At the end of the day if you want to operate commercially you have to prove to the CAA that you are a competent and responsible operator of well built and well maintained equipment.
Your pilot qualification and ops manual is key to this before they will give you Permission For Aerial Work.
The ops manual can seem daunting but all you are doing is putting in print how you operate professionally. It's not difficult once you get stuck in.
The current BNUC-S Ground School Manual has a lot of good guidance in it now - mine didn't!
Through my work as a part time instructor at Phoenix UAV Centre, I have now trained quite a few people and helped them to get through all the stages needed to gain their BNUC-S.
Manual flight skills and 'real world' operating are an essential part of the courses we offer.
We are also about to launch a new set of courses aimed at post qualification people to encompass advanced flying, filming and photographic techniques
As yet, I have no experience of the new RPQ-S and I'm hopeful that the training is as thorough as that which we offer.
As far as I can tell, unlike most people here, I am a film and tv professional with decades of knowledge and experience who learnt to fly. Getting the shot (legally!) is everything - how I do it is irrelevant to the client for the most part.
I still use full size aircraft when appropriate - something I have done for a long time.
My main industry is made up almost entirely of freelancers and Euro USC don't have a problem with sole traders provided that you demonstrate in your flight manual that you operate as a minimum crew of two. It's insensible to do anything else. On bigger jobs with a lot of flying involved we often operate a 3 man crew - personnel hired in as needed.
This is where qualified, ethical pilots could work together for each others good if gone about the right way.
The BMFA have made it quite clear that their insurance won't cover anything that has the slightest commercial aspect to it. Far better to insure with John Heath who does cover you while you are training and for the flight test. I know it isn't cheap, but are you serious about getting into this industry?
I had to finance everything I do out of my normal trading and you don't have to spend a fortune these days to get good working kit.
You do, however, HAVE to operate legally and safely. You could lose all that you have and more if the unthinkable should happen and you injure someone.
Your pilot qualification and ops manual is key to this before they will give you Permission For Aerial Work.
The ops manual can seem daunting but all you are doing is putting in print how you operate professionally. It's not difficult once you get stuck in.
The current BNUC-S Ground School Manual has a lot of good guidance in it now - mine didn't!
Through my work as a part time instructor at Phoenix UAV Centre, I have now trained quite a few people and helped them to get through all the stages needed to gain their BNUC-S.
Manual flight skills and 'real world' operating are an essential part of the courses we offer.
We are also about to launch a new set of courses aimed at post qualification people to encompass advanced flying, filming and photographic techniques
As yet, I have no experience of the new RPQ-S and I'm hopeful that the training is as thorough as that which we offer.
As far as I can tell, unlike most people here, I am a film and tv professional with decades of knowledge and experience who learnt to fly. Getting the shot (legally!) is everything - how I do it is irrelevant to the client for the most part.
I still use full size aircraft when appropriate - something I have done for a long time.
My main industry is made up almost entirely of freelancers and Euro USC don't have a problem with sole traders provided that you demonstrate in your flight manual that you operate as a minimum crew of two. It's insensible to do anything else. On bigger jobs with a lot of flying involved we often operate a 3 man crew - personnel hired in as needed.
This is where qualified, ethical pilots could work together for each others good if gone about the right way.
The BMFA have made it quite clear that their insurance won't cover anything that has the slightest commercial aspect to it. Far better to insure with John Heath who does cover you while you are training and for the flight test. I know it isn't cheap, but are you serious about getting into this industry?
I had to finance everything I do out of my normal trading and you don't have to spend a fortune these days to get good working kit.
You do, however, HAVE to operate legally and safely. You could lose all that you have and more if the unthinkable should happen and you injure someone.
