The fast-growing multi-rotor industry is based upon the faith that the civilians are responsible enough to stick to the guidelines for the safety of others and themselves. The quadcopters which appear harmless can cause a havoc if not handled with care. Every year many accidents occur due to the carelessness of the operators and cause loss of lives. Therefore, one needs to be careful while operating a drone. Here, we bring you some safety measures you should take while flying a drone.
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1. Don’t Fly Over or Near People
Drones, when flown, produces a lot of noise and wind, and its propellers can cause serious damage to human skin. Therefore, when flying drones go for a safe, open ground, away from people so that no one gets hurt while you carve loops in the sky with your drone.
2. Skip No Fly Zones
No Fly Zones are named so for a reason. Military bases and Airports are high security areas where radio frequency is used to communicate crucial information. If you fly in the radius of such signals, your RC Controller might interrupt information which can be important for national security. So, try to keep out of these zones.
3. Keep Drone in Visual Line-Of-Sight
The safest way of flying a drone is to keep it in your visual Line-of-Sight. As, till you are aware of where your drone is, not much can go wrong.
4. Don’t Fly in The Dark
Flying your drone in the dark might sound fun for those who have invested considerably in installing flashy LED Lights. Then again, just being able to see the drone and not who or what is near it can be tricky. You don’t want to ram into a tree or a person. So, let your drone rest in darker hours i.e., 30 minutes before the sunrise, 30 minutes before the sunset, and at night.
5. Don’t Fly Above Maximum Allowed Altitude
Typically, maximum height at which you are allowed to fly your drone is 400 feet above sea level. Beyond that, you might encounter aircrafts which are not able to spot the drone all the time and if you don’t defer in time BOOM! Can lead to a criminal proceeding against you.
6. Avoid Airports
Airports are already No Fly Zones, but you should not fly in the radius of 5 Miles of an airport too. If you do, you will have to take prior permission from the authorities. Though open airport spaces and runways appear tempting to a UAS enthusiast, the signals may interrupt that of Air Traffic Control.
7. Don’t Fly Over Private Properties Which Do Not Belong to You
Flying drones over a property which does not belong to you, whether it is a camera drone or not, is considered surveillance and is a civil crime of trespassing.
8. Don’t Fly Over Construction Sites, Power Plants or Busy Roads
Flying drones over some sensitive operational spaces such as construction sites, busy roads, correctional facilities, hospitals, prisons, etc, can cause disturbance. Hence, take a trip to the countryside, find an open ground and you are good to go!
9. Don’t Fly Under Influence of Drugs or Alcohol
Drinking and drone flying is equally dangerous as drinking and driving.
10. Try Not to Fly in Bad or Windy Weather
Flying drones in windy weather or when it’s raining can make it drift away easily, making the RC controller lose control of it. Then, either it can ram into something and get damaged or you can lose it forever.