UAS / Drone Pilot Recruitment.

***UPDATE*** Since posting this back on 7th Jan, Overland UAS Recruitment Solutions has been established to support recruitment and employment services within the industry. Please visit our site for more info www.uascareers.co.uk

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Before i decided to leave my day job and turn my passion into my new career, i was successful Recruitment Professional. I started in the Industry in 2003, having returned from Italy teaching English. I worked in Public Sector Recruitment, mainly Education. I set up my own recruitment company in 2007 and it has been my source of income ever since.

Inevitably after nearly 12 years, i had become restless and that is when i decided it was time to re-train as a UAS Pilot and take my career in a new direction.

However, the more i learn about the potential business opportunities for UAS, i believe in the next 3 years there will be a real commercial demand of Qualified and Experienced Pilots throughout the UK.

I believe this positions will range from temporary and ad hoc daily assignments, where a client may need to employ a UAS Pilot to complete a specific one off tasks. A large Privately owned Estate might need to survey their lands twice a year, in situations like these, a self employed contract UAS Pilot with his own Rig and Insurance would be an ideal candidate. It is more effective to out source this work than to employ full time!

Permanent and long-term contracts will also be in demand in the future. If companies like Amazon are one day able to use Drones to deliver mail they will need staff. It is unlikely they would recruit and train in house, and therefore they would look to recruit qualified and experienced pilots. Another example, for long-term contracts could be with a large Construction firm, in the process of a large mulit-site building project, may choose to have a Pilot employed onsite throughout the entire building process, from a safety, inspections and marketing aspect.

Companies outsource so much these days. Niche and specialist industries are very profitable and often expand quickly, hand in hand, with the industries using them. Public awareness is still somewhat negative to ‘Drones’, the media doesn’t help, but public perception is still focused on UAS as ‘intrusive, dangerous toys’ or military weapons. As more business see the huge application the UAS bring, the more they will be used in the right way, and this should improve public understanding and appreciation.

So i have decided that whilst i am still training, i will compliment that with what i am a trained in. Recruitment. Overland UAS Recruitment is now established. Website isn’t far away and i will post more details shortly.

In the meantime, if you are reading this and you are a qualified UAS Pilot who is looking to compliment your own business and client base, and you would like to register your interest please leave a comment.

I have already had interest from various clients who are already looking for Aeriel Photography’s of projects nearing completion. I cannot accept the work as i am not yet qualified.

Even if you are not qualified and your training like me, please get in touch, we are a small community at the moment so lets help where we can.

Thumbs Up!

UAS Insurance UK

This christmas i treated myself to a new DJI Phantom 2 Vision Plus. The main reason is for me to practice as much as i can, in preparation for my BNUC-S Flight Assessment.

If you didn’t know this already, if you are looking for CAA Permissions to fly commercially, you must be assessed on the actual platform with will be flying both the Exam and Operations manual.

I was not surprised by this. So bear in mind if you have a fleet of UAV’s that you plan on using when working commercially, you will need to be assessed on EVERY MODEL YOU OWN. So if you own 10 Phantoms and plan on using them all, you will need to be assessed flying them all!

During the Ground School, Insurance was discussed. The group as a whole discussed this. Many students already had some Insurance in place. John Heath insurance seemed to be the most popular.

After I passed my Theory Exam I decided to look into getting myself insured, so I could safely practice flying my UAV in my local Park, until I’m confident enough to apply for Flight Assessment.

A quick Google search later, I found John Heath Insurance.

http://www.johnheath.com/business-insurance/uav-insurance/

I contracted them, told them I was part way through my BNUC-S Training. They offered Insurance for Practice and Training Purposes, which can then be upgraded once qualified. They sent my the relevant paper work, which took about 15 minutes to complete,make sure your through as we all know insurance companies are precious about the denials!

I was offered a policy Underwritten by Aviva, called Drone Cover. Its an annual premium which can be paid by instalments. They offer Public Liability Cover at two levels £2 and £5 Million. However while you are training this is reduced to £1,000,000 public liability.

My cover costs me £503.45 per annum, this also includes Asset Protection of up to £1000 – the value of my UAS.

Something to consider is the excess. This varies depending on the status of the Drone and your experience. Your excess is higher is an accident occurs during flight. The excess is also higher is you are recently qualified and hold your CAA permissions for less than 12 months.

John Heath sent all my paper work to my email within an hour of purchasing the insurance and now every time I fly, I have a little peace of mind, that if the worst did happen, I’ve done as much as I can do to protect my business and the public.

For the sake of £40 a month, its crazy not to have it…. and how long is it going to be before anyone who flies a UAV, above a certain size or weight or in a public place, has to have a minimum amount of cover in place?

Not long me thinks, and not a bad idea either!

Thumbs up!

Theory… Done!

Just a quick post. Got my results from the BNUC-S Ground School theory exam this morning…

Passed!!!!

88%, which out of 60 questions, i think its maybe 6 or 7 wrong. After a quick calculation, if you need to score 85% and above out of 60 questions, i think you can get 9 wrong.

