Halifax drone company says it may be time for rules on safe flying
By Elizabeth Chiu, CBC News
Summer is here and there’s a buzz in the air. And that buzz you’re hearing may not be a bee — but a drone flying close by.
“They are becoming very, very popular, they are becoming very readily available,” says John Liddard, a recreational drone flyer and one of the co-owners of Flitelab, a full-service drone company.
With the prices of drones dropping dramatically and machines ready to almost fly right out of the box, hobbyists are taking them increasingly to public places. Recently they’ve been seen hovering above people dancing at the Halifax Jazz Festival, Ribfest and among tourists at Peggys Cove.
Hobbyists flying their machines above crowds is not illegal, but those “cowboy drones” may have to be lassoed because Liddard says drones — commercial or recreational — can be dangerous.
“[It’s] a machine with four Cuisinart blades that are spinning around at a very, very high speed and they can be quite hazardous if they come into contact with a person, like the operator’s fingers or anyone in the public,” he said while referring to a mini-drone or racer.
