The General Drone-Related Thread

speed addicted said:
I'm considering adding a drone to my collection of shiny things.
I'd be using it to photograph buildings for an architect friend (to add to the ground level stuff I occasionally do now), so stills and flybys as well as the usual zooming about the place. If this does continue and I start earning money from it I'd go through the qualification and possibly upgrade as I can do both through my company (I work in offshore inspection, drones are starting to be more common).

Looking at the drones the Phantom 3 advanced seems to be a pretty good start. I was looking at spending more on a Phantom 4 or Yuneec but as it's my first it may have a relatively short lifespan and I don't know if I can make money from it yet.

Would this be a good start and allow me to take reasonable pics/video?

Anything else I should consider at around the £750 mark?
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Don't forget the £1500 you'll have to spend on getting permissions and around £1000 for insurance. Without these you can't do any work. Whether for friends or not.
 
Derek897 said:
Thanks for the heads up.
Any issues pairing phone or tablet for fpv?
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Isn't fpv against the rules in the UK as you're supposed to fly in line of sight, ie. you need to be looking at the drone or has that changed?
 
PaulF said:
Isn't fpv against the rules in the UK as you're supposed to fly in line of sight, ie. you need to be looking at the drone or has that changed?
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Hi Paul, i may not have used the correct terminology here as im only thinking about getting one and am a complete noob. What i meant is a screen to be able to see what the camera sees, I called it fpv, but that may not be correct.
 
I think that's the correct term, just was under the impression it was against rules, or used to be. No doubt one of the regular drone users will clarify.
 
I think the use of goggles to view what the camera sees is probably against rules without having someone with you as a 'spotter' to actually watch the drone. But using a screen on the controller as a reference screen is absolutely fine. I generally fly by watching the drone itself and only really glancing at the screen to check what the camera is recording.
 
Muzzieman said:
Don't forget the £1500 you'll have to spend on getting permissions and around £1000 for insurance. Without these you can't do any work. Whether for friends or not.
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Are you suggesting that every single person on this thread has CAA permissions and insurance?
Of course they don't.
So as long as I'm not charging for the shots I don't need the permissions. It's not a buisness if it's not earning.

I already have public liability insurance through my limited company anyway.
 
Ben6 said:
I think the use of goggles to view what the camera sees is probably against rules without having someone with you as a 'spotter' to actually watch the drone. But using a screen on the controller as a reference screen is absolutely fine. I generally fly by watching the drone itself and only really glancing at the screen to check what the camera is recording.
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It's pretty unhelpful squinting at a dark dot in a bright sky, once it's more than 100 feet away and above anything yu might hit, you are far better off concentrating on the excellent on-screen monitoring no matter what they say.
 
speed addicted said:
So as long as I'm not charging for the shots I don't need the permissions.
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And the CAA are totally out of order when they try to prosecute people who fly drones near airports?
 
Derek897 said:
Is there much of a difference in iq between P3 advanced and the Pro ?
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For still photos I believe none what so ever. But for video the advanced is 2.7k and the pro 4K as to how big a difference that is some people don't see it worth the price difference. I personally didn't.
 
That Bradford City - Bristol football match was halted for 20 minutes yesterday because some t*** was flying a drone over the pitch.
 
StewartR said:
And the CAA are totally out of order when they try to prosecute people who fly drones near airports?
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Of course they're not, there is a big difference from taking a few pictures of a new building that's out of the way and flying a drone into an airport flight path. Idiots do stupid things and endanger others, a piece of paper isn't going to change that in the same way that changing the drink drive limit won't effect people who think it's ok to have 9 pints and drive home.

I don't charge my mates for a lift to the pub, hence I'm not a taxi driver and don't need different license, insurance etc. I can take pictures for people and not charge them so I don't need to spend £1000 on the course to get the permissions.
If you're flying a drone purely for pleasure and take pictures that you let other people have are you now a buisiness?

If it does become popular enough to start charging for I'll do the course and pay the cash, I can put it through my limited company anyway so it's not an issue, I just won't be doing it until I see if I think it's worth it.

I think I'll be going down the P3 advanced route, I was thinking about stumping up for the P4 (or possibly a basic inspire) but I don't seen enough of a difference to justify the extra cost. It's also a lot cheaper to crash during the learning bit!
 
Derek897 said:
Thanks for that guys, any footage I've seen so far from the advanced seems fine for my needs / wants, plus I think my pc might struggle to process 4k.
Derek
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Mines not a fan of 2.7k to be honest. Think that'l be the next upgrade for me.
 
Hi
I thought I will as my question here, rather than create a new topic. I am totally new to drones, and getting confused by cheaper models without "altitude controll" and more expensive one, with such feature. Can you explain to me what will happen if I get a drone to a certain altitude, and release the throttle, on a cheap drone without altitude control? Will it drop like a stone? Or keep hoovering? If the later, then what does the "altitude control" improve?

Thank you
 
The more sophisticated ones will hold position in all directions if you let go the controls.
Those with less computerised assistance you have to be constantly inputting power to keep it up, and combat any wind.
This is quite difficult to master and you will crash a lot at first.
Usually they are built strong enough to withstand constant crashing within reason.
 
