Acting director of aviation safety Graeme Crawford and remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) branch manager Luke Gumley have announced several new initiatives that CASA will deliver to help ensure the safe integration of RPAS into Australian skies.

The announcements took place at the Australian Association for Unmanned Systems’ annual conference in Canberra and included:

• a new 6-month trial to digitally authorise RPAS flight requests from remotely piloted aircraft operator’s certificate (ReOC) holders within 3NM (5.5km) of a controlled aerodrome
• the application and on-boarding of new third-party app developers to the RPAS digital platform with the aim of bringing new drone safety apps to Australian users
• the opening of a new industry consultation to standardise applications for operations beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) to make things simpler for ReOC holders wanting to conduct these operations
• the establishment of a new RPAS industry advisory group to help inform CASA’s RPAS regulatory roadmap.

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