Drones flying high in Canada’s friendly skies

François Shalom, Montreal Gazette

The vast and relatively quiet airspace above Canada has become fertile ground for the burgeoning drone industry.

Drones can be a barrier-breaking tool for businesses, and have become hugely popular among consumers, who can buy one for as little as $119 at a large electronics store — or for even less online.

But amid the excitement about technological innovation, serious concerns are being voiced about the safety of our skies. Some pilots, for example, say a lack of oversight is a disaster waiting to happen. Others warn drones could be used in terrorism attacks or to invade an individual’s privacy.

Drones are known more formally as unmanned systems, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Unmanned but not pilotless, people in the industry repeat like a mantra; drones must be directed by remote control during flight.

Excluding military applications, Canada and Australia are at the forefront of the drones industry, largely because they both have a vast and underused airspace, said Robert Kendall, executive director of Unmanned Systems Canada (USC), which represents the industry.

Drones could not be more of an anomaly in aviation, perhaps the world’s most regulated industry for safety and security reasons. Their use here is largely guided by recommendations and general principles rather than punitive laws. The situation reflects the difficulty of regulating a booming industry where an affordable machine can weigh less than a kilogram and be flown with little or no training.

Speaking at the 2014 Unmanned Systems Canada Conference in Montreal in early November, Kendall said drone makers, users and suppliers are working with Transport Canada to establish new regulations for the unmanned systems.

USC chairman Stewart Baillie said at the conference that drones are “almost at the point where manned aviation was right after World War One. We don’t have barnstormers, but we’re not sure how to work (unmanned systems) into the civilian context. There’s been a lot of thrashing about.”

But the industry will find its place in due course, he added.

http://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/drones-flying-high-in-canadas-friendly-skies