FLORENCE NELIMA
A drone is unmanned aircraft system that is remotely controlled by a human being.It is made of light composite materials to reduce weight and increase manoeuvrability .Flying drone is legal in kenya and can be operated under regulations set by Kenya Civil Aviation Authority.(KCAA)
There are several rules for flying drones which includes;
*For one to fly a drone he requires to subscribe for liability insurance.
* A person cannot fly a drone over high tension cables and communication masts, prisons,police stations,barracks and government buildings.
*Civilians are prohibited from flying drones at night unless specifically clearly by the authority.
* Drone cannot be owned , registered or operated by military specifications.
* A person is not allowed to fly a drone above 400 feet above the ground level and within 50 metres of any structure which is not in control of the person in charge of the drone.
*A temporary permit 30 day permit renewable one is issued to a person who intends to fly a drone that is not registered in kenya .
There are many types of drones with cameras which are legal in kenya. These includes; DJI phantom 4,DJI marvic 2 pro,DJI marvic 2 zoom etc .
The drones comprises of batteries which are chargeable, two pairs of propellers which movie the UAV into the air and fly any direction , SD card that records data, control system which contains joysticks and compass direction that helps in controlling the drone in air, . The drone is are also equipped with different state of art technology like infrared cameras,GPS laser.
They can fly in GPS mode or ATTI mode which doesn’t use satellite navigation . When using a drone in GPS mode you are required to switch on the drone then calibrate the drone by turning the drone clockwise as indicated on the phone connected to the controller.By calibrating it helps the drone to detect global navigation satellite system (GNSS). Calibrating also helps to show signal that enough satellites are detected and the drone is ready to fly, it also helps to display current position and location of the drone I relation of the pilot, calibration helps in recording the home point for return to home safety measures.
Drones have three types of return to home technology which includes;
* Return home by pressing the return home button in the app or controller.
*Low battery level where the drone fly back home automatically
* Loss of transmission between the drone and remote controller, flying back home automatically.
A drone is meant to do the following functions
1. Aerial photography and videography for film production. They offer stable full HD and clear images.
2.Wildlife surveillance. Drones are used in to study animal behaviour and analyse their pattern without affecting or disturbing wildlife.
3.Weather forecasting. Drone cameras collect data whereby they are sent into tornadoes and hurricanes to get required footages.They are also flexible to be sent into extremely weather conditions easily since they have effective sensors.
4. Military purpose. Used to do surveillance on target location this helps in ensuring that when launching the strike it hits the correct target and minimise casualties to civilians.
5.Archeological surveys .drones has made it easy to bring important information about history of people and their culture .