DJI Inspire, Me and the Police!

If i think of Drones and the Police, i think of one thing…someones in trouble!

Back in December, i blogged about Eddie Mitchell, who was arrested for using his UAS, i think it was a Phantom. He is a CAA approved UAS Pilot, he identified himself, and was flying safely before three offices detrained him, and attempted to land the Aircraft themselves. Eddie was detained for 5 hours. Not needed.

Because of this, i called South Yorkshire Police and informed the confused Officer that took my call, who i was, my contact details and the areas i was flying. I wanted to make sure i covered my ass, and also to give the Police a bit of information about UAS (and after my experience with the Police the other day, im hoping i can work with my local force and help improve their awareness of our industry).

So on tuesday i was out flying. It was the day before my exam, i had been out for an hour that morning and it was about 2pm. I was parked at my one of my usual haunts, a collection of huge fields, that over look a Medieval Castle. Nice.

I was still sat in my car about to get out and set up to fly. They slowed as they approached my car. Both looked at me. Eeek, even though i have nothing to be guilty about, i immediately feel guilty. 20 seconds later, they pull up behind me.

I in a moment of ‘inspiration’ the best way to avoid looking guilty for something i haven’t even done… is my Inspire!

I get out the car with my black plastic case. They give me a strange look. I walk over and ask if they would like to see me fly. Another strange look.

I set up in my usual spot while they dealt with a call. 5 minutes later they are back. One of the Officers walks over, really friendly and asks if he can watch. Of course! I make sure its safe to take off. I begin with showing off the auto take off, impressed him with the auto landing gear, dazzled him with the speed and amazed him with the dual remote live stream feed. He was really impressed. Like really, impressed.

As he said, imagine how much money could be saved using a fleet of small UAV’s, as opposed to a maintaining and refuelling a Helicopter. You can imagine a future where Police cars have their own Drone in the boot and the Ground Station built into the Dash, one drives, one flies, both chase and catch the crim.

CAR ID REMOVED

Anyways i just thought i’d share my very positive experience with South Yorkshire Police, and i hope if you come into contact with Officers in the field, they are as friendly and appreciative.

Thumbs Up SYP!

BUNC-S UAS Flight Exam for Commercial Pilots Licence

In December 2014 i began my BNUC-s UAS Pilots Licence training through EuroUSC. I was a complete newbie to the industry, and had only flown RC Craft, from childhood, to child adulthood!

On Wednesday this week, i came one step closer to being able to realise the last years dream. I passed my BUNC-S Flight Examination. YAY. I live in the North, so i picked Congleton as my location.

When you are booked onto your exam, you will be sent an info pack, and the co-ordinate for the location you are being examined. This will be Lat and Long, so make sure your up-to date. Your expected to find your own way there, and do your Assessments based on that location.

So how was it? Firstly, before i talk about what occurred, it important to discuss to basics of the examination.

The exam is designed to test your Piloting Skills, you Crew Management Ability and Pre-Flight Assessments and Observations of potential Hazards.

Like, with the Ground School, i was unable to find much info at all on what is expected in the Flight Exam, other than the basic info EuroUSC give you. And the reason is clear why, they expect you to treat the exam like it is a business appointment. You client isn’t going to hold your hand, so your on your own!

So, i decided i would put together a collection of things to consider, and give you a basic idea of what to expect. There is no point in telling you everything that occurs or the things that might catch you out. Why? Well firstly, its best to learn from your own mistakes. Secondly, as long as you have done your prep, and you can fly safely, you don’t need to stress yourself too much.

Remember, this isn’t your driving test. Yes, you are expected to listen to instructions, and carry out objectives, but unlike the ‘parallel park or emergency stop’ in your driving test, if you make a mistake you can have another go. The examiner is looking to see that you have the basic fundamental knowledge of how to control an Aircraft safety, he will also offer suggestions to improve, should you need it.

I would like to state now, that i learnt more from listening to the examiner, making suggestions to my approach to flying, in that 3 hours i spent with him, than in the last year flying on my own.

