About Flying Drones

What are Drones?

All remotely piloted aircraft under 150 kilograms flown for sport and recreation are classified as model aircraft. Multi rotor aircraft with three or more propeller blades are also model aircraft if flown for sport and recreation but have inherited, from the media, the name ‘Drones’.

What are drones used for?
Today, drones are used for both recreational and commercial uses.

Recreational uses

• Families recording holiday memories through photographs and videos.
• Enthusiast photographers creating photographs and videos as a hobby. 
• Competitive racers, racing drones for the thrill of acceleration in competitions.

Commercial uses

• Film and TV: Skyfall was the first James Bond movie to use drones to record aerial footage.
• Property marketing: to show off residential and commercial property from a bird’s eye view.
• Events: shooting video footage for private and public events for promotional purposes.
• Survey and mapping (2D and 3D) photogrammetry to create animations and enable architects to overlay CAD plans on real photographic images.
• Agriculture: to monitor the health of crops and herding livestock.
• Asset inspection: to carry out detailed inspections of structures or assets.
• Emergency services: for lifeguards with shark detection Also used for medical, security and law enforcement industries.

How do I select a drone?
Today, there are many types of drones on the market.
When looking for a drone consider the following factors:

• Camera: What level of image quality do you require? (megapixels, video resolution, also consider whether the camera angle can be controlled and the distance of the camera)
• Flight time: What batteries will give you your required air time?
• Range: How far do you want to fly? (bearing in mind you need to keep the drone within sight)
• Speed: Do you intend to build up to a racing drone?
• Experience: If you’re a beginner, look for a drone that has auto landing capabilities
• Portability: Do you want a light weight drone?
• Price: What’s your drone budget?

Where to buy
Modelflight RC has an extensive history of serving modellers with the finest RC Hobby products in Australia. Father and son duo Leo and Mike O’Reilly established Modelflight in 1975 and over the last 40 years the business has grown significantly. They pride themselves on selling top quality RC Products, supporting those models with parts and offering a high level of after-sales service.
They have over 12,000 products available online. Visit modelflight.com.au or call 08 8186 4250 for their advice.

Know the rules to stay safe and legal
Flying your drone recreationally can result in endless hours of fun with friends and family.  But break the rules and you could end up with a hefty penalty from CASA.  A requirement of the MAAA’s deed of agreement is that we need to be satisfied that our members abide by our rules. Learn more.

Where can I fly?
The key to knowing where you can fly is to know the CASA rules. Learn more here.  If you are not sure about where you can fly your drone, check out CASA’s “Can I fly there? - Drone safety app.”

Where can I learn?
Join the Recreational Aerial Photographers Society (RAPS) and be part of a growing community of drone enthusiasts. Ask questions about drone photography, share your images and videos, organise meetups and access affordable public liability and personal accident insurance. Learn more.