RPAS-Workshops

New South African drone regulations

Today is the day the new South African drone regulations become effective and we’re quite excited about it here at Drone Snap. The opinion amongst most drone operators at the moment is that becoming certified is a process and not an instantaneous event. We’ll be pushing our pilots to become compliant over the next few months as we feel it’s vital to continue doing what we do. At Drone Snap we’re looking forward to being able to offer our clients the best and most qualified drone pilots to get their aerial photography. We’re the only on-demand service for aerial photography. So having our drones take off legally is currently our utmost priority.

As a drone operator here are the requirements:

  • RPL – Remote Pilots Licence.
  • The drone (RPA) must be registered.
  • ROC – Remote Operating Certificate (depending on the details provided in the Operations Manual, the commercial operator may have special permission to operate drones closer than 50m from people, buildings and roads, or within 10km from airports).
  • RLA – RPAS Letter of Approval.
  • Must have handheld Fire Extinguisher.
  • Must have First Aid Kit.
  • Air Services Licence (from the Air Services Council) is required.
  • The drone to be operated must be a registered RPA (with CAA) and registration number clearly displayed.

If any of our pilots need more information on the requirements needed to becoming certified, a great place to start is www.safedrone.co.za or alternatively you can contact us here for help on the matter. We also encourage our registered pilots to attend one of the upcoming workshops the CAA is providing, this should clear up any misconceptions and answer any questions you might have. Drone Snap will of course be attending and we look forward to seeing you there!