I've seen some amazing areal photography/cinematography from helicopters. Now with drones, it's becoming an easier (To a degree) to get some amazing footage without a helicopter crew etc.

I'm wondering what the laws are as far as flying these drones? Where can/can't you fly them? Where to do get permission? What are some basic dos and don'ts?

I'm may be doing business with a group of individuals, one of whom is an pilot. They fly drones, but mostly in very quiet, outback kind of places or over big bodies of water. Either that, or flying slowly at a very low height. I haven't talked laws with them, and while I would hope they know what they can and can't do, I'm just preparing myself just in case.

I live in Japan, so the laws may be different. However, I'm sure some of the basics might apply

I live in New Zealand, so the laws might differ here too. But basically we can't use drones for commercial purposes without obtaining a special license from the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority). This requires getting 10-15 hours experience in a fixed-wing aircraft (or holding a Private Pilot's License), completing the Air Law and Radio Telephony exams and drawing up several safety and risk assessment documents. Currently I'm one exam away from obtaining the license.

For non-commercial use, there are very few rules governing the use of drones and no official permission is required.

From my understanding, most countries have similar strict rules. I believe the general rule of thumb is that if you want to make money from aerial photography or videography, you need to speak to your local aviation authority.

I certainly wouldn't assume the laws in Japan are the same. Hopefully someone with direct info can get you pointed in the right direction.

Here is a story I found with a quick google search.

A drone of your own in the near future? | The Japan Times (http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/08/18/world/a-drone-of-your-own-in-the-near-future/#.Utkd9sqwV48)

With them showing up in the Japanese press I'm sure there are in the conscience awareness of lawmakers there.

This requires getting 10-15 hours experience in a fixed-wing aircraft (or holding a Private Pilot's License), completing the Air Law and Radio Telephony exams and drawing up several safety and risk assessment documents. Currently I'm one exam away from obtaining the license.


Having held a PPL, I'm not sure that it would give me the skills to operate a drone without further training. Although, it's up to each country to have it's own qualifications..

Having held a PPL, I'm not sure that it would give me the skills to operate a drone without further training. Although, it's up to each country to have it's own qualifications..

Agreed, the laws here regarding commercial drone use make very little sense in my opinion. Having studied Air Law and Radio Telephony extensively, I can say that nothing I learnt would apply to drone use.

But the CAA say jump, so I guess we jump. Hopefully in the future they will sort out a more logical training process.

I can understand air law because a commercial drone operator should know the various types of air space etc and when they need special clearances. Radio Telephony unlikely most of the time, but it could come in handy if you were filming within controlled air space, e.g, a production for an airline at an airport.