UAV SAFETY & LEGISLATION

As a CAA approved UAV operator, we are held to account for the safety and legality of each and every UAV flight we conduct. The possible uses of drones is vast and as they become ever more popular both recreationally and commercially an emphasis has to be put on the safe, responsible and legal use of them.

Our operations manual lays out the parameters in which we can fly and is referred to for each project we undertake.

Many hobbyists are offering aerial filming and photography work, please be aware that this is not only illegal but potentially very dangerous and were an incident to happen it is very likely they won't be covered by appropriate insurance.

Only trust a CAA approved operator to conduct any aerial work you require.

They can be found here

https://publicapps.caa.co.uk/cap1361

Every flight must have a designated takeoff and landing area. Ideally this should be cordoned off and in an open space. Our UAV's are equipped with inbuilt failsafe procedures to ensure a safe landing in the event of signal loss or incapacitation of the pilot.

These procedures include a return to home function which when triggered will cause the aircraft to instantly assume an altitude of 30 metres and fly straight to the take off/landing point which was recorded using GPS co-ordinates and make a controlled decent, once landed the motors are disarmed.

Another failsafe feature is an automatic land once the battery reaches a particularly low level, this guarantees a safe landing if there is a problem with the battery cell levels during flight. Both failsafe functions can be activated at the flick of a switch by the pilot in command.

For obvious safety reasons there is a limit to how far and high we can fly. The limit is set by the CAA and is called the operational bubble. This is limited 400 ft high and 500m distance from the operator and the term used for this bubble is (VLOS) Visual Line Of Sight.

Whilst always operating within line of sight we can fly up to 500m from the pilot in all directions, meaning if we have a central takeoff point we can fly 1000m in any direction, if required we can extend this distance by utilising a tracking vehicle. We can also apply for permission if the shot you need is higher than the 400ft ceiling, although this is not always guaranteed.

WEATHER LIMITS

There are only 2 reasons we won't be able to fly once we have conducted all our pre flight surveys and checklists. These are any form of rain, snow or wind gusts over 20 mph.

Whilst our UAV can be operated and controlled in stronger winds it is almost impossible to provide smooth, vibration free footage which we would be proud of supplying. We follow forecasts up until the last possible moment before we have to travel to the shoot location. If we do have to cancel due to in-climate weather we will endeavour to reschedule for the next convenient day.

OUR #1 PRIORITY ON EVERY MISSION!

Safety First

KNOW THE SCORE

FOR EVERY OPERATION WE

FAILSAFE

OPERATIONAL BUBBLE

VISUAL LINE OF SIGHT (VLOS)

500 M

400 FT

WEATHER LIMITS