You are expected to complete a series of manoeuvres during the examination. These are detailed by EuroUSC. When you have passed Ground School, submitted your Ops Manual and paid the £420 Flight Exam fee, they will send you “Pilot Instructions for BUNC-s Flight Examination”.

It is common knowledge what is typically expected. So practice this when your next out.

• Perform a figure of 8, moving the Aircraft at each turn.
• Fly the Aircraft in a Rectangle shape, in ATTI Mode, turning at each corner.
• An accelerated accent at 45 degrees or Decent at 45 degrees.
• In addition you will be given a short flight plan, and expected to complete tasks along the way.

What helped me the most was having an Observer with me, my Dad. He was able to inform me of things going on behind me, or out of my eye shot, so i could concentrate on the task in hand. AS you treat the exam like a business contract, you really begin to see how ‘effective’ UAS Aerial Photography companies, have a Crew of at least 2.

Had it not be an examinations, it would have been fun. I had acres and acres of open land to fly over, the sun shining and a 3mph southerly wind. Not quiet shorts weather but almost!

My examiner was a chap called Paul Carr. Those of you reading this will no-doubt be beginners so you might not have heard that name before. If you have, you know your stuff. Paul is one of the most qualified UAS Pilots in the country. He has over 13 platforms in his Ops Manual and have more than 20 years flying under his belt. It also helps that he is a really friendly guy. He is there to exam you, but also assist you. He won’t give you any answers, but might give you a cheeky suggestion. He won’t criticise a mistake you make, he will offer a friendly pointer and let you have another go.

I have a few tips that i think are invaluable.

1. Batteries. Take enough batteries with you. You have 3 hours there, and that included Prep and briefing, so you can have at least 60 minutes flight time. Have you got enough power for that? I took 2 TB47 and 1 TB48. I rinsed my TB48, one TB47 and have 3 cells left on my final TB47. If you run out of power before you complete all your objectives, you fail.
2. Make sure you have a VFR Chart for the area your being examined.
3. Use all the Resources available to you, when completing you ‘Pre Site Assessment’. Dont just use you VFR and Google Maps.
4. Wear suitable clothing. I sent my Dad off to the middle of a field to do some observing for me. He got stuck in a bog… hahaha he was not impressed.
5. Practice
6. Practice
7. Practice

There is some confusion at the moment regarding Pilot ‘Class’ or ‘Tiering’. The booklet suggests you are classified level 1 to 3, depending on how you fly in your exam. Level 1 fly in ATTI, Level 2, complete exam in GPS and 3, using waypoint. I practiced all my manoeuvres in ATTI, hoping to pass my exam, Class 1 ATTI. However, i was only asked to complete one manoeuvre in ATTI (not telling which) and the rest in GPS. At the end i asked what Level i passed at, and Paul told me, the CAA don’t classify UAS Pilots at the moment. It is a EuroUSC internal policy, so they know how competent we all are, should the CAA ever bring in a Classification scale, they know where to put us.

Secondly, there is also confusion regarding CAA changers in Policy regarding what platforms you can include in your Ops Manual, without having to pay EuroUSC to be tested on each platform. In December at Ground School, this was brought up, as a money making exercise, but we were informed it was CAA Policy. This appears to have no changed, and i’m not sure how EuroUSC are reacting to it. I have a Phantom that i didn’t get examined on, but i do want to use as past of my business, do i just add it to my Ops Manual now? I don’t know all the facts, so ill get on the case and post accordingly.

I hope this helps. Im hoping to get back out to see Paul again, and he agreed to do a short interview with me. I want to find out more about his background, how he has seen the indusrty change, how and what he flies in his spare time, and his predicitons for the future of our indusrty, so stay tuned for more info on that.

If you need any help, suggestions or points, please feel free to get in touch, im no expert, but im willing to help.

TU!

BUNC-S Flight Exam

I haven’t posted anything in the last week… i was busy preparing and stressing…..

I passed my flight exam for the BUNC-s UAS Commercial Pilots Licence. Its been a stressful day but not so much the actual test, more the implications for this exam.

