Drones have been in use for quite a long time now. It has become a best friend for people who love to explore as well as people who want to entertain themselves flying a machine. These days, drones have become much more advanced with lots of options in the machine such as cameras, voice recorders, miniguns and lots of other stuff. People coming to Nepal have an adventure in their minds so they usually want to capture their moments through drones.
Drones these days have been popular among Nepali citizens. Drones in Nepal are particularly used for vlogs, film-making and other interesting stuff. Besides, aviation enthusiasts also prefer to fly a drone.
Drones are controlled through remote control devices and they can fly high up to 300 meters and some of them fly even high. So operating drones at this altitude can be fatal as aeroplanes roam around in these altitudes while landing and taking off. And if an aeroplane with a speed of 300km/hr (average landing or take-off speed) strikes a drone weighing 2 kg’s which is equivalent of a bird, it can damage engines, windshields and also the fuselage.
But, to operate a drone is not an easy job. One must have proper authorization from the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN).
The civil aviation authority has the following rules for people willing to fly drones:
- For drones up to 20kg’s or less, no animals or articles can be included inside the drone while flying and dropping anything from that height which can cause harm in people’s property.
- The person flying the drone must have visual contact with the drone while it is in the sky all the time.
- The drone weighing more than 7 kg’s excluding the fuel must not fly the aircraft around air traffic services and restricted airspace.
- Drones of similar characteristics as above are not allowed to fly in more than 200 feet.
- Tourists intending to fly UAV during their visit in Nepal shall obtain prior permission from the following agencies:
– Department of Tourism
– Ministry of Home Affairs
– Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (not necessary for UAV/Drone less than 2 kg and below 200 ft from ground level) - For research and study purpose, the permission of the following agencies is required:
– Line Ministry/Department relating to the subject matter of research/study
– Ministry of Home Affairs
– Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (not necessary for UAV/Drone less than 2 kg and below 200 ft from ground level) - Drones are banned over or within 150 meters of any congested area over or within 150 meters of an organized open-air assembly of more than 1,000 persons
- It is also banned within 50 meters of any vessel, vehicle or structure which is not under the control of the person in charge of the aircraft.
So, keeping all these things in mind, you may fly a drone without causing harm to others and yourself. Happy flying!
Source: Aviation Nepal/Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal
