Drone FAQ

Is drone flying safe?

In these drone faqs we will try to answer all possible questions honestly and accurately.

All air transport has risks but the CAA drone pilot’s comprehensive training minimises the potential dangers. Every pilot has to submit to the CAA an operations manual (typically 35 pages long) in which he declares his operational strategy. For every commercial flight he must complete a risk assessment and do full surveys of the flying site as well as checking for airborne activity by other aircraft in the area. Additionally, our drones boast a failsafe facility whereby they will automatically return to their launch position in times of certain technical difficulties.

regulatory

What is VLOS (visual line of sight)?

VLOS (visual line of sight) means the aircraft or drone can be seen by the pilot in command. It is illegal to fly without the craft being visible to the flight crew.

Who has the responsibilty for organising liability insurance?

We do. The CAA license requires that the pilot must have specialist flying insurance. We hold more than the CAA minimum and can easily increase it if necessary for a specific job. Rest assured that if your pilot has a current licence, he will also have liability insurance.

I have a friend who has offered to fly his drone and shoot my company HQ. Can I legally use him instead of hiring a qualified pilot? He’s very good.

Yes you can if you don’t pay him in any way. If he is remunerated he is breaking the law. Either way, you cannot be certain he has the knowledge to fly safely and within the law and with the required minimum insurance cover.

Are there any situations where you would not be able to fly at my location?

Yes unfortunately there are many locations where flying would break the law. In a congested area one big issue can be finding a suitable takeoff and landing point that allows the minimum required 30m from property and persons not under the pilot’s control. We will research your location and let you know promptly whether there is likely to be a problem.

How far away can you fly?

The law states a maximum horizontal distance of 500m is allowed but in reality the actual distance is as far as the pilot has visual contact with the craft. This is likely to be less than 500m and is called VLOS (visual line of sight). If the craft cannot be seen, it has gone too far. The actual distance can be extended (within the 500m rule) by using an OBSERVER in radio contact with the pilot who takes over watching the craft as it flies further from the pilot in command.

How high can you fly?

The maximum height for anyone flying a drone in UK airspace is 400 feet. In context, air ambulances typically fly between 500′ and 1000′. Hot air balloons around 2000′ and military aircraft can fly down to ground level anywhere in the UK.

Can you fly over groups of people?

We are allowed to fly over gatherings of less than 1000 people. 1000 or more we have to stay 150m from them. As our maximum height is 400′ (120m) this means we are actually prohibited from over-flying a gathering of this size. However a dramatic wide shot can still be taken from this height distance.

operational

How far can you zoom in on your lens?

Our current aircrafts have fixed wide angle lenses. They both offer a straight horizon (not curved like some models), but have no zoom facility. However we can easily make use of larger aircraft (drones) to meet the exact needs of your specific requirements.

Do you think a larger or a smaller drone will be best for my shoot?

If the great 4K quality offered by the 1″ sensor in our main camera meets your quality needs (see here for details), then our drone has some definite advantages over it’s bigger brothers. We can fly down to 50m over congested areas. A larger ‘heavy lift’ drone is typically over 7kg and has a flying restriction of 150m over congested areas. We can also fly for around 23 minutes on one battery. The big birds fly for around 10. The main use for a heavy lift craft is for shooting on feature films and bigger budget TV drama.

I’ve heard the term ‘Quadcopter’ used. What does it mean?

A quadcopter is a UAV with four propellors. This is the design for most smaller (sub 7kg) drones. ‘Heavy lift’ drones have either 6 (hexacopter) or 8 (octocopter).

What is a UAV?

UAV stands for ‘Unmanned Aerial Vehicle’. There are many different acronyms for a drone including UAS (Unmanned Aircraft System), UA (Unmanned Aircraft), RPA (Remotely Piloted AIrcraft). Drone FAQs

Can you fly in poor weather?

We cannot fly in any type of precipitation. Rain, drizzle, mist, fog, snow, hail, sleet. Windy weather is ok up to a maximum of 22mph gusts. We also fly in cold and in hot weather!

We continually monitor the weather using aviation forecasts from 5 days before your shoot.

If we both agree that your shoot has to be abandoned due to poor weather, we will transfer your deposit payment to a substitute day so long as it is arranged to take place within three weeks from the first date. This is just one of the unpredictable pleasures of flying!

How much control does the pilot have over the camera?

He has total control over all the regular settings like exposure, ISO setting, shutter speed, exposure compensation, focus etc etc. He can also control the pan and tilt of the camera. All settings can either be adjusted on the ground or when flying.

Can you fly indoors?

Yes absolutely. These drone FAQs cover exterior flying. So long as our risk assessment determines an acceptable level of risk after looking at the size of the location, the flying space available and the type of event, we would be very happy to fly indoors. The CAA has no regulatory jurisdiction over interior flying.

How many crew might be on my shoot?

This depends on the job. In order to keep costs to a minimum we work with the smallest crew necessary. For many jobs an OBSERVER will also be present and on some more complex shoots we will need to use flight assistants. Once we have discussed your requirements and expectations from the shoot, we will be able to give you a better idea of the crewing that will be needed to ensure a safe shoot .

We may need a video shot with the camera circling our performer on horseback? Can you do a shot like this?

We’d love to! We would need to assess the viability of a shot like this in your chosen location, but as long as there is space for the drone to fly safely we can achieve a shot like this 15′ up to about 100′ high. Care must obviously also be taken not to frighten the animal.

What would happen if we have to cancel our shoot? Would our deposit be refunded?

If you have already booked us for a shoot and have confirmed that with a deposit payment but need to cancel it 5 days or more from the day, we will accept the cancellation but unfortunately the deposit cannot be refunded. This is because we will already have done much of the preparatory research on your location.

We need to give all our clients the best possible service with a true and accurate picture of our availability. If you need to cancel within 3 working days of the arranged date there will be an additional payment due of 25% (including the deposit this will be a total of 50% payable).

Cancellation within 2 working days will attract an additional charge of 50% (Including the deposit this will be a total charge of 75% of the agreed fee).

Cancellation on the working day prior to the booked date will attract an additional charge of 75% (Including the deposit this will be a total charge of 100% of the agreed fee).

However, if the shoot is simply postponed then we will transfer the deposit to an alternative date with the aim of shooting within 3 weeks of the original day.

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