You must always keep your drone within your visual line-of-sight. This means you can see and orientate the drone with your own eyes.
Flying first person view (FPV) makes use of an onboard camera that relays live video to goggles or a device with a screen.
When you fly FPV with goggles or solely by looking at a screen you can’t see the drone with your own eyes. You can only see vision from the onboard camera. This limits your situational awareness and increases the risk of the drone colliding with people, trees, birds or even other aircraft. Without situational awareness, you may not be able to manoeuvre the drone in time to prevent a collision.
The dos and don’ts of flying FPV
You can fly FPV indoors for sport or recreation provided the drone can’t get out of the building. You do not need CASA approval.
If you want to fly FPV outdoors, you must either:
- be a member of a model aircraft association that has approval to fly FPV
- apply for CASA approval to fly FPV recreationally.
If you want to fly FPV for commercial purposes, you must apply for approval to fly either extended visual line-of-sight (EVLOS) or beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS).
Model aircraft associations approved to fly FPV
The Model Aeronautical Association of Australia (MAAA) oversees the operation of model aircraft for its members, including FPV flying.
FPV flying under the MAAA can only be conducted at a CASA approved MAAA location.
Visit the MAAA website for more information on FPV flying.