3 Hours Later…..

So after a total of 2 hours 54 minutes on the phone to my local council,                 (who tried to be very helpful, but weren’t) i finally got hold of the right department.

Trying to inform the local authority that you are operating a UAS for recreational and commercial purposes was a nightmare. No one knew which department I should speak to; New Business, Licensing, Data Protections, Parks and Recreation. No one was sure.

Eventually, after a very helpful person literally went and asked every head of department she could find, put me in touch with Planning and Buildings, and it was the Council Land Department.

I informed Planning that i wanted to visit my local park and fly my new Phantom 2 a couple of times a week for an hour or so. Not for commercial purposes but to practice before my Flight Assessment in January.

The guy told me he had never had this request before, so could i put everything in writing.

• What i wanted to use the park for
• Why did i want to use this park
• What would i be flying
• For how long would i be flying, when and how often
• When would i likely be flying and for how long
• My personal details
• Any Insurance i had in place

Sufficed to say, i put it all together in an email and i will report and what they come back with.

On a side note, i will be looking to go and see my local authority as soon as i get my full licence to speak to them about the inevitable growth of UAS use in our area in the future, and their lack of preparation for when it comes!

Till then

Thumbs Up

Could personalised UAVs be standard tech in the next ten years?

I see now reason why one day, it would be quiet normal to own a small fleet of small unmanned aerial systems, buzzing around you, your home, work or even on the move, obeying your every command.

How cool would it be to have a tiny quad drone with a tiny HD camera and mic that connected to your google glass or smart phone, and send voice commands to access places you normally couldn’t go! Or maybe a safety drone for parents to constantly monitor and communicate with their children.

From a military perspective, and in my case, from an action movie perspective, you can assume the US Military is already designing the next generation of personal autonomous aerial combat systems. From high altitude imaging and surveillance a solider could identify threats from a discrete locations. Or communications, I’ve seen enough movies to know that radio signals are hard to send in dense jungle or deep valleys. You could use your Drone as a rely station for R/T, GPS and Internet, right? But i cant imagine its going to be long before we see smaller more adaptable and dangerous UAS in both combat and film.

Anyways have a read

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-30430473

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/