Week 2: Drone Safety/Research

Welcome back to my Blog where I continue to track my Genius Hour progress! 

My Genius Hour Question: How can drones be used as effective educational tools to educate others about the world around them? 

 

This week I completed some research on operating drones and I figured out the steps to legally and safely fly a drone properly. Ontario has many strict rules about which locations you can fly a drone around and who you can film. When purchasing my drone, the store employees informed me that I would have to apply for a Federal Drone Pilot’s licence. Previously, I did not know you needed a formal licence to fly a drone, but this new legislation was implemented in the last two years so many may not be aware of it. Many people used to fly drones without licences and were not respecting private places or not flying them safely, so drone regulations had to be put in place for safety reasons. 

I am using the DJI Mavic Air which I happily purchased on sale. The drone weighs 430 grams and I registered it for a five-dollar fee.  According to Transport Canada’s rules, any drone over 250 grams must be registered:  https://tc.canada.ca/en/aviation/drone-safety/registering-your-drone-overview  On the application, you must also provide the purchase date, serial number and mark the drone with the registration number. However, before I could register my drone, I had to take an online drone licence exam for 10 dollars through Transport Canada’s website: https://tc.canada.ca/en/aviation/drone-safety/getting-drone-pilot-certificate There are two options of the exams you can take which are Basic or Advanced. For the project I am completing, I only need the Basic licence since I will not be flying my drone close to people and I am using it for educational purposes only.

Even so, the Basic drone licence is quite an intensive test to pass. Fortunately, I passed the first time, but you can take multiple times until you pass. Once I was licenced, I test drove my drone around my house to learn to maneuver and master the controls. I also watched some YouTube videos to learn the best techniques to fly my drone around different spaces and areas. There are many settings: sport, cinematic, normal operations, and custom. I had a great learning experience operating and using this new technology.

In the upcoming weeks, I will continue researching better ways to fly the drone correctly and safely in public and let you know my progress. Thank you for continuing this learning journey with me! Join me on next week’s Blog for my Genius Hour update.