Commercial Drones Blog

Aviation Background With 40 years’ experience as a commercial helicopter pilot, Mark brings extensive aviation experience to the team at Aviassist. Before working with Aviassist, he spent the last 19 years of his career working with the Westpac Rescue Service in Newcastle. Prior to this, his career included instructing, photographic and film production work and […]

The recent statistics on RPAS accidents and incidents shows Australian RPAS operators are still missing the opportunity to learn from mistakes of the past

Aviassist was the winner of the Education and Safety category of the Australian Association of Unmanned Systems industry champion awards

CASA has retired the “Can I Fly there app” which was plagued with problems and replaced it with a digital platform for aviation app developers to connect to. The first app approved by CASA is “Opensky” by Wing.

Open cut mines by their nature are deep holes in the ground. Despite the fact that the ground level has been varied artificially, mining drone flights must still keep to operating below 400ft above the mine pit floor unless approved otherwise. Mining operations do not stop just because a mining drone flight has been requested. Without further approval, the drone must be kept at least 30 metres laterally away from all people.

Aviassist and the Australian Association for Unmanned Systems (AAUS) have partnered to bring you a seminar series on continuous improvement for Remote Operators. The seminar series is visiting a number of locations over the coming months.The seminar series focuses on improving business practices to increase the opportunity for operators of Remote Aircraft. The seminar is opened by the AAUS and features time to network with fellow remote aircraft operators.

Creating drone operation intelligence for your Remote Operator Certificate is key to making informed business decisions. Recording of flight data is usually seen as an unpleasant duty, a compliance requirement completed under duress. However, this data, if collected accurately, can provide some important insights into your drone operations and drive smarter operational decisions in the […]

Since the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) announced their anticipated drone registration, misinformation and fear mongering has been quick to follow. Drone registration is in the most part a very positive step for the continuance of drones in Australian skies. There is no doubt that drones are here to stay, their use provides economic, social […]

Remote Pilot Licence categories Choosing the right aircraft for the job is an integral part of a utilising drones successfully. Each drone type has their pros and cons as well as licensing requirements. Drone type categories There are four distinct drone type training categories for the Remote Pilot Licence (RePL). Multirotor Fixed Wing Powered Lift […]

Hundreds of Australian companies are using drones commercially. How do you become an attractive candidate for a drone pilot job? There can be many facets to a drone pilot job. It is common that a drone pilot job role is coupled with job components such as processing of information. That might be survey information, editing […]

One of the most important aspects of passing your Remote Pilot Licence and becoming a successful Remote Pilot is your Drone Instructor. AviAssist has carefully selected our Drone Instructors with your success in mind. Every AviAssist Drone Instructor has extensive commercial aviation experience and the skill to pass on their wealth of knowledge. The ability […]

Aviassist is proud of our passionate and professional team. Liam Outram is a commercial RPAS Instructor and piloted Fixed Wing Pilot/Instructor. Liam has a Bachelor of Science (Aviation) and Graduate Diploma in Flying. Based in Perth, Liam leads Aviassist drone training Perth. Aviation Background Liam gained his Commercial Pilot Licence (Fixed Wing) in conjunction with […]

DJI issued two press releases regarding in-flight power losses on aircraft using their TB50 & TB55 intelligent flight batteries

Prince Harry and Princess Meghan have arrived in Australia and Invictus Games commences in Sydney this week. Temporary restricted areas have been established for the event limiting drone operations within the Sydney region for the duration of the event. The Invictus Games is the brainchild of Prince Harry and sees wounded veterans compete in a […]

Most people who operate drones professionally in Australia know that commercial operations can exist in either the licensed category or excluded category. What is less understood is that the liability profile, including who holds the liability may differ between the two categories. Licensed Vs Excluded category drone operations The benchmark for commercial drone operations is […]

Irwin Jefferies is a commercial RPAS Instructor and piloted Helicopter pilot/instructor with considerable experience across a range of rotary aircraft. Irwin holds a Diploma in Quality Assurance and is Aviassist’s Chief Instructor managing drone training across Australia. Based in Brisbane, Irwin leads Aviassist RPAS training in Queensland and the Northern Territory.   Aviation Background Irwin […]

