The heading image was taken recently in the front area of the Stirling Street store - it's a pull-up banner made for the Civil Aviation Safety Authority to let you know the bare bones rules for drone flying.
It's not the complete set of rules - and doesn't fill all the spaces in the law books - but it should give the prospective dronist cause for thought before they fire up and switch on.
The rules do seem sensible - making a set of conditions that protect the public from physical danger whether they are in aircraft or underneath drones in open areas. I should be interested to see whether these same rules are also listed for fixed-wing R/C aircraft as well. Logic says they are also going to be operated by private individuals in public areas.
It must have been a bit of a shock for the early adopters of the drone technology here in WA when they started to get good with them and then found that officialdom stepped in to restrict operations. The clear and open promulgation of the rules will make it better in the future - no-one can say they were not warned.
Whether they heed the warnings and obey the rules is another question. People is people and unfortunately any law can be seen by some as a challenge to either scoff or break. While the sign is not specific as to the details of the legal sanctions and penalties - you are encouraged to search the CASA website for further information - we have been able to obtain a picture of the new anti-drone measures that are to be mounted on either end of Swanbourne beach.
It should be a fun summer. Get your DJI drone now from either the Murray Street or Stirling Street store. Tin hats and proximity-fuse shells are available at any chemist.
