense.

For those that are looking to get the most out of their drone, as well as ensure they are not putting the public’s safety at risk, there are approved drone training providers such as UASNT in the Northern Territory that offer the experience and knowledge that ensures you are trained correctly in the operation of drones, whether it be for fun or for commercial use.