UK based flyer, need some help on the rules (commercial)

[BMEDIA]

Hi all,

I have recently bought a Mavic Pro drone and now I have a slight issue with it. I originally bought it for my business to hover up and take photos of cars, eye level shots of building and some basic beautiful scenery. I knew when buying it, that I would need a license if I wanted to fly in for a commercial purpose, which to me was aerial surveillance, over certain land points and other bits and bobs that you would need to a professional operator for. So I bought it thinking I could use it for my needs without needing a license, well not needing one yet. After research, it looks like I need one! and the average course is around £1200. The drone one cost me £900! So it seems terribly unfair to have to pay £2100 and I don't even fully know if I will make that money back yet.

So in my current state, do I actually need a license to photograph 2 stories buildings, cars and some beautiful aerial photos for clients? Or is there a smaller license I can get that would allow me sell my photos and videos?

 

[alex2987]

Hi all,

I have recently bought a Mavic Pro drone and now I have a slight issue with it. I originally bought it for my business to hover up and take photos of cars, eye level shots of building and some basic beautiful scenery. I knew when buying it, that I would need a license if I wanted to fly in for a commercial purpose, which to me was aerial surveillance, over certain land points and other bits and bobs that you would need to a professional operator for. So I bought it thinking I could use it for my needs without needing a license, well not needing one yet. After research, it looks like I need one! and the average course is around £1200. The drone one cost me £900! So it seems terribly unfair to have to pay £2100 and I don't even fully know if I will make that money back yet.

So in my current state, do I actually need a license to photograph 2 stories buildings, cars and some beautiful aerial photos for clients? Or is there a smaller license I can get that would allow me sell my photos and videos?

Hi BMEDIA,

Did you get any further clarification on this in the end? I am at similar stage to what you where when you posted. Would be good to know the ins and outs if you ever found out.

Cheers
Alex

 

[gnirtS]

So in my current state, do I actually need a license to photograph 2 stories buildings, cars and some beautiful aerial photos for clients? Or is there a smaller license I can get that would allow me sell my photos and videos?

Yes you do. You're operating commercially, there's profit being made in the chain so you need to be a commercial operator.

What you paid for your drone doesn't factor into it - its up to you to decide if the business case is viable or not (the same as paying for any other form of training and a licence for everything from a doctor down to a truck driver). Most people wont be flying el-cheapo mavics for commercial work. They'll pay far more for a drone far more suited to the job.


From the CAAs own website:-

A small unmanned aircraft is defined as ‘any unmanned aircraft, other than a balloon or a kite, having a mass of not more than 20 kg without its fuel but including any articles or equipment installed in or attached to the aircraft at the commencement of its flight’.

A commercial operation is defined as:
‘any operation of an aircraft other than for public transport;

• which is available to the public
  or
• which, when not made available to the public, is performed under a contract between an operator and a customer, where the latter has no control over the operator,

in return for remuneration or other valuable consideration.’

The key elements in understanding this term are ‘…any operation of an aircraft…in return for remuneration or other valuable consideration’.

Regulations relating to the commercial use of small drones | UK Civil Aviation Authority


Note payment or "other valuable consideration" so free advertising for a company, "exposure" etc would still all class as commercial.

 

[BMEDIA]

Hi BMEDIA,

Did you get any further clarification on this in the end? I am at similar stage to what you where when you posted. Would be good to know the ins and outs if you ever found out.

Cheers
Alex

Hi, I went off and actually did the course to get my license for commercial work. To sum it up:

Anything, even non-paid work is still considered commercial work if your business name is attached to it. You could argue the case you've done the photo for your own enjoyment and someone offered to buy it off you, but that would only work once and a while. If a business offered to buy it then it would definitely be commercial work.

If you're a non-commercial user you have to basically be 150 meters away from most things, this goes down to 50 when licensed or 0 if you have express written confirmation from the building owner, person, car whatever that you're near.

Taking off is tricky as you need the written consent of the person who owns the land to take off. So you can't go down the local park and take off as that belongs to the council.

Scenario:
Flying down the beach.
Do I have permission from the land owner?
Am I 150 meters/50 meters from the nearest object or person?
Is the beach busy? If I crash what damage can I cause?
Are my photos going to be used just for me or do I plan to sell them?

gnirtS comment is true, I should have gone for a better drone. But if you factor in the price of the drone + training + insurance / by the amount of time in a year you can actually fly and factor that into a daily rate, most of my clients can stomach the lesser quality for a substantially cheaper day rate.