For those of you thinking of completing the course or you are booked on, and you would like some more info on the exam and the kind of questions they ask, please get in touch directly.

My next few posts will relate to the new platform i bought, The Phantom Vision 2 Plus and how i have found my first week with it.

Till then

Thumbs Up!

What Qualification should you choose – BNUC-S or RPQS?

I decided after much deliberation that i was going to choose the BNUC-S qualification and training to gain my UAS Pilots Licence. It came down to two major factors. Cost and Scope.

In the UK you need to hold a CAA approved UAS Pilots licence to operate drones less than 150KG. There are a few other determining factors, such as MTOM etc, but in general for Aerial Photography, 3D Mapping, Surveying etc, As i said i was a total beginner when i decided this is what i wanted to do, and i still am!

The BNUC-S – Basic National Unmanned Aircraft Systems Certificate, is run by EuroUSC. The guys are the market leaders in the commercial UAS training world. They initially worked with the Civil Aviation Authority to write the qualification, and until recently, it was the only one they acknowledged.

http://eurousc.com/about-us/

The RPQ – Remote Pilot Qualification, run by The Resource Group. I did have a long chat with these guys before i made my decision to go with EuroUSC. Apart from the cost element which i will discuss in a later, the main factor was the training.

http://uas.resourcegroup.co.uk/

The EuroUSC course is run across the country, from Heathrow to Leeds, Manchester to Edinburgh. This means you can always find a course close to you. Secondly they run courses every month, so if you are unlucky enough to fail to theory, you can usually get another space sooner rather than later. The Resource group tend to run courses somewhere in Wales and Northern Ireland, and they are not as frequent.

The EuroUSC course was also cheaper at £740 plus VAT for the theory and £350 plus VAT or the flight assessment. Resource Group was £1600 inc VAT. That said the Resoucse group is a 3 day course, as opposed to the EuroUSC which is 2 days. Some of you will prefer to cram and get it over with, other will prefer a more relaxed approach.

Finally the last factor that made me opt for the BNUC-s run through EuroUSC was scope. EuroUSC use this course and operate with offices throughout Europe, Belgium, France, Malta, Spain, Netherlands etc. The RPQs certificate is not recognised by the Civil Aviation Authorities of those countries, something to bear in mind, fi you don’t want to be stuck working just in the UK?

I would like to say, that although i have completed BNUC-S theory, on Tuesday of this very week, i will defiantly be looking to train with the guys at Recourse Group, once i’m up and running and established. Firstly to expand my skill and knowledge base. Secondly to network more, we are quiet a small community and people know people. Finally, they know what they are talking about. EuroUSC has, to an extent had a monopoly on the training of UAV Pilots since 2010. The Resource guys just seemed a little less ‘salesy’ (if thats a word), the Resource Group, guys seemed to be very knowledgeable and precise – no waffle or sales jargon at all!. I reckon most of them are military, so you know your training will be first rate.

Till next time

See you in the sky!

My first post! – An Introduction to the world of flying Drones Legally and Commercially in the UK

In January 2014 i was decided to close my recruitment company. It wasn’t making the money it once did, and i had simply lost interest in long hours stuck in an office behind a desk, staring out of the window. I knew whatever i did next, had to be something that i enjoyed and would get me outdoors, rather than a well paid job that i had. I went through a few months of toying with various ideas and business plans, but noting got me excited.

I have always been a geek. I was as a child, teenager and grown man. Radio Controlled toys were always my passion, but never once thought i could make a living from them….

Then the 22nd November 2014, i had the moment of ‘inspiration’ i had been waiting for. It was a saturday night, i was watching TV, Grand Designs. They were filming an old barn from the ground, then the shot flew up and away from them, with such speed and grace, i was amazed. I wasn’t sure how they had done it, as a helicopter obviously wasn’t used. After a few minutes on Google, i had come to two conclusions. One, it was a filmed with by a Drone. Two, thats what i wanted to do with my life!

If you have read this far, thank you, and learning to become a qualified Unmanned Aerial Systems Pilot to fly UAV’s commercially is something your thinking about. What i aim to do is give you,         an honest and frank account for my own personal introduction to the world of UAV’s, the Legal requirements, insurance, training and qualifications. How i will write my Operations Manual (i haven’t even started writing that as of this second, thats how new to this i am), how i found the theory training and exam which i took yesterday (!!!!!) and anything i think will be useful as an additional source of information for newbies like me. I will also use this site as a source of all the news reports i read on the use of UAS, more commonly referred to as Drones.

One last thing before i go, i would recommend if you are reading this in the UK and you haven’t come across a site call HexCams, i suggest you go there now. It was the most valuable source of info on the different types of UAS qualifications are available i could find. Below is a link the their WordPress Site. Its run by a chap called Elliott, who also offers training, and i will be giving him a call tomorrow, now i know what Platform (UAS) i want to buy.

See you in the sky

https://hexcam.wordpress.com/2013/02/21/bnuc-s-and-registration-for-a-caa-permission-for-aerial-work/