Yes of course. We are fully qualified and insured.
Yes -All of our pilots are fully qualified to operate commercially and approved from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
Under CAA regulations we are allowed to fly from ground level up to a maximum altitude of 400ft.
We do not fly in high winds and rain. We can fly in winds gusting up to 22mph.
We will not attempt to fly in unsafe conditions and will always seek to rearrange to a mutually convenient day.
Worryingly, we are aware of other operators who have pushed their luck trying to fly in unsuitable conditions. This has led to drones crashing which as a drone operator is catastrophic. we always want to please clients, but unfortunately, we sometimes can’t.
Our drones fleet includes drones that can self heat their batteries. We can fly from -10°c to 40°c. In short, cold does not prevent us flying.
We monitor the weather forecast 5 days in advance of any shoot. If there are issues we will contact you to discuss the forecast and best options as they develop.
If we have to re-schedule a date because of weather the booking deposit is transferred to the new date.
Weather is known business risk in the UK so we are as flexible as possible to ensure that bookings can be rearranged.
We appreciate there are times when it is not possible to rearrange for another date (such as weddings). We will work with you upto the event to agree how to proceed, but unfortunately strong winds and rain can prevent us safely flying.
The maximum flight time on a single battery in normal conditions is upto 30 minutes. On average we fly up to 22 minutes before landing and changing the battery. We carry spare pre-charged batteries on each shoot. It only takes a few minutes to change the battery and get back in air. So we are able to fly all day with very little disruption.
Yes – We can fly indoors but we need space. We have flown in warehouses, studios and for safety we can install propeller guards for indoor flights.
Our drones are battery powered with electric motors so there is no worry about polluting the environment. The dynamics of flying indoors are different. The construction and materials in the building can affect how the drone UAV flies.
95% of the time there are no issues with flying indoors but safety is our number one priority. Only a short flight test can give us the final answer.
This depends on the job. In most cases we send a single pilot to client sites. For a more complicated shoot we use two ground stations with a pilot and a separate camera operator along with marshalls to control the area.
Yes – We stream the aerial drone footage in real-time to the pilot’s remote controller which allows the client on the ground to see what the aerial camera is capturing.
This lets us adjust the camera pan, tilt, framing and drone flight path as we fly to get the best shots.
We are happy to work with clients to ensure we capture excatly what they want.
Yes we do. However, drone flying rules and regulations vary from country to country. Some countries have advanced rules and procedures for drones, whereas others don’t. As a result drone use abroad can be complex, costly and there are times when it could be better for a local operator to complete taskings.
Please ring us to discuss your requirements and we will provide honest and pragmatic advice.
Our CAA approval clearly defines where and how we can fly.
The main operational conditions for a small unmanned aircraft SUA are:
• Maintaining a distance of 50m from people and property not in control of the pilot.
• During take off and landing maintain a distance of 30m from people and property not in control of the pilot.
• Permission of the landowner to take off and land.
• Directly overhead or within a minimum distance of 150m from an open air assembly of over 1000 people.
• Maximum height of 400ft above ground level.
• Maintain visual line of sight of the SUA to a maximum distance of 500m.
• During daylight hours, so that you can clearly see the SUA and take avoiding action from other air users if required.
• Outside of controlled airspace.
• Restrictions apply to certain areas of Central London and additional permissions to fly in these areas need to be sought from the CAA.
• Restrictions and rules apply to flying near an airport and aerodrome.
We can fly close to buildings and people when we have consent of the owner and the people in close proximity have been briefed and are under the control of the pilot.
This allows us to do close survey work of building, roofs, building sites, hotels and golf courses.
Here are the most common ones:
SUA – small unmanned aircraft (used by the CAA)
SUSA – small unmanned surveillance aircraft (used by CAA)
UAV – unmanned aerial vehicle (used by the CAA)
RPA – remotely piloted aircraft
RPAS – remotely piloted aircraft system
UAS – unmanned aircraft systems
UA – unmanned aircraft
You often see them before or after the word drone – UAV drone or drone UAV
We are happy to offer a short demonstration flight in conjunction with a site visit.
Yes we can. We have a night rating from the CAA and all our pilots are trained to fly at night. We are skilled in setting up the cameras to film or photograph at night.
