Why general and commercial aviation pilots make great drone owners.

[Tim Santa Maria]

A synopsis of this thread, courtesy of @old man mavic:

"Its all about being aware of what you are doing and realising that as the PIC the buck stops with you"

Now, if you have time to read the rest, carry on.

I have alot of friends who are general and commercial pilots as well as drone owners. After flying with so many of these guys, it has become apparent to me that they are the safest people to fly with, and consider their drone as an aircraft, not a flying camera. They obey the rules, read the manual, use checklists, and have it ground into them that fuel management is critical, as well as weather and airspace restrictions.

As a pilot who grew up in the front seat of a Piper Cub, my dad taught me before we even left the house, to check for weather. But that wasnt good enough for him. He checked the weather, called the airport, then took a look outside. He didnt mess with the weather, and if his gut said not to fly, we didnt.

He also drilled into me to never let my fuel tank get below 1/4. To him, that was empty. I still believe that with my Mavic, 25% is empty to me, so I plan on landing at 30% or higher.

I use a checklist before flight, because while it might not stop me from forgetting something, it's kinda fun to go through it every time. Takes all of 2 minutes.

Lastly, he always planned his flight, and flew his plan. Even if we were just going out to goof around, he always had a plan, just in case. It made it more fun to plan, and became a ritual that follows me to this day. I laugh at myself when I go to fly my drones, and find myself flying a pattern. I guess after 2000+ hours of time in aircraft, thats the way my brain thinks. Take off upwind, turn crosswind, downwind, then final. I know its a drone and capable of VTOL, but flying a pattern just relaxes me.

Thanks for reading...

Rob

 

[Tim Santa Maria]

Hi Rob

This is a great article. I've had a keen interest in the RC hobby for 40yrs+ especially the aviation branch. I like your approach of how you have added a huge fun and adventure factor in your overall approach to flying that includes the not so glamorous side compliance side. I'm a big advocate on safety too. I've had the same attitude for a while in my hobbies and professionally at work so I'm used to this kind of thinking. In this context it's an attitude that allows you to focus on what really matters - flying whatever the mode of aircraft as much as possible. I think that's the buzz of what it's all about.

I've also noticed as a newbie drone operator/pilot that there seems to be a quiet a discussion on the thread about 'Just how dangerous is a drone?' I've tried to wade through it objectively to absorb all the 'good stuff' that newbies should.

I just keep discovering lots of new topics of interest within the community. Well done.

Regards

Tim

 

[ciscokid]

My dad use to say its just MILAGE. Now i know what he was talking about...lol

 

[Kreigor-Celtic Warrier]

I agree. We used to fly with the doors open, even in the winter. He used to prop it, and I was the "contact and brakes" guy.

Flying Cubs gave me alot of respect for rudder control. because it was so light, landing in a crosswind was always a fun experience. Sometimes the other main wheel didnt hit the ground until the plane was almost stopped! Im sure you know what I mean.

Do you mean something like hard left rudder and hard right
aileron, and use the starboard side of the fuselage as an air brake??? That was quite exciting when my FI did that to me for the first time in the clubs' J3...

 

[Kreigor-Celtic Warrier]

My dad use to say its just MILAGE. Now i know what he was talking about...lol

My dad said to me "Go back to school, get a job, or join the military." Boy! Did I make a mistake by not going with the first choice....

 

[747P4]

A synopsis of this thread, courtesy of @old man mavic:

"Its all about being aware of what you are doing and realising that as the PIC the buck stops with you"

Now, if you have time to read the rest, carry on.

I have alot of friends who are general and commercial pilots as well as drone owners. After flying with so many of these guys, it has become apparent to me that they are the safest people to fly with, and consider their drone as an aircraft, not a flying camera. They obey the rules, read the manual, use checklists, and have it ground into them that fuel management is critical, as well as weather and airspace restrictions.

As a pilot who grew up in the front seat of a Piper Cub, my dad taught me before we even left the house, to check for weather. But that wasnt good enough for him. He checked the weather, called the airport, then took a look outside. He didnt mess with the weather, and if his gut said not to fly, we didnt.

He also drilled into me to never let my fuel tank get below 1/4. To him, that was empty. I still believe that with my Mavic, 25% is empty to me, so I plan on landing at 30% or higher.

I use a checklist before flight, because while it might not stop me from forgetting something, it's kinda fun to go through it every time. Takes all of 2 minutes.

Lastly, he always planned his flight, and flew his plan. Even if we were just going out to goof around, he always had a plan, just in case. It made it more fun to plan, and became a ritual that follows me to this day. I laugh at myself when I go to fly my drones, and find myself flying a pattern. I guess after 2000+ hours of time in aircraft, thats the way my brain thinks. Take off upwind, turn crosswind, downwind, then final. I know its a drone and capable of VTOL, but flying a pattern just relaxes me.

Thanks for reading...

Rob

Only takes me 30 minutes to pre flight my cockpit ☺