from iol.co.za
CONCERN is growing in the local film industry about the economic impact of the SA Civil Aviation Authority’s (SACAA) ban on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or camera drones frequently used by film-makers for action scenes and nature documentaries.
UAVs are aircraft that fly without a pilot and can be controlled remotely by someone on the ground, in another aircraft or by computer.
Earlier this month the SACAA urged people to refrain from using UAVs without approval from the authority.
The SACAA did not approve the use of camera drones as there are no regulations guiding its use. Anyone using these UAVs did so illegally, the SACAA said.
UAVs are used in the production of feature films particularly in action scenes, for tourism commercials and by nature conservationists to track the movement of rhinos.
Kabelo Ledwaba, from the SACAA said it had not given approval to any organisation to use camera drones in civil aviation airspace. Ledwaba said unmanned aircraft systems were relatively new in the civil aviation framework and that the SACAA and other regulators across the world were working to understand, define and integrate UAVs into the civil aviation sector.
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Alan is serial entrepreneur, active angel investor, and a drone enthusiast. He co-founded DRONELIFE.com to address the emerging commercial market for drones and drone technology. Prior to DRONELIFE.com, Alan co-founded Where.com, ThinkingScreen Media, and Nurse.com. Recently, Alan has co-founded Crowditz.com, a leader in Equity Crowdfunding Data, Analytics, and Insights. Alan can be reached at alan(at)dronelife.com