Excluding Ground School, back in December, i haven’t sat an exam since my Uni finals in 2001! And in 2001 i was a carefree youth, with no commitments and responsibilities. Now i have a mortgage and two children. So passing isn’t just about me, its about providing a future for them.

So i need to think and collate my thoughts and experiences of today, and i will post later this evening about the test, after i’ve celebrated with beer!

I won’t be giving too much away, although what you are tested on is common knowledge. Ultimately, you want to know, that when you fly, you, are safe and competent, and having all the answers isn’t how we learn… that said, i do think there could be more information for people new to the industry, who want some guidance about what to expect…… give me a few hours, and maybe i can help.

Yay, all those days flying and planning paid off. Next, Polish off Ops Manual!

Thumbs up to Paul Carr the examiner – top bloke. My Observer, Dad, my inspirations. And Thumbs up to me, for once!

Drone, UAS, UAV – Terminology

Telling people i’m training to be a UAS Pilot, always draws a blank look.

Then i say ‘Drone’, and they understand and get excited. At least two of my friends asked if i’m going to “blow stuff up”?

I then have to burst their bubble, and tell them i’m only armed with a 4K camera, not Hellfire Missiles (ok that is a cool name).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AGM-114_Hellfire

Thats my issue with the using the term, Drone. People know what a Drone is because of the US and UK Drone bombing campaigns in Afghanistan, Pakistan and against ISIS of late.

I feel people have a negative association with the term. Whenever the media discuss consumer UAS incidents, like Phantoms landing on the White House Lawn, or Near Misses at Heathrow, they too refer to them as Drones. Put Drone into Google Images, first picture; DJI Phantom (then lots of US Military platforms)

So, am i actually a Drone Pilot? Or a UAS Pilot, or a UAV/RPAS Pilot?  EuroUSC refer to their students as UAS or Unmanned Aerial Systems Pilots. Maybe the qualification you have, results in what you call yourself. Put UAS into Google Images, first picture is a Quadcopter! Yay. Put UAV into Google Images, Military.

I have been somewhat confused about the whole thing since i become so engaged in the industry. I certainly will continue to refer to myself as a UAS Pilot, useful as my company is named after it!

As per, there are people who have been thinking thoughts like these for longer than i have, and know more than i do, here is another great site for newbies to the UAS industry.

You have probably come across these guys before: Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems Association. A great site for information, legal and insurance advice and general news.  They have written a in depth description on their take of UAV vs UAS. Its defiantly worth a read….

https://www.uavs.org/index.php?page=what_is

http://eurousc.com/services/pilot-qualifications/

TU!

DJI Inspire 1 – Parts and New Releases

I love my Inspire 1, its such a great piece of tech…

But.

Ask any owner of an Inspire 1, could it be improved? They will say yes, and then reel of a list of improvements. Granted, this is a very small list, but it will contain fairly major improvements. Mine is a very short list to be honest.

• Lack of Zoom on the Camera. How close are you prepared to fly £3k to your target. It will clearly be solved with a later updated camera from DJI later this year or early 2016.
• Thank you for my case, but why not make it easier to carry distances. 
• Thank you for my case, but why not make one side flat, making transport to flight mode quicker.
• An additional front facing camera, fixed, solely for the Pilot, would be great, especially when working alongside an additional camera operator.

Not a long list, and these are all improvements that can be overcome. I have more issues with DJI than the Inspire, itself. Releasing the Phantom 3, so soon after the improvement to the Vision 2 Plus, and the unavailing of the delayed Inspire 1, for example.

What has annoyed me with the Inspire, is the lack of parts and spares. The TB48 5700mAh, has only just made its was to the UK, Quadcopters.co.uk and Heliguy had some in stock last week, but when i last checked they were out of stock again.

