Brantford Flight Centre is offering a one-day drone training ground school on Saturday, Feb. 20, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Brantford Municipal Airport general manager Heather McNally said it’s a proactive move with both the popularity and sophistication of drones on the rise.

“We’re just offering this to make sure they fly safe and that our airplanes are safe and that the airport is safe,” she said.

The concern is drones could interfere or even strike aircraft taking off and landing at the airport.

There have not been any incidents involving drones at the Brantford airport, although there was potential for one. A contractor brought a drone equipped with a camera to the airport to examine one of the buildings from the air.

“He had not contacted us first and was just going to fly one around inside the airport grounds,” McNally said.

Paris Junction Hobbies is including posters for the drone school for anyone buying an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

Bill Henwood, owner of the family-run business, called the drone school a proactive move.

“We tell (drone buyers) what to do and what not to do but they don’t listen,” he said.

Most of the drones sold by the Paris business are smaller but still able to fly 500 to 1,000 feet.

“Some of the bigger ones can go a few thousand feet and then you’re definitely in the flight path,” Henwood said.

The flight centre is dovetailing the drone school with its pilot-training programs including recreational, private and commercial licences.

“We’re using our Transport Canada-approved flight instructors to teach the drone school,” McNally said.

Drone enthusiast Tom Hulland, an aerial cinematographer and owner of Drone Boy, will teach alongside the Transport Canada-approved instructors.

“We’ve had a lot of people call us because they don’t know the rules,” McNally said.

Current Transport Canada guidelines say drones should be flown at least nine kilometres away from airports, no higher than 90 metres above the ground and at least 150 metres away from people, buildings and vehicles.

McNally said rules in Canada are going to get stricter, following the lead of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.

The FAA announced in December that recreational drone users will be required to register their drones by providing a name, address and email address, so that any owners who do get too close to aircraft can be tracked down.

Transport Canada is intending to introduce updated and stricter drone regulations this year, after holding consultations in 2015.

The Toronto Star compiled a list of close calls in a December 2015 story.

• On Nov. 22, the pilots of a Bearskin airlines flight reported that a drone passed within three metres of their aircraft as they departed Waterloo airport.

• In July, the pilots of a Jazz airlines Dash 8 turboprop reported a near miss with a drone during their arrival at Edmonton International Airport.

• In May, an Air Canada jet at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport deviated from its flight path to avoid a UAV flying directly in the busy departure route.

• In August, water bombers fighting a forest fire in B.C. were grounded for several hours after a drone was spotted in the area.

Current drone regulations are available at http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/civilaviation/standards/general-recavi-uav-2265.htm.

The cost of the drone school is $50 and includes lunch.

To sign up, call 519-753-2511 or email info@flybfc.com.

http://www.brantnews.com/news-story/6263513-take-a-lesson-in-flight-at-drone-school-/