Unmanned aircraft hobbyists welcome dedicated area

Physiotherapist assistant Janson Lim, 47, used to carpool with friends to go to their usual, but more inaccessible, haunt in Old Holland Road to fly his drone.

But he now has a scenic location just five minutes from his home to fly his drone.

The Pandan Gardens resident, who picked up unmanned aircraft flying as a hobby around 1½ years ago, said he was quite excited about the launch of a dedicated flying area at Pandan Reservoir.

"The field in Old Holland Road is quite well known among drone users, so it can get quite crowded, especially on weekends," said Mr Lim. "I'm also looking forward to see the community building up here over time and to meet like-minded people."

Unmanned aircraft enthusiasts told The Straits Times they welcome the opening of the flying area at Pandan Reservoir. However, most said flying unmanned aircraft over a body of water comes with a level of risk, as any malfunction would result in their drones falling into the water.

Mr Liu Shi Song, 29, founder of aerial services company Phantom Wings, said some people who are not confident about handling their aircraft may find it difficult to operate it over the reservoir.

"There's a mental jump to fly above water because once your drone goes out, there's no stepping back. On land, if it falls, at least you can retrieve it and there's potential for repairs," said Mr Liu, who is also a commercial pilot.

"If it falls into the water, it's hard to retrieve. And even if you do get it back, it's likely irreparable because of the water damage."

Signage around the flying area states that no retrieval services will be provided if an unmanned aircraft falls into the water.

At Pandan Reservoir, unmanned aircraft pilots do not need a permit to fly recreationally but they have to follow prevailing rules, such as registering any aircraft above 250g and not flying it higher than 60m above mean sea level.

Permits are still required for an unmanned aircraft above 25kg and those being flown for non-recreational reasons.

Mr Alvin Yeoh, 42, the secretary of the Multirotor Association of Singapore, said he usually has to plan days in advance to fly one of his 10 drones in Marsiling, where he needs a permit. "Usually a permit takes about five days to be approved. With this new flying area, I can just check the weather and go any time," said Mr Yeoh, who is a co-founder of a marine electric propulsion company.

Ms Joyce Wong, 32, founder of aerospace education provider JustFlyIt, said more people, including schoolchildren, are interested in picking up unmanned aircraft flying as a hobby.

Schools in Singapore - mainly secondary schools - engage her company to run workshops where students learn to fix, program and fly drones as part of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or Stem, education.

"Among secondary school students, about 70 per cent already know what a drone is but most have never had a chance to fly it. So that's where we come in - to teach them the necessary skills," said Ms Wong, who has been flying drones recreationally since she was 13.

"We have to educate and groom the next batch of hobbyists on safe and responsible flying so that the hobby can grow in Singapore."

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Zone, drone rules

• Operating hours for the flying area at Pandan Reservoir are from 9am to 6pm daily.

• Members of the public can join the Pandan Reservoir unmanned aircraft flying area community chat on Telegram called UA Flying Areas to receive regular updates and important notices about the site.

• Unmanned aircraft pilots do not need to apply for a permit to fly recreationally but have to follow prevailing rules, such as registering any aircraft above 250g and not flying it higher than 60m above mean sea level.

• Permits are still required for those who fly an unmanned aircraft above 25kg and those who do non-recreational flying.

• To register your drone, go to esoms.caas.gov.sg/ uaportal/index.html

• For more details on regulations, go to www.caas.gov.sg/ public-passengers/ unmanned-aircraft