One of the Mobile Phone device holders i had for my second controller was faulty. Lee at Quadcopters.co.uk, told me that DJI hadn’t sent many of replacement parts for the Inspire, and it might take a few weeks. (luckly, Lee knows a lot more than i do and he was able to fix it while i was there today – not saying how though)

There is one major part that seems to be impossible to locate – A Replacement DJI Inspire 1 Camera. The camera isnt the best 4K on the market, but it is still amazing, and better than most will need it for. But if you trash your camera, for many, your out of business till you buy a new one. But if you cant even find a supplier, you only option is buying a new Inspire!!!!!!

This might give those of you who have a damaged Inspire Camera. Turns out DJI do make some replacement parts!

http://gerrygibbscamerawarehouse.com.au/drones-and-accessories/dji-inspire-1/dji-inspire-1-gimbal-and-camera-unit

Ok, so its not available yet, but at least its coming! And at £500 (approx), its not a lot more than a replacement camera and gimbal for the Phantom 2 Vision Plus!

Here is another piece of Inspire 1 tech, many owners are itching to get their hands on, but cant find anything on the UK quad sites. The new Camera Mount

http://gerrygibbscamerawarehouse.com.au/drones-and-accessories/dji-inspire-1/dji-inspire-1-camera-mount

This camera mount looks great, and at £300 roughly, (if that what it ends up costing) is cheap enough for most Inspire owners add to their DJI horde. Also expected at some point in April 2015 according to the site, but i’m thinking its more likely we will see both items for sale in May or June.

I also heard from a very knowledgeable chap, (who has helped me lots, in fact from day one of my BNUC-s) who has been flying for years, that DJI is going to be releasing details of a new Thermal Imaging Camera for the Inspire very soon! I have no other details yet on spec or price yet, soon as i hear anything it let you know.

It was never a case of if, it was always when. And i shall be most defiantly, be parting with whatever they charge. Damn you Apple, sorry DJI.

You heard it here first!

TU.

Thanks to Jeff and Lee @ Quadcopters.co.uk for replacing my faulty Inspire battery and letting me fly my Inspire behind the office. And thanks to my pal Des, who gave me some invaluable flying ATTI tips in prep for my exam next week. Cheers guys.

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!

BNUC-S Ground School Day 2

Following on from my post last week, i wanted to quickly cover what happened on day two of my BNUC-S training day run by EuroUSC.

A 9am start. First off we went through the mock exam paper they had given us the previous day. I will do a more in-depth post on the theory exam and the kind of questions you might expect to answer shortly.

We then had 2 hours theory on preparation for the Ops Manual and what to expect on the Flight Assessment. They actually give you an almost completed Ops Manual, that you can submit to the CAA with some minor alterations and additions, again i will discuss this in a later post.

By 11 we had a short break and then covered Risk and Hazard Assessment, planning and justifications. This was a really interesting subject and before i knew it, i was lunch time.

We were told the exam would commence at 2pm. At 1.45 we were given the same map we had taken home the night before for revisions, an answer page and then the examiner (John, the tutor) passed out the papers and we were off!

I found Navigation the most difficult part – if you have never seen an Aviation VFR Map before, go and buy one for your area, you will need it for later, and will help with your exam.  I went straight to that questions. Out of 60, 6 or 7 questions all relate to the first Longitude / Latitude question, so if you get that wrong, you wont be able to answer the rest of the map questions. If you get the Lat/Long question right, you can almost guarantee yourself 6/7 right answers!

The exam is 1.15 hours long. Its multiple choices; 4 possible answer per question. only 1 right answer! You need to score 85% and above to pass.

At the end of the exam, we had a short break and we chatted amongst the group, the first question everyone asked was the first map question, seemed everyone got it right. We were expect our results within a week.

By 3.45 we were done and everyone left, seemingly very pleased about the exam, and about the two days training in general. I was defiantly one of them, and have stayed in touch with one of the guys on the course. He’s way ahead of me in terms of flying knowledge and experience, so it was great to pick his brains about the Platform he flies, and what he plans to do commercially in the future.

All in all a great two days, and very much worth the £840 i paid. Just wait for my result and hope my revision paid off!

Results days tomorrow – Fingers Crossed

Thumbs Up

Ground School BNUC-S Theory – Day One

On monday of this week i undertook day one of the two day BNUC-S Pilots Licence to fly commercially in the UK.

