Sights of drones are becoming common around major cities of the world these days, i predict that the skies would be someday filled with diffent shapes and sizes of the unmanned aircraft Vehicle. With technological advancements, the unmanned aircraft Vehicle ( UAV ) AKA Drones are used for a variety of things including
* Commercial aerial surveillance.
* Commercial and motion picture filmmaking.
* Oil, gas, and mineral exploration.
* Disaster relief.
* Real estate and construction.
* Recreational use.
SOURCE An article in march 2017 on engadget.com put the number of dregistered with the FAA in the US was over 770,000. this number is growing by the second
There is an obvious mass acceptance of this technology, as over there are over 80 drones manufacturing companies already.
GETTING A DRONE PERMIT
I was minutes away from placing an order for a drone which I intend to use for photography and video shooting when i decided to lookup the requirements to fly a commercial drone in Nigeria.
Requirements includes :
* To get a Permit for Aerial Aviation Services (PAAS) your business must be incorporated with the CAC and have at least ₦20 million ($54,794) in shares.
* You must fill out a personal history statement at the SSS HQ (state secret service) in Abuja, and then pay a non-refundable fee of ₦500,000 ($1375) bank draft to the NCAA.
* Next, you must wait for six months for your permit to be issued by the Air Transport Licensing Committee (ATLC) once the NSA gives you Security Clearance.
My jaw dropped and since I like to be on the good side of the law, I had to let go.
I looked up requirements for other countries and none of it came close to what the Nigerian government requirements,
Some generic requirements for most countries are.
- Registration with the Air authority (FAA) , usually after taking a test
- Flying around a certain height,
- Making sure the drone is always within sight,
- Avoid flying drones in crowded areas
All requirements could be fulfilled with little $300 and in some cases a little over $500 dollars.
What are the requirements to fly a drone in your country?
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