What’s Needed To Pilot A Commercial Drone?
If you’re thinking of hiring an agency to make a video for you, it’s worth knowing that drone footage can do wonders for your business. Drone footage can be edited into an existing promotional video, or used as a standalone film to impress your website visitors. And once you’ve shown people superb material captured by a drone, they can be turned into customers.
But how do you get professional looking drone footage? Well, you could hire Blue Whale Media, the Warrington web design agency. Our in-house graphic designer Lewis is a fully-qualified drone pilot. So in this blog, we’ll explain what he needed to do to receive the relevant documentation that allows him to fly for commercial purposes.
What Is Drone Footage?
First of all, how you define drone footage? To put it simply, drone footage consists of filming completed by a drone with camera attached to it. The footage gives the viewer the feeling of flying through the air, while offering fantastic aerial views of your business premises, for instance.
Our website design Warrington agency can provide you with such footage. Our drone has a high-resolution camera attached to it. Thanks to GPS tracking, it can hold its position in the air, even in strong winds, and it can also fly low to the ground.
So here’s a look at how you become a qualified drone pilot.
The Documentation You Need From The CAA
In order to become a qualified drone pilot you must pass a course, which awards you with a certificate known as a Permission for Commercial Operation (PfCO). This is issued by the Civil Aviation Authority.
The drone laws in UK are written up in the Air Navigation Order (ANO) and regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority. For more guidance on these issues, you can also read a document from the CAA known as CAP722.
Does Everyone Need To Become A Drone Pilot?
At this point, it’s worth saying that you don’t need a PfCO if you are flying a consumer drone for recreational purposes. There are important criteria, however, that you must follow, if this is the case. Notably, your drone must be under 20kg in weight.
In May 2018, the House of Commons debated legislation in relation to recreational use of drones. If the legislation is introduced, UK drone users will have to pass online safety tests. The Bill also clarifies that drones must not fly within 1km of airport boundaries.
The latter stipulation comes in response to some alarming statistics. Namely, near-misses between drones and aircraft in UK airspace have more than tripled in two years.
The new legislation is expected to be introduced between July 2018 and November 2019.
Contact Your Web Design Warrington Agency Today
It’s important to remember that the legal ramifications above relate to recreational use, while here at Blue Whale Media we’re qualified to use a drone for commercial purposes. So, we’re trained to a high standard and certified by the Civil Aviation Authority. You can be sure that we’ll provide you with good quality drone footage, captured in a safe and professional way.