The course is run by EuroUSC, one of two companies that have been accredited by the Civil Aviation Authority to train people to legally fly UAS. They have been running the course since 2008. This is an except from their site….

“The Basic National UAS Certificate (BNUC™) introduced in 2008 for Visual Line of Sight Operations (VLOS) and the recent BNUC-S™ for Small Unmanned Aircraft commissioned by the UK CAA in 2010,  adhere to the recently developed Flight Crew Licensing Standard (LUASS-FCL™) which covers fixed, rotary and multi-rotor systems.”                   (http://eurousc.com/services/pilot-qualifications/)

They run a few courses a month across the country, There was about 18 of us on the course, which was presented by a chap called John. What a fantastic teacher. Very knowledgeable, concise and fluent in his material. Before you attend their course you receive 2 course books. I read them both throughly about a week before hand. In addition to briefly covering the important elements of the course book, the trainer also gave additional information, (much of it actually came up in the exam the following day, so make notes!)

The topics covered included.

• Aviation Safety
• Air Law
• Airworthiness And Tech Spec
• Flight Performance & Ops Planning
• Human Factors, Performance and Limitations
• Communications
• Meteorology
• Navigation – Map Reading
• OPs Manual – Introduction
• OPs Manual – Organisation
• OPs Manual – Operational Control
• Procedures: Planning & Risk Management
• Procedures: Flight Operations

The reading Aviation VFR Maps was the most difficult part of the whole day. I have always been able to read standard OS Maps with ease, so i was expecting it to be easy, but for some reason i simply couldn’t get my head around reading Latitude co-ordinates. Longitude fine, ARCs fine, Danger Zones fine, but for some reason co-ordinates like 0001223e confused the hell out of me. It wasn’t until the following morning and speaking to the trainer again, i finally got it. Dont bother watching youtube videos, because they’ll just confuse you! Listen to the trainer and ask until you get it, thats what your paying for. Speaking of which, how much does it cost. Well, the Ground School theory costs £700 and with the VAT its £840.00 (the theory is £350 plus VAT)

Click to access FTCUK-Issue-3.2-web1.pdf

If you fail the exam, you are able to re-sit as soon as their is a space on the next available on a course or when you are ready, but within a year i think. A resist costs £175 plus VAT. The company actually allows you to decide if you want to actually sit the exam right until 15 minutes before the start of the exam. I was so close to taking them up on this offer. Everyone on the course had been booked on for months, and i had only just decided that i actually wanted to fly aerial systems for work, two weeks before hand. But i had revised hard, and decided i would regret not doing it and not knowing, than if i had sat it and failed. At least i would have known how the exam questions were asked.

By the end of the day i must admit i was pretty drained. The tutor used graphics, text as well as numerous Internet and YouTube clips. Mainly of people doing stupid things with UAS or hurting people through a lack of thought and planning. One clip shows a man in America getting minor injuries by falling Drone. While competing in a Bull Run. Couldn’t help but find this somewhat amusing and ironic.

Speaking of the US, I could see how a course as in-depth and intensive as this, coupled with suitable company insurance, is the way to government approval of UAV’s to operate commercially.

At the end of the course, which started at 9am, great lunch at 1pm, finished by 5pm, we were given a mock paper of 10 questions, which i found very helpful that evening when doing my revisions.

The Exam was on the afternoon of the following day, Tuesday, with a bit more theory and discussion in the morning. I will be discussing the exam questions in my next post. Something that i should inform those of you who are thinking of taking the BNUC-S (i cannot speak for the RPQ exam) Examination; YOU CAN TAKE YOUR TEXT BOOKs AND ALL YOUR NOTES INTO THE EXAM – And it is also worth noting EVERY ANSWER TO EVERY QUESTIONS, IS EITHER IN YOUR BOOK OR YOUR NOTES!!!! – Just thought you might like to know 🙂

Anyways, I have to say i thoroughly enjoyed day one of the course, the content was really well delivered and interesting.

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/