Maiden Drone Voyage
I’ve gone airborne!
It was only a matter of time. I had been contemplating getting a drone for several months now. Last week, I finally took the plunge and ordered a DJI Mavic Pro. It arrived on Tuesday. I promptly unboxed it, and charged all the batteries.
It wasn’t until yesterday, Saturday the 28th of October, when I finally got a chance to take it for a spin. I headed down to Clarke Quay where they have a nice open field. I’ve seen other people fly drones here in the past, and knew that I would be on the right side of the law if I flew here.
I didn’t know what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised to discover how easy it is to fly one of these things. I spent the next 25 minutes launching and landing the device, and sending it up to 60m before bringing it down for a safe and soft landing. It is a ton of fun. This short video shares some of the footage that I shot.
Singapore has some regulations that have now come into effect when it comes to flying drones. These guidelines are clearly documented on the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore’s official website. In a nutshell, as of Sunday the 29th of October 2017, the rules are that you do not need a permit to operate a drone if all of the following conditions are met:
- The Total mass of Unmanned Aircraft, including payload is 7kg or below
- The Unmanned Aircraft is flown at 200ft AMSL* or below
- The Unmanned Aircraft remains outside of restricted, danger, protected, prohibited areas and not within 5km of an aerodrome / airbase.
They also have a map marking restricted, danger, protected, and prohibited areas, and areas within 5km of an aerodrome / airbase on their website. In order to operate within these areas, one needs to secure a permit for which they can apply for.
