Looking for commercial pilot tips.

[PBF]

Just wondering if there are any MA pilots out there that are doing regular commercial work with their drone and are they finding the right amount of work out there
I am about to get my PfCO qualification mid November and just by chatting to people I'm already turning small jobs away until I'm legal. Not sure what is required elsewhere on the planet but here in the UK to fly commercially the CAA insist on the PfCO permissions certification.
Just looking for any tips to make the most of my time and love of flying my Air. I cant help myself but I'm falling in love with the MP2 Zoom but the Air is so versatile I might stick with that. Might buy some earplugs first though.

 

[dirkclod]

If you get no answers on what you ask you might look / join our other site
which you can find the link at bottom of the page .
You can see what all they use and might be of interest to you.
Good luck.

 

[Moon]

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!

 

[PBF]

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!

Thanks Moon,
Really good advice there. I am a bit like you I am not putting all my eggs in one basket income wise and speaking with some other adventurous pilots its going to be a cut throat venture. I do enjoy flying the MA and if I can earn the occasional income from it all the better but deep down I do hope that it can grow into something viable based on quality work.
I don't own a Phantom so thats not an assessment option but I understand HeliGuy, who are running the pre assessment course, do provide suitable equipment to use. Having said that I haven't used a Phantom either but Im sure the controls are similar in operation. I'm sure they are aware its in November and conditions might be tricky and I doubt they push to fail any candidates. I have studied their pre course operators manual, 122 pages, in depth and the course is designed to make me ready for the theory and practical assessment, so lets hope it all goes well.
Regards....

 

[PBF]

If you get no answers on what you ask you might look / join our other site
View attachment 52039which you can find the link at bottom of the page .
You can see what all they use and might be of interest to you.
Good luck.

Thanks and will do.

 

[PBF]

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!

I have just finished ground school PfCO and well that was an experience. Great tuition and really feel I have a better understanding of both my personal air worthiness and also my commercial future. I realise that both need close management, which the course set out pretty clearly.
I was one of just two individuals who had paid for the course privately, the 9 other students were funded by their business, and I would advise anybody doing it to seriously question if they are prepared to spend the money and time to maintain the requirements of the permission certificate to a satisfactory level. I now believe that before anybody can purchase a SUA they should be obliged to attend this course and be licensed appropriately before getting their hands on one. This will gain a much greater level of safety and allow responsible and authorised "pilots" to flourish.