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Using a drone near an airport or heliport
Are you allowed to fly a drone near an airport, aerodrome, water aerodrome or heliport? First of all, you need to know the difference between an aerodrome and an airport. Both places are indeed take-off and landing areas for aircraft... but what's the difference between the two? An airport is an aerodrome certified by Transport Canada. In both cases, it's forbidden to fly a drone within 3 NM (5.6 km) of the center of either. The same applies to water aerodromes. As for heliports, it is also forbidden to operate a sATP near them, but the radius is reduced to 1 NM (1.9 km).
Indeed, these regulations are very clearly stipulated in the Canadian Aviation Regulations: Use at or in the vicinity of an aerodrome, airport or heliport901.47
(1) No pilot shall operate a remotely piloted aircraft at or in the vicinity of an aerodrome listed in the Canada Flight Supplement or the Water Aerodrome Supplement in a manner that could interfere with the flight path of anythe established traffic pattern.
(2) Subject to article 901.73, no pilot shall operate a remotely piloted aircraft at a distance of less than :
a) three nautical miles from the center of an airport;
b) one nautical mile from the center of a heliport.
(3) No pilot shall operate a remotely piloted aircraft at a distance of less than three nautical miles from the center of an aerodrome operated under the authority of the Minister of National Defence, except in accordance with a Special Flight Operations Certificate - SATP issued under section 903.03.
To illustrate these regulations, Transport Canada has even produced a visual document that you can consult and download at this address:https://tc.canada.ca/sites/default/files/migrated/drone_infographic_3_an.pdf
If you hold a pilot certificate - advanced operations, you may be able to obtain authorization if you apply to Nav Canada and the site operator. These authorizations are necessary for one obvious reason: the safety of all airspace users! If air traffic controllers and the airport operator are aware of your intentions in their airspace, they will be able to direct air traffic accordingly to avoid two aircraft colliding together!
Please refer to a previous Exo Drone article for an example of what can happen if these regulations are not respected:
https://www.exodrone.com/blogs/its-all-about-pre-flight-preparation
Fortunately, in this example there was only material damage, but it could have been much more dramatic!
Exo Drone wishes you well-prepared flights!
