So the game space has changed. The South Africa CAA (SACAA) has come out guns blazing drafting regulations regarding remotely Piloted Aircraft/System (RPA/RPS). One thing was clear, this massive chaos that growing in this country had to come to an end. Already, the general population of stakeholders in the civilian airspace have a very nonchalant attitude when it comes to safety and security. So the introduction of aviation regulations towards the growing market of drones is a much needed intervention.
But it begs to questions, does one who wants to use their drone for commercial purposes (that's where things get complicated or else it's treated as a 'model aircraft' or 'toy') have to go through this rigorous process eventhough you might use this drone in a non-urban area (agricultural field)? I guess one can also ask the question of whether you should have a separate regulation for cars in rural areas. So the obvious answer is no. So to stop having multitudes of exceptions to the general rule, let the general rule apply in all circumstances.
I'm not going to go through the whole regulations line by line but what's clear is that, if you're thinking of migrating your educational 'toy' to the commercial airspace, you have to think twice whether it's worth the investment into acquiring a Remotely Piloted Licence (RPL). You will need to do full performance characterization of the aircraft, introduce loss of sub-system mechanism, enlist for theoretical and practical training (at your own cost I might add) and lots more.
So the underlying statement for is simple. If you want to make money of your idea, join the queue.
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