Drones are set to become a common fixture in the Brisbane sky, with 10 launch pads to be permanently rolled across the city. It follows a surge in demand from drone enthusiasts who have taken part in Brisbane City Council’s Australian first trial of the drone zone parks since December last year.
Councillor David McLachlan, who chairs the council’s environment, parks and sustainability committee, said they had received “overwhelmingly positive feedback” during the trial from hundreds of residents.
“More than 700 people provided feedback to Council following the trial and 80 per cent of those support Council in providing spaces in parks for the launch and landing of drones,” he said.
“After reviewing the current locations, Council has determined the current sites will remain available to drone users and Council will look to additional sites that could be leased by clubs for drone racing and fixed-wing aircraft activities.
“Council’s announcement today will allow users to continue to launch and land drones between 500g to 2kg in weight at these 10 sites.”
The designated areas for launching the drones include the Common Park at Coorparoo, Canterbury Park at Bald Hills, Carindale Recreation Reserve and Wishart Community Park.
Lacey Road Park in Carseldine, Keperra Picnic Grounds Park and Cliveden Park in Fig Tree Pocket are also among the 10 parks.
Mini-drones that are less than 500g can still be launched from any council park as long as they comply with Civil Aviation Safety Authority regulations, as well as flight restrictions imposed around Brisbane and Archerfield Airports.
The announcement comes ahead of the World of Drones Congress set to be held at the Brisbane Convention Centre this week.
Source: The Courier Mail