SFOC in Canada?

[Gambledog]

I'm currently a little disheartened about what I can legally fly/photograph in Canada under the recreational exemptions. It seems like if there are two outhouses built near each other within 5 nautical miles then it is considered to be a built up area where flying is prohibited without an SFOC. It also appears that posting to any website that collects ad revenue is considered "commercial use" of a UAS and even if SFOC exempt requires liability insurance.

Based on these (surprisingly stringent) rules, it seems like the vast majority of drone flights are breaking some law or another. Flying for photography of cityscapes, sporting events (even your kids' soccer games), watersports (lakefront cottages are probably within 5nm), beaches (might be within 100ft horizontally of a person or animal, 5nm of a building) is pretty much entirely illegal.

Has anyone actually gone about obtaining an SFOC from Transport Canada for the flights within 5nm of populated areas or near people? Is anyone posting on youtube, etc. actually carrying liability insurance? Are most people just ignoring this rule, applying basic common sense and hoping for the best?

 

[EyeWingsuit]

I have obtained several SFOC's. It's not at all a big deal.
And yes, of course I'm carrying liability insurance. There are several insurers out there. Your home insurance *may* cover it. Flying without insurance is simply foolish.
There are all sorts of places to legally fly in the GTA, Barrie, etc (assuming from your IP that you're in Ontario). Join MAAC. Then you'll have access to more airfields, and more information. Model Aeronautics Association of Canada
Get enough SFOC's under your belt, you'll be able to apply for a standing SFOC.
Contact David Slater at the Markham Henry's store; he's a wealth of information. I'm leaving Canada behind in the next few weeks, and will no longer be in weekly contact with TC. Things are changing.

 

[Gambledog]

I'm actually in Saskatchewan. I'm not sure why my IP is showing as Ontario. Thanks for the links anyway. I'll definitely look into MAAC.

 

[Dave Folts]

Sounds like your SFOC's are entirely straightforward compared to the bludgeon-sharp rules we have with the US FAA.
Its uncanny, I register my drones with FAA, and I get emails and ads now from AOPA and other pilot training companies...because guess what? You have to the a commercial or sport pilot to do "commercial, for hire" work with our little drones! Incredible. Seems a little lobbying from the current pilot/airman licensing regime was all it took to have FAA put the kybaash on creative drone use here in the US.
OR...? Was it the loose talk of the 3DR CEO in front of a congressional committee, he used the phrase "mass jack-assery" to describe the idiots flying too near airports with their out of control DJI machines.
Sad to say, but his words..."mass-jack-assery", may have killed the rapid take-off of the commercial drone industry. Its easier for the Washington DC bureaucracy dolts to do nothing rather than develop a hands-off or common sense regulatory policy. In other words...they got an answer they wanted to hear.

 

[Gambledog]

I heard they are looking at creating a category of micro-uas in the states that will be less strictly regulated.

The 55lb upper limit would be like a lawnmower falling out of the sky in the event of an accident and I would absolutely want the person flying that thing to have some training if it was anywhere near me. I'm not too worried about someone flying a Solo in my vicinity as long as they've had it in the air a few times before and aren't actively trying to give me a haircut.

 

[Dave Folts]

I'm with you 100%...or more. There is a huge capability gain when these sUAS air vehicles get over 7-8 kg.
I'm futzing around with missions with my 2-3 kg 3DR drones and see no point in having a pilot license to hover over a damn roof and take pictures!
In fact...I CANNOT FIND A PILOT WHO KNOWS HOW TO FLY R/C who'd be willing to join me in my biz adventure (misadventure?)
I see a big market in surveying these clear-domed petroleum storage tanks here in the Houston area...but why get a pilot license? I'm going for a price war against a $1500/hour helicopter that I reckon I can win with adequate product from good reliable sensors.

 

[EyeWingsuit]

Sounds like your SFOC's are entirely straightforward compared to the bludgeon-sharp rules we have with the US FAA.
Its uncanny, I register my drones with FAA, and I get emails and ads now from AOPA and other pilot training companies...because guess what? You have to the a commercial or sport pilot to do "commercial, for hire" work with our little drones! Incredible. Seems a little lobbying from the current pilot/airman licensing regime was all it took to have FAA put the kybaash on creative drone use here in the US.
OR...? Was it the loose talk of the 3DR CEO in front of a congressional committee, he used the phrase "mass jack-assery" to describe the idiots flying too near airports with their out of control DJI machines.
Sad to say, but his words..."mass-jack-assery", may have killed the rapid take-off of the commercial drone industry. Its easier for the Washington DC bureaucracy dolts to do nothing rather than develop a hands-off or common sense regulatory policy. In other words...they got an answer they wanted to hear.

First off, the SFOC program is entirely easier than the mistake-laden 333 process that is already hearing it's own death-knell.
Modifications to FAR 107 will make life easier in the US. I'm a US citizen living in Canada with a corporate 333 exemption. In other words, I know both sides of the border. SFOC's are much easier, but....Canada is about to follow the US protocol, registration in Canada is coming soon too. I sat on the board meeting at Humber College and listened, contributed as Transport Canada brought forward their plans.

It's the government. That translates to "painfully unaware, painfully reactive, and painfully slow to the point of stupidity." However, FAA is responding well (better than Transport Canada and our new Minister of Transportation), and soon we'll see some reasonably sensible controls for drones weighing less than 4 lbs. Canada...the pain is just beginning.

I do have an SFOC application I can share privately if you feel it would help you. Replace my words with your own, and you'd likely be golden, depending on where you want to fly. With an SFOC, like a 333, once *can* fly within 5NM of a controlled aerodrome, with permission and contact.

 

[Gambledog]

I'm not doing anything commercially at this point, but based on my read of the regulations even something like flying in the strip of undeveloped park behind my house would be illegal since it is within a "built up area" (City of Regina). Correct me if I'm wrong on this.

 

[EyeWingsuit]

I'm not doing anything commercially at this point, but based on my read of the regulations even something like flying in the strip of undeveloped park behind my house would be illegal since it is within a "built up area" (City of Regina). Correct me if I'm wrong on this.

You read it correctly. However, applying for an SFOC is seriously easy (it just seems hard). And more to the point, after you've applied for say...a dozen or so, they'll easily grant you a standing SFOC that is good for a year, and you won't have to apply any more. Given that soon you'll be required to register, get going in the system sooner than later.

 

[Gambledog]

Will get started on that this week. If we have a legal system that works then we should all be using it.

The larger the population of pilots who are properly registered and flying legally, the less likely we all are to get blamed for the few who are doing stupid things (like 'max altitude test' flights into GA airspace over cities) and posting them.

 

[Vivek55]

Hi, I would live to have the SFOC form, as I'm based in Vancouver and hopefully use your research productively.
If you can email me, that would be awesome.
[email protected]
Cheers,

 

[cameraguy]

This web page will answer your questions

Getting permission to fly your drone - Transport Canada

Hope it helps

 

[Vivek55]

Thank you very much #cameraguy. Yes helps me a lot. Cheers.
It's better to be safe than sorry.