License to Fly
In the UK there is no such thing as a license to fly a drone. For commercial pilots and Civil Aviation Authority CAA require all pilots to complete a theoretical course and examination on the Remote Pilot Theoretical Knowledge/ General Airmanship followed by a flight assessment with an approved CAA training facility and must comply with CAP 393 and CAP 722 regulations.
Alongside this testing the pilot or organisation need to develop a strict set of operational guidelines called the ops manual. During the flight assessment it is required to conduct the test following the documented operational parameters set out in the manual.
Only then when all the above is complete is this submitted to the CAA. Once approved the pilot/company is awarded with a Permission for Commercial Operations (PfCO).
PfCO’s are valid for 12 months and therefore reviewed annually to insure permissions are valid.
Commercial Operations
Any flight which is connected with reward is considered a commercial operation. Therefore if you take a picture with your drone and accept a pint of beer as reward, this would constitute a commercial operation and subject to the CAAs regulations. Even images used on a Vlog which features advertising on the video platform qualifies as commercial.
There are heavy fines imposed on drone use and with YouTube sharing its pretty obvious who the CAA will persue to recover their fine.
So its makes sense to use a fully CAA qualified pilot with a current PfCO regardless of how small your operation… ‘it’ll be alright’ just doesn’t cut it.
Safe to Fly
The main aim of the CAA is to ensure the safety of flights conducted with drones. Therefore our pilots only conduct missions once they have been risk assessed and all permissions have been obtained. During the planning they will advise you of any limitations that may pose a safety risk and work with you to mitigate these risks so you can get the footage you need.