I am a landscape photographer that has travelled to some very remote parts of the world to shoot landscapes. I am now slowly getting into aerial photography (AP) to get perspectives that otherwise would not be available to me. Years ago, I saw some beautiful images of monuments and the surrounding landscapes in India shot by some Russian guy. I was very impressed and from then on, wanted to shoot similar images in India.

Needless to say, this dream of mine is rapidly getting shattered with the new rules set forth by the DGCA about permissions needed. The bar for people even if flying < 200ft is too onerous! I live in the US, in the heart of the NFZ - Washington DC, where anything that even moves above 50ft needs to be verified by the FAA! Still, I have been impressed by what the FAA has done for UAS pilots like me. I am required to register my UAV, and am strongly suggested, that I use their app that tells me if I can even fly in the area and also provides me with local authorities phone numbers to call and let them know that I will be flying. Now, having said all the above, I completely understand that AP in India is a challenge. We are extremely crowded, we have huge issues with terrorism threats and a general public that does not take rules/regulations seriously. However from the looks of it, this group is made of people that, simply by the virtue of flying, are adherents to rules.

Sadly, in the short run, I do not see myself bringing my Mavic to show how beautiful India truly is!

This brings me to potential solutions... what if we --

1. As a group, talk to the DGCA and have them implement a database of UAV pilots and aircrafts that the pilot would be required to register before and after flight. This will circumvent the (often) corrupt local authorities, yet give DGCA (and the local authorities) a data set that points to the owner/location of the aircraft, should they have any concerns.

2. Create a crowd-sourced app that we could use to not only send our registration info into the DGCA, but also track/interact with other pilots in the area.

Any thoughts form like minded individuals would be very appreciated. 

Ajoy

On the sidelines I definitely want to point out how I got into trouble for flying a airplane here in India.

Had been to a hill station ( mahabaleshwar) . there are some old temples there. There was one in the forest that I could not see from the hotel.
Turns out I flew above that temple what was also a national monument , and I had a camera on my airplane.
Some officials rushed to where I landed the airplane and said that my airplane was to be confiscated and a case was to be registered.
I managed to explain that it was a genuine mistake ( and my stupidity)  . They let me off with a stern warning. And a lighter wallet.

It would be wonderful if some initiative is taken to separate the responsible fliers from those engaging in nuisance. It will allow more constructive use of these wonderful machines. And show people a different view literally of rare and secluded but beautiful places everywhere..
Keep this page active guys...listening.👍

Completely agree! I can imagine AP of Mahabaleshwar, esp. during monsoons. It would be so wonderful to showcase what we have there.

Ajoy