Can I legally operate airship-drone in Queensland?

I have recently asked myself what sort of problems I am against when thinking of operating an airship in Queensland and kicked a bit of research on that topic.

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No, I haven’t open this book when searching for an answer!

After a few minutes of googling I’ve landed on website belonging to a CASA. The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) is a government body that regulates Australian aviation safety. CASA licenses pilots, registers aircrafts and oversees safety – this must be it!

Bit of browsing and following form materialised. I took a screenshot before pushing the send button to take some evidence.

It honestly took them a while to respond, but it was worth it!

On 2021-03-19 08:37:35+10:00 RPAS Mailbox wrote:
Hello Jan,

Thank you for your email.

You will need to find an RePL training provider that is qualified to do the airship endorsement.

Please note that airships are divided by size of the envelope, not weight.

Find a training provider | Civil Aviation Safety Authority (casa.gov.au)

If not, you may have to get CASA to do your flight test.

Kind regards,
Tim

RPAS Administration
RPAS Branch
CASA \ Aviation Group
http://www.casa.gov.au

So I instantly discussed this with Mick and based on his advice I’ve prepared another email.

On 2021-03-19 09:40:16+10:00 Jan Bilek wrote:
Hi Tim,

Thank you for your kind response.

I’ve been through some more documentation on CASA website namely:

https://www.casa.gov.au/drones/remote-pilot-licence
https://www.casa.gov.au/drones/rules/drone-safety-rules

I also discussed my findings with a professional helicopter pilot and it looks like that I potentially don’t need any license – if its usage intention is for sports and recreation only.

Would you be able to clarify on that please? FYI Intended envelope size is currently under 100m2.

Thanks again && Kind Regards,
Jan

Tim’s response was practically instant this time:

On 2021-03-19 13:28:47+10:00 RPAS Mailbox wrote:

Hello Jan,

I can confirm you do not have to have any licence to fly for sport or recreational purposes.

Kind regards,
Tim

RPAS Administration
RPAS Branch
CASA \ Aviation Group
http://www.casa.gov.au

Well, I suppose it is clear now! 🙂

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