New drone pilots urged to learn proper flight rules

Drone racing team FoYo’s (from left) Mohammad Immanuddin, Amir Haziq Saiful Rijal, 25, and Mohd Fitri Reza make it a point to fly their drones on weekends at TTDI to stay competitive.

As drones become more commonplace, professionals and enthusiasts said that an irresponsible few could give the hobby a bad name.

Drone racer Mohd Fitri Reza Mohd Noor said that a few bad apples, especially the ones that use drones for aerial filming, can be a nuisance to the public.

“Racing drones don’t have the sort of cameras used for spying or filming, as they use a low-resolution camera,” he said.

It’s important to check the surroundings before getting a drone off the ground, says Mohd Fitri Reza, 40.

A racing drone’s camera is used by the pilot to fly the drone, as it lets the person view what the drone “sees” so a high resolution camera is not essential.

Mohd Fitri, who is part of racing team FoYo’s, encouraged new users to meet and learn from veteran pilots to learn how to fly, and also find out what’s acceptable and what’s not when flying a drone.

His FoYo’s teammate, Mohammad Immanuddin Mohd Sidki said that he wished the government would support the sport, especially by creating locations for racing teams to practice, much like how there are skate parks.

Drone pilot Mohammad Immanuddin, 42, says new pilots should learn safe flying habits from seniors.

He said the team sometimes gets told off by the authorities when they practise in public parks like Taman Rimba Kiara in Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI), because of public complaints.

“Before training, we make sure that the environment is clear of people, cars and buildings which is why we like to practise in the TTDI,” he said.

VStream Revolution drone solution specialist L. Saravanan agreed that some pilots are just irresponsible.

He encouraged new pilots to join drone associations like Malaysia Unmanned Drones Activist Society (Mudas) to learn to fly responsibly.

“Some hobbyist drone operators send drones over No Fly Zones due to lack of knowledge on rules and regulations imposed by the government and the relevant authorities,” he said.

He said authorities are likely to view a drone in a No Fly Zone as a security threat, as it could be used to gather info or even drop a payload that could damage facilities and hurt people.

VStream Revolution’s L. Saravanan shows a drone that the company uses for surveillance and security.

Irresponsible use of drones is one of the reasons anti-drone tech that can detect and disrupt the machines are becoming more popular with the authorities.

On top of anti-drone tech, VStream Revolution also offers drone solutions for security and surveillance, and mapping and inspection.