Aviassist is proud of our passionate and professional team. Rowan Kimber is a commercial RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems) Instructor and piloted Fixed Wing Instructor. Rowan has a Bachelor of Law (honours) and is an award winning lawyer specialised in Aviation and drone regulation. Based in Melbourne, Rowan leads Aviassist drone training Melbourne including regional […]

Powered lift is a Remote Pilot Licence (RePL) category incorporating aircraft that take off and land vertically, like a multirotor, which then transition to flight like a fixed wing. A Remote Pilot can operate aircraft within the aircraft and weight category in which they have received Remote Pilot Licence training.   There are a few […]

News surfaced this week of Queensland Police shooting down a drone operating close to a temporary restricted area near a Commonwealth games venue. With the Opening Ceremony for the XXI Commonwealth games on the Gold Coast due to commence in under a week, efforts to keep the 6,600 athletes and the expected tens of thousands […]

Starting and growing a business can be a challenging prospect. For Daniel Williams, a young Melbournian, visiting the World of Drones expo was key decision to grow a business out of his passion for drones. The World of Drones Congress is an international forum for everyone including business, government, investors and enthusiasts of drones, held annually […]

On Tuesday, Civil Aviation Safety Authority’s Director of Aviation Safety, Shane Carmody, signed an instrument relating to drone operations aimed to significantly reduce the chance of drone operations interfering with piloted aircraft.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) should be highly commended on releasing the “ can I fly there ” app removing the need for interpretation in where unlicensed drone pilots can fly. The same rules don’t apply for certified drone operators and use of the “ can I fly there ” app will sell your […]

Aviassist and Officeworks have partnered to bring professional online training to Australian business taking advantage of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority’s excluded drone category. The excluded category is the perfect way for Australian business to dip their toe in utilising drones commercially. Excluded category The excluded category is a category of remote aircraft where no […]

An aviation radio is a valuable tool to commercial drone pilots for gaining situational awareness but they are only useful when tuned in to the appropriate frequency. The frequency to use will be dictated by the location you are flying. Major Airports (Controlled Airspace) Operations within three nautical miles of a controlled airport requires specific […]

Why you should be talking in altitude when your drone is telling you something else Civil Aviation Safety Authority drone regulations specify a drone can only be flown 400ft above ground level without further approval. Air band radio is the perfect tool, sometimes mandatory, to keep situationally aware of other air traffic in the vicinity. […]

The importance of weather is often overlooked in commercial drone operations. Understanding the weather can make your commercial drone operations safer, more efficient and improve the quality of your work. There are a few key considerations when looking at the weather for your commercial drone operations. Wind Each Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) used in […]

Drone technology is the new tool on the block when it comes to aerial survey and has been delivering impressive results. Accuracy is of upmost importance to any survey, without accuracy the information collected by your aerial survey drone is of no value. Any reasonable drone can be turned into an aerial survey drone with […]

Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems must currently be operated within Visual Line of Sight (VLOS) of the pilot. This distance can-not be aided with binoculars or on-board cameras, which limits maximum distances the aircraft can be flown. The Civil Aviation Safety Authority is just about to release some new regulation resulting in the ability to extend […]

It’s easy to fly even a small drones like the DJI Mavic Pro and the GoPro Karma outside of your visual range, but this violates the rules for both recreational and commercial flying under the excluded RPA category. These limitations exist because these aircraft simply don’t have the situational awareness and reliability to be operated […]

The BVLOS Opportunity Commercial aviation regulators across the world are currently grappling with how to enable commercial drones to be operated Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS), meaning outside of the direct visual range of the pilot. In the longer term BVLOS flying is an essential requirement for the global logistics industry, which is looking […]

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has now introduced an excluded Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) category that allows certain drones to be flown in certain situations without without the requirement for a Remote Pilot Licence (RePL) or a Remote Operators Certificate (ReOC). CASA introduces the new ‘Excluded RPA’ category.For those who are currently unlicensed, the […]

An RMIT study has found that aircraft equipment failure rather than pilot error is the most common cause of accidents and incidents in RPAS aviation… and it’s not because drone pilots are any better than their manned aviation counterparts. The issue is that commercial and recreational drones are built and maintained to a much lower standard […]

Managing your LiPo batteries are one of the largest costs and significant safety risks in operating drones commercially. The opening up of regulations and commercial availability of larger multirotors to the commercial drone operating community mean that we are now flying larger, more expensive and more energy dense batteries than ever before. Are you doing […]