“We are going to allow drones to fly beyond the visual flying range, carry up to a certain limit as payload, permit autonomous flying and allow high-speed rotors in drones,” Pradeep Singh Kharola, Secretary, Civil Aviation Ministry had recently stated.
The current policy allows flights only up to 400ft, or visual range of flight, which is not sufficient for carrying out most commercial activities. In a bid to move ahead in the arena of drones, aviation regulator DGCA recently certified drones from two Bengaluru-based startups, Skylark Drones and Throttle Aerospace Systems, after they complied with the NP-NT (no permission, no takeoff) protocol under the country’s new drone policy. This is the first time that any such certification had happened under India’s new drone policy called ‘Digital Sky’, which came into effect December 2018.
The new drone policy is primarily meant to facilitate the commercial usage of drones, lay down the operational rules for drones, and to provide checks and balances for companies involved in drone applications. It should have been just what the industry wanted.
This story is from the July 2019 edition of Cruising Heights.
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This story is from the July 2019 edition of Cruising Heights.
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