(ZIZ News) – Regiwell Francis, who has been operating drones for decades, is cautioning residents about using them improperly.
Drones, unmanned aircraft or ships that are remotely guided, have gained popularity in St. Kitts in recent years.
This week, Francis shared his concerns about drones with ZIZ News.
“Being radio controlled, they are possibly susceptible to interference. When you have two or three of a similar type of drone for example, they can interfere with each other and make each other crash. That’s one of the main concerns I have around here in terms of people may see me flying these drones close to people. It is not something you should do unless you have a lot of experience,” he stated.
Francis is calling on other drone lovers to contact him as he seeks to form an organisation for drone operators.
“What I’m trying to do also is to get a club together, get a few people together who are interested in it so we could really efficiently develop the drone area in St. Kitts as opposed to someone just buying it from Amazon and not knowing what to do, go out there and fly. Maybe it will take off from them and run into someone or fly into the highway and run into a car which causes an accident. I believe prevention is better than cure. So, anyone feel free to contact me. My number is 6628930. I’m trying to get a few different people together and not that we’ll have classes but we’ll be able to guide you in the right direction. Maybe if you want to say what kind of drone you want to buy we can help guide you in the right direction,” he explained.
Francis is also of the view that drones are important to the evolution of the media.
He said, “I think the evolution of media, drones are the key thing right now in terms they could get to places where a man with a camera cannot get to. It comes down to being able to handle them properly so, for the parents who have little kids who want to fly remote controlled toys, I recommend let them do it. It’s going to turn into a business. It can turn into a really good business. People call these toys but when you see the work it produces, you realise they’re not toys, they’re a lot more.”