PDASA Statement of intent

Statement of Intent:

This website (drones.org.za) is being developed with the goal of establishing a representative body for private drone operations in South Africa as defined by the SACAA.

This body will include all private practical and recreational uses of drones(remotely piloted aircraft) outside the borders of SAMAA registered clubs and within the legal boundaries as laid out by the SACAA and the government.

The hope is to build a truly representative body in association with the SAMAA, CUAASA and the SACAA. At present there are no bodies representing the interests of private drone pilots operating outside of SAMAA registered clubs, and while SAMAA do represent our general interests and some common goals, they lack the resources to properly represent this growing body of citizens utilising drones in everyday life.

As an organisation our aims will be to represent the rights and interests of individuals operating drones in the following general categories:

  1. Recreational drones
  2. Toy drones
  3. Sport and Racing drones
  4. Fishing drones
  5. Agriculture
  6. Anti-poaching and nature conservation
  7. Safety and security
  8. Photography and videography
  9. Fire and Emergency
  10. Retail and Distribution of drones
  11. Long-range operation
  12. Surveying
  13. Education and Development
  14. Pre-commercial development

The organisation will be:

  1. A formal representation of Private drone operators to the general public and to the relevant authorities
  2. An organisation to protect the rights of private drone operators
  3. An organisation to help build a constructive knowledge-base regarding private drone operations
  4. An organisation to assist in awareness and education regarding private drone operations
  5. An organisation to assist in and/or arbitrate in disputes and incidents relating to private drone operations

Goals :

Some initial goals of the organisation are:

  1. to maintain a database of private drone operators, drone retailers and distributors, relevant clubs and groups for the purposes of education and dissemination of information regarding private drone operations.
  2. To build a strong representative community and promote discussion, progress and progression in the field of private drone operations.
  3. To regularly provide relevant content and discussion focused on current and future drone implementations and infrastructure.
  4. To assess and generate general operating guidelines in all categories of private drone operations.
  5. To establish clubs and approved flying areas for drones in association with SAMAA.
  6. To be involved in the creation and implementation of laws regarding private drone operations
  7. To maintain a comprehensive and easy to access map of approved and non-approved drone flying areas in South Africa in association with all the relevant bodies

Website :

The website(drones.org.za) is developed with the goal of establishing and maintaining a representative body for private drone operations in South Africa as defined by the CAA. We will be open to content submissions for the website and newsletter in the form of relevant articles, video content and links, and any original content from members in the form of use-case specific content, guidelines, procedures and legalities.

Membership :

Membership of the organisation must not be limited to only certain groups and has to be 100% representative of the entire population. Drone consumption is not limited by race, culture, financial status, or education level and the organisation should not limit itself by these demographics either. Drone safety, practicality and enjoyability does not know any limits and nor should the organisation.

Fees and funding :

Membership will remain free and funding will be derived from other sources such as donations, fund-raising and possibly sponsorships.