Do any of ye clever folks, know of any issues with US version phantom 3 pro ?
Theres one for sale near me and im not sure about the differences and any problems i might encounter. Its supposed to have better range but after reading up on it im more confused than i was at the start
 
Derek897 said:
Do any of ye clever folks, know of any issues with US version phantom 3 pro ?
Theres one for sale near me and im not sure about the differences and any problems i might encounter. Its supposed to have better range but after reading up on it im more confused than i was at the start
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In the US it will have a bit more power, but it's controlled by the GPS location so a US model becomes an EU model here and reduces the power to allowed level.
It doesn't make as much difference as you'd think, you should easily get 5000 feet or more in a suitable location.
The charger might have US plug but easily resolved its one of those 8 style leads or at worst just cut the plug off.

In short its the same as you'd get here.
 
There's some good deals to be had new mate. Should be able to get an advanced with spare battery for about £700-750. Personally I wouldn't want one that's been messed about with too much.
 
StuartH said:
There's some good deals to be had new mate. Should be able to get an advanced with spare battery for about £700-750. Personally I wouldn't want one that's been messed about with too much.
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Cheers StuartH, I'll have a look online and see what I can find new. I'll update ye if I find anything and pester ye with more daft questions :)
Derek
 
No such thing as daft questions mate if you don't know the answer I'm really new to drones also despite owning a phantom fc40 and a husban in the past. So much I need to learn and I also have lots of questions but that's the beauty of forums like this.
 
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I'm now on the look out for an iPad mini2 as although it's ok my iPhone 6 Plus just seems a bit small.
 
speed addicted said:
So as long as I'm not charging for the shots I don't need the permissions. It's not a buisness if it's not earning.

I already have public liability insurance through my limited company anyway.
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If whoever you supply the footage to uses it for their business that is commercial use even if you supply it for free. I also have public liability for my photography business but had to get a separate policy for use of drones, I would suggest you ask whoever you are with if your'e policy covers the use of drones. Of course i don't think everyone in this thread has CAA permissions, i was just pointing out what is required to supply commercial imagery by law. With the hope of helping people stay out of trouble with their drones. If an incident occurs the CAA take it very seriously.
 
Muzzieman said:
If whoever you supply the footage to uses it for their business that is commercial use even if you supply it for free..
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Where have you got this information.
It sounds like over zealous interpretation from someone trying to sell their own service.
 
Muzzieman said:
If whoever you supply the footage to uses it for their business that is commercial use even if you supply it for free.
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And how exactly are they going to be able to tell what I intend to do with the footage while I'm standing in a field flying a drone?

Realistically how often are you questioned by the authorities about your flying? I'd guess never, assuming you're not being stupid with it.
 
4wd said:
Where have you got this information.
It sounds like over zealous interpretation from someone trying to sell their own service.
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Sell to who?
4wd said:
Where have you got this information.
It sounds like over zealous interpretation from someone trying to sell their own service.
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why would i attempt to sell to anyone on this site? I am just trying to make people aware of what you can realistically do with a drone regarding actual work, not just having a bit of fun.
 
speed addicted said:
And how exactly are they going to be able to tell what I intend to do with the footage while I'm standing in a field flying a drone?

Realistically how often are you questioned by the authorities about your flying? I'd guess never, assuming you're not being stupid with it.
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the CAA can ask for my flight logs whenever they see fit, but as an example say i had a collision with a building. That has to be reported, they can then look back at every single flight i have taken up to that point and i could be prosecuted for any infringement i made on any previous flights. They do monitor the media to check for illegal usage. So, you take some images for an architect friend, they get featured in the press. Then the CAA comes knocking to see who supplied the aerial images and boom you are in hot water! I'm just pointing out potential pitfalls and things to be generally aware of, ignorance is no defence when you are in court. If you don't want to take the advice thats fine, personally i couldnt give a flying f**ck whether you do or not.
 
Wouldn't it be up to the person or company using the image commercially to ascertain if it was an illegal aerial image?
They could save one randomly from flickr - which happens all the time anyway.
It sounds like a most poorly thought out and unworkable concept.
Which will explain why there probably aren't any examples of such a prosecution being brought.

Where is this legislation laid out which states it's illegal to let anyone use free of charge an image taken from drone.
It's not a commercial operation if you don't charge a fee.
You can't be expected to monitor how they use an image or video for evermore after you donate it.
Once again it sounds like an inventive interpretation pushed by those with a commercial interest in cornering business for themselves.
 
you are actually supporting my point by that post. Yes it is up to the company to ascertain if the image was taken legally, without the CAA permissions and insurance it isn't. As the company will want to use it commercially that would be illegal. Knowing that would be an admission of guilt if for any reason the matter ended up in court. As for the point of giving images away for free there is no business in that move so how can qualified pilots be cornering the market? I certainly don't supply anything free of charge and after investing over 10k in training, gear and Licences i should think it reasonable to expect not to have to compete against joe blogs with his £500 phantom. Air law is there for a reason and thats to keep operators, clients, other aviators and the general public safe. Unfortunately in this arena there are strict rules to be adhered to, and rightly so.
 
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