UNBOXING DAAAAAY! Your new drone’s arrived. Out you go, power up, start razzing round, crash! Crap. OR better yet, get it up indoors eh, what could possibly go wrong? CRASH. That.
Been there. Done that. Been up in a tractor bucket with a big pole trying to get my Inspire out a tree, so I feel the pain. Hence why I decided to write this article, to share my pearls of first hand stupidity neatly wrapped up as words of wisdom.
There’s some stuff to consider with the drone before you start flying/filming/taking pics. You’ve heard of the Drone Police? Those interfering do-gooders that will jump on you like a trampoline strewn with £50 notes when you post a pic on Facebook. Well, ok, they don’t always know the full facts of the situation before they chime in but their hearts in the right place generally. The drone code itself is not difficult to understand. (Here’s a link to the most up to date info and assessment The Drone and Model Aircraft Code | UK Civil Aviation Authority (caa.co.uk) ). The fact is that the CAA/FAA have rules and regs in place for a reason. It’s to try and keep everyone and everything in the sky safe. If people don’t follow these rules then they have to implement more stringent practices…. but guess what, it’s the people following the rules in the first place that get the raw deal. Those who don’t care will carry on not caring regardless and making things more difficult for those who do. Seem fair? Nah. So, Tip 1 for the would be drone user…..learn the drone code and understand why it’s there. This also includes getting your Flyer and Operator ID’s. This is a legal requirement before even taking off.
Tip 2 – READ. THE. MANUAL. What can you do with your drone? What can’t you do with drone? What safety features does it have? I know it’s a question of pride to work it out and only ever RTM in emergency, but don’t be an idiot. If you don’t know what speed wind you can/can’t fly in and you lose control, that’s on you. Which leads me neatly onto…
Tip 3 – Get insurance. How many times have I seen people on groups go, “mY DRonE FleW AwAy…CAn I gET Dji reFReSh?” What? After the event? Can you wrap your Corsa into a tree and ask Churchill to cover you? No chance.
Tip 4 – Understand VLOS and do it. You always, always, always, need to fly maintaining Visual Line of Sight with your bird. Why? So you can see where it is obviously, but also so you can see what’s going on in the sky around it. I’ve seen helicopters come out of nowhere, well below the 400ft ceiling in open airspace and after I’ve raised a NOTAM. Now, my drone was above a racetrack at probably 40/50ft height, just above a treeline, so if the chopper was that low then a drone would have been the least of it’s concerns, but I knew exactly where my drone was therefore knew exactly where it was in relation to that chopper. Birds are also another factor, they hate drones. But if you’re not paying attention you may miss a bird strike and that ends badly for the bird, your drone, anyone potentially underneath, and you. If you want to fly FPV, make sure you’ve got a spotter who is keeping an unaided eye. Tip 5 – Practice makes less rubbish. Get out in the open. You want to find a big open space. Take off. Do small stick movements near you first to make sure the drone is responding as you expect her to. Practice some drills. I still do them to this day and I’ve been flying about 5 years now. Do no turn squares. Do right turn squares. Do left turn squares. Do them backwards. Do fig 8s. Don’t just fly off without learning orientation or handling.
As a business we have a duty to follow the rules and regs, it’s in our own interest too. As a drone hobbyist you can help by flying smart, sticking to the guidance, and not making things harder for others.
If you want to keep up to date on what’s going on in the drone world or considering taking yourself pro then I strongly suggest heading over to Global Drone Training. They’ve helped steer us through the quagmire of paperwork/renewals/legal stuff since we started. Their Drone Wizard Elliott Corke is highly involved in making recommendations to the CAA, so getting help from a kingmaker is no bad thing.
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