After successfully rolling out similar programs in the US and U.K, DJI, the world’s leading civilian drone manufacturer based out of Guangdong Province, China have been busy bolstering their safety efforts within their Australian operations.
The newest safety feature of all DJI drones in Australia is the requirement of the user to complete a series of questions regarding safe drone flight. As of Wednesday the 14th of February, any DJI drone user attempting to fly in Australian airspace must first pass this quiz before taking to the skies.
According to a DJI press release, the quiz is based on the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) rules and regulations, with the Head of Asia Pacific Public Policy, Adam Welsh stating that “The majority of pilots fly safely and responsibly but DJI has taken this step so that new drone pilots have an opportunity to learn and understand some simple safety rules as part of their first flying experience.”
It must be said that drone pilots will be able to re-attempt the quiz as many times as needed before passing, so this could prove to be nothing more than a slight annoyance to operators who can simply guess the questions until they get them right rather than learning about safe operation of their drones. However, CASA has completely supported DJI in this new safety feature, with Luke Gumley, Branch Manager, Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems at CASA stating that it will “assist drone owners to know their responsibilities as a recreational drone pilot and how to operate their drone safely”.
With DJI’s ever dominant control of the world’s drone market, one would think that this is a positive step towards the safer operation of drones. And of course, more excellent publicity for DJI who also plan to continue introducing this program to various other countries.
One thing’s for sure, DJI’s commitment to the safe use of their products puts them in a good position to continue the growth of the drone market in Australia.
