STAY SAFE (AND LEGAL!)
F
LYING A DRONE can be a lot of fun, and
the images and videos you can create
can greatly enhance your photographic
vision. Shooting around golden hour at the
two ends of the day, just like with landscape
photography, provides the most pleasing
light. But when photographing the ground
from above you can often shootat
times of the day where shooting
on the ground wouldn’t yield
the best results. A drone
can seriously extend your
shooting time when on
location, but there’s a
little more to consider
than you would with a
standard stills camera.
Once upon a time, flying
a drone may have felt a
little like the Wild West; rules
were in place but in the early
days these weren’t as well-known
as they are today. And, as time went on
the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) became
more experienced with drones and related
problems, so the rules have been constantly
evolving – and continue to be updated
regularly – to take everything into account
to make drone flights as safe as possible.The rules are extremely important to follow
because lives can depend on them, not to
mention that some drone offences carry
large fines and the most serious offences can
even result in a prison sentence. But don’t let
this put you off – fly safely and within the law,
and you’ll have no problems whatsoever.
Themost important basic
information to familiarise
yourself with is the Drone
Code, which simply and
clearly outlines what
you should and should
not do. Some of this is
covered in the important
safety advice section on
this page, but for more
information visit http://www.
dronesafe.uk. New rules
for hobbyist drone pilots will
becoming into effect on 30
November 2019, so if you already
own a drone or planning to purchase one
you’ll need to complete a free online test and
register your drone for a small fee – failure
to do so could result in a fine. You’ll be able
to take the test and register from 1 October
onwards and more information can be found
on the Drone Safe website.DRONES ARE NO LONGER THE UNREGULATED NOVELTY OF MANY ENTHUSIAST
PHOTOGRAPHERS, THERE ARE RULES AND REGULATIONS YOU HAVE TO ABIDE BYTHE RULES ARE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO FOLLOW
BECAUSE LIVES CAN DEPEND ON THEM, NOT TO MENTION
THAT SOME DRONE OFFENCES CARRY LARGE FINES
Ifyouintendtomakemoneyfromaerialstillsand
video,youneedPermissionsforCommercial
Operations(PfCO) fromtheCAAtooperate
legally.TTo obtainthesepermissionsyousimply
needtoenrolonaPfCOcourse,whichteaches
youeverythingyouneedtoknowtooperate
safelyandlegally,andthere’sa lottolearn.The
costforcoursesvaries,buttheaverageis around
£8 50 andtheapplicationfeeforpermissions
onceexamshavebeenpassedis£253.Factor
thesecostswiththatofa drone,liketheDJI
Mavic 2 Pro withFlyMoreBundle,andthe total
startingcostofflyingcommerciallyis around
£2,790,justtoget offtheground,notincluding
insurance.So, unlessyouintendtomakemoney
fromyourstillsandvideo,aPfCOisn’tnecessary.
Ifyouwanttotakethisroutetolearnmoreabout
flyingsafelyand/ortooperatecommercially,Pro
DroneAcademyinEly,Cambridgeshire,is a CAA
AuthorisedNationalQualifiedEntitydelivering
industry-leadingcommercialdronetraining
coursesacrosstheUK.AndaswellasPfCO
courses,ProDroneAcademyofferscourses
coveringmapping,surveying,photogrammetry,
photography,aerialcinematography and more.
http://www.prodroneacademy.co.ukPAKUL A PIOTR /SHUT TERSTOCKIS IT A BIRD... IS IT A PLANE...
James takes his practical flight
test with Pro Drone Academy at a
small airfield in Cambridgeshire.DO YOU NEED A PFCO
EssentialGuid