Look up in the sky!
The City of Yellowknife has purchased an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to use strictly for taking photos of Yellowknife. Known as the ‘SenseFly eBee mapping drone’, it’ll be used to collect information for, “city planning, engineering, assessment, mapping and solid waste management.”
Anyone flying a UAV within city limits, including city staff, is required by law to obtain a Special Flight Operations Certificate from Transport Canada. Each flight is also filled as a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) and receives approval from Nav Canada prior to flights. The flight information is published on www.navcanada.ca.
Mayor Yellowknife, Mark Heyck, says the drone will be a useful way to gather new information.
“The UAV is capable of providing high quality information in a timely and cost effective manner that can be used in projects that benefit several City departments.”
Mapping of Grace Lake South is the next scheduled flight in late August. The UAV will also be on display at the Yellowknife Farmers Market later this fall.
