I use my
MA for commercial work. I like it as it is small, portable and quick to get up flying. The camera does the job for what I need it to do and I don't always need the distance so the control link quality is not usually a problem. If I am doing a map in something like Drone Deploy then I prefer to use a Phantom as far to often the
MA loses contact with the controller and RTH before the mapping is complete.
Downside of
MA is also the noise if using it in a residential area!
I mainly use it for property photography, aerial landscapes (for stock) and roof inspections to help a mate out who is a builder.
What sort of aerial work are you looking at doing? Personally I am finding it hard to get regular work and luckily drones is only a second income for me. What you will probably find is that some clients don't care about your PFCO, they just want the product as cheap as possible and if an estate agent can get an unlicenced & uninsured pilot to photograph a house for £30 than they will go that route instead to save a few quid. The same is true of other potential clients in other industries too. At the moment the CAA and Police don't do anything about people doing commercial drone work without a PFCO so you might find that that impacts on the amount of work too as you might find it hard to compete when you factor in your time doing the flight planning, permissions and insurance costs?
Practice as much as you can before your PFCO assessments. Are you going to use the
MA for the flight assessment? I used my
MA for the assessment, I had to do more manoeuvres to prove I could handle it as you can't force it into Atti like other drones eg a Phantom. The
MA is very twitchy and responsive so I would recommend changing the responsiveness settings in Go4 as the examiners want to see you flying slowly and in control. When I did my assessment it was very windy and right on the limits, as the
MA is light it was a bit harder to make it look smooth as it was being buffeted about !
Make sure you know your OM inside out, especially your emergency procedures and get your initial briefing patter sorted out in advance.
If I had to do my flight assessment again I would use a Phantom as I find them easier to see at a distance (when doing the disorientation exercise) and you can put it in Atti to easier prove you can control a drone.
Good luck with your drone work and hope it keeps coming!