Drone flight red tape loosens for commercial operators

The owner of a Thunder Bayvideo production company welcomes changes to rules for flying drones for commercial purposes.

The Canadian government no longer requires the owner to register every flight.

• Lisa Raitt, minister of transport, issues new drone safety guidelines

Alan Auldof Imagine Films in Thunder Bay said this is good news, as the unmanned flying devices are very popular with small businesses.

Hesaid drones are becoming more common for video production, as well.

"It's huge. I mean, the technology now has put it down to a small business where you can get one of these things for under $1,000, Auld said.

Typically before, it was up to $40,000."

Before the federal government made the changes, Auld said he would need to submit between seven and 15 pages of paperwork to usethe drone.

"You had to provide things like your GPS coordinates, where you're going to fly, what time, how high, how far, he said.

The cost to register a flight was free, but it could take up to 20 business days for the registration

That 20-day window often closed without a response, which Auld said was frustrating.

As an example, he said a real estate deal were difficult, because the house would generally sell within the 20 business days.

While the flight registration rules have changed, Auld said operators still have to fly under a height of 90 metres, and cannot fly within a flight path of the airport, or within 5 nautical miles of an aerodrome/airport.

A drone, which is the size of a bird, can do major damage to a plane.

Fines up to $25,000 can be levied against anyone caught breaking the rules for personal use. Thefine canbe higher for a business, Auld said.

Below is an example of one of Alan Auld's drone videos: