Raymond Toms, based in Bega, has become the first licensed general video and photography drone operator on the south coast after securing formal Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) licensing last Thursday, April 28.
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This licensing enables Mr Toms to operate his RPA (Remote Piloted Aircraft, more commonly known as drones) for commercial purposes.
He is part of an elite group – only 500 licensed operators exist in Australia – with his nearest competitors for any aerial business being in Cooma and Ulladulla.
“I’ve always tried to stay ahead of the game in technology,” Mr Toms said on Monday May 2.
“I was recently operating a Steadicam on the Queen Mary in Long Beach California, and last week I was flying my RPA as part of my successful CASA examination.”
Mr Toms has been involved in film and video production for over 50 years, with long-term employment in ABC TV as a leading technical engineer.
“I started my own company Pi Productions in 1982, before ‘retiring’ to the Bega Valley in 2010,” Mr Toms said.
He laughs at the word ‘retiring’, as Mr Toms has been busier than ever since moving to the south east.
“Local productions have varied from filming on the Bundian Way in the Snowy Mountains, getting down and dirty in a dairy, to multi-camera shoots of bands at clubs and village halls,” Mr Toms said.
The commercial drone license will enable Mr Toms to branch out into highly coveted aerial film-making and photography, with a quiver of drones at his disposal.
“Drones come in many shapes and sizes,” Mr Toms said.
“They vary from those that you hold in the palm of your hand to industrial and movie making machines of over 100kg.”
As he investigates his new field of expertise, Mr Toms is keen to alert other would-be or casual drone operators about CASA’s stringent legal and safety requirements, with changes coming into effect on September 29.
Understanding and adhering to those requirements was a huge part of Mr Toms’ training and licensing process, and he’s concerned about unlicensed operators placing themselves or the public in danger.
“One of the reasons for the changes as the CASA RPA legislation evolves, is to recognise the lower damage risk to people and property of the very small units,” Mr Toms said.
“But that does not mean the small units are automatically safer. A small RPA flown badly or in the wrong place can be more dangerous than a large unit controlled by trained operators.
“Even the small category RPA unit weighs about half a house brick. That would be bad enough landing on you from a height, even worse when being pushed by propellors.”
Mr Toms said guidelines for unlicensed hobby RPA operators include always keeping the RPA in sight, only flying in daylight, not flying within 30 metres of people, vehicles, boats or buildings, and not flying closer than 5.5km from an airport.
Public liability insurers will only cover licensed operators, Mr Toms explained, with licensed operators given some concessions on conditions due to the rigorous training, reporting and examinations they go through.
“Hobby flyers in our area should be aware that it’s quite difficult to observe the rule regarding proximity to airports,” Mr Toms warned.
“The 5.5km is a straight line to be clear of Merimbula airport, Frogs Hollow airport, and both the old and new hospital helipads.”
Mr Toms’ take home message for those ‘flying for fun’ was simple.
“Don’t try to emulate some of the clips you see online,” Mr Toms said. “And obey the rules and be safe.”