Digital SLR Photography - UK (2019-10)

Beforeyourfirstflight,familiariseyourself
withtheDroneCodetoensureyouknowthe
basicrules:www.dronesafe.uk/drone-code/

Haveyouperformedpre-flightchecks?
Apre-flightcheckof batterylevels,propellers
andtheairframeofthedroneis essential
beforeeachflighttocheckthe level of
chargeandfordamage.

What’s themaximumflightaltitudeand
distance?Yourdronemustalwaysremainin
unaidedvisuallineofsightandfly nomore
thananaltitudeof 400ft(120m) anda
distanceof 500m(1640ft).

Howclosecanyoufly topeopleand
property?Forpeople andproperties,it’s
1 50ft(50m)andforcrowdsandbuilt-up
areasit’s500ft(150m). Forthe latter,yyou
can’t flyabovethearea.

Howclosetoairportscanyoufly?
There’sanexclusionzone(restricted
airspace)of 2-2.5nauticalmilesaround
aerodromes,witha 5kmlongand1kmwide
exclusionat eachendofeachrunway.

Areyouin restrictedairspace?Useanapp
suchasNATSDroneAssistorAirMapto
ensureyou’re notin restrictedairspacesuch
as tooclosetoanairport,military installation
or criticalinfrastructure.

Haveyouidentifieda safe take-offffand
landing area? You should always locate a safe

placeat least30mawayfrompeople

andpropertyfortake-offandlanding,and

alwaysidentifyanemergencylandingarea.

Canyouflyin restrictedairspace?Yesand

no. Youcanifyouhavepermissionfromthe

air traffic controlunit(ATC)of therelevant

airport,butwithoutthisdonotfly!

Haveyoucalibratedthecompass?If you

travelmorethan 20 milesfromthelocation

of yourlastflight,you’llneedtorecalibrate

yourdrone’s compass.DJI drones will

promptyoutodoso.

Whatshouldyoudoifyoulosecontrolof

yourdrone?Ifyourdronefliesawayand

disconnectsdisconnects from the controller try pressingfromthecontrollertrypressing

thereturntohomebutton,ifthisfailsturnthe

controlleroffandthenbackon, and if this

failscallthepoliceon 10 1.

Whatshouldyoudoifanairincursion

lookslikely?Ifanotheraircraft iscloselose

altitudeasquicklyandsafelyaspossible,and

if a head-oncollisionlooksimminent,

immediatelyflyyourdronetotheright.

Areyouplanningtotake yourdrone

abroad?Allcountrieshavetheirowndrone

lawssoit’s imperativethatyoucheckbefore

youtravel.Canada,forinstance,requires

even hobbyists to hold aPfCO or equivalent.

IMPORTANTSAFETYADVICE

MAIN IMAGE: TONY

TOKYO

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STOC

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Therearea numberofappsthatmakesafeflight

planninga breeze.Herearethreeapps thatare

essentialforeveryone,whetherflyinga dronefor

funorcommercially,andtheseappsworkwell

alongside yourregular photography appssuch

as ThePhotographer’s Ephemerisand

PhotoPills,too.Youmayalsoneeda droneapp

forcontrollingthecamera,butthiswillultimately

dependonthedroneandcontroller youdecide

to purchase,socheckyourdrone's instructions.

NATSDRONEASSIST:Ifyouonlyuse

oneappforflightplanning, thenmake

surethatit’sNATSDroneAssist.This

excellentll appallowsyoutolocateyourcurrent

positionusingGPS, ortosearchfora planned

locationin advance.The appshowsrestricted

airspace,NOOTMs(noticestoairmen), whichare

temporarywarnings andrules,aswellasground

hazardsandmuchuseful infomore.

AVVFORECAST:Notjustanother

weatherapp,UA Forecastis,asthe

namesuggests,aimedatdronepilots

anddgivesi youa rangeof weatherandother

informationtohelpyoudecidewhetherit’s safe

tofly.Commonsenseandobservationon

locationobviouslyprevail,butthishandyappalso

providesa forecasttohelpyouplanahead.

FLOCKCOVER:Therearemany

insuranceoptionsavailable shouldyou

wishtotakeoutinsurancetocoveryou

anddyourdronein theeventofanaccident.If

you’rea PfCOholderandflyingona commercial

job, youmustalwayshaverelevantinsurance

cover.FlockCoveris a payperflightoptionwhere

insurancecanbepurchasedthrough theapp just

before you take your drone for a flight.

GAME OF DRONES!

Drone photography will extend
the amount of time you can shoot
throughout the day dramatically.

October 2 019 DigitalSLR Photography 91

Areyouawareof

theDroneCode?

FLIGHT PLANNING APPS

away from people