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UK Looking to get into flying a drone commercially UK?

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Aug 5, 2020
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Hi everyone,

I've been a member on here for a while and I've been a drone pilot for longer.

I'm looking at getting into flying a drone commercially at the moment. I'm coming from a background of electrical engineering and this is something I origionally intended on doing 2 years ago but it wasn't practical or possible for me to do that at the time but it is something I could do now I think.

So the commercial drone industries that im looking at are real estate, mapping and surveying.

It looks like the real estate industry pays the least at about £120 per house for 4 ish pictures not edited of the outside of the house only. Im not sure really how much is standard for 3d models of the outside of the house too though?

3d Mapping of things like solar panel farms or construction sites seems to pay between £400 and £1000 on average per job?

For surveying I've found it really hard to find prices but it seems like its £1000 upwards?

One of the main things I'm trying to understand better though is the laws/rules. What are the rules for operating commercially because for things like real estate I would likely need to fly over roads, property and people so would the only drone I could use for that be a mini 2 with a minamum of a A2 COFC and then if I used something like a mavic 2 pro would I have to be selective with jobs to only shoot houses that are in the countryside?

Or am I misunderstanding the rules and I can fly either drone anywhere within reason providing I conduct a risk assesment prior to conducting the flight and submit the risk assesment to the CAA to get approval.

Please let me know where Im wrong?

If I do end up going ahead with starting to fly commercially I would likely start in real estate with a mini 2 or mavic 2 pro depending on rules, then I would do the mapping with a mavic 2 pro and after that surveying with a matrice m200 I have or I would invest in a matrice m300 RTK. I have a Mavic 2 Pro already too so ideally I would like to start with that but if the rules make that too difficult I would likely buy a mini 2 to use.

Thanks for reading
James
 
Hi everyone,

I've been a member on here for a while and I've been a drone pilot for longer.

I'm looking at getting into flying a drone commercially at the moment. I'm coming from a background of electrical engineering and this is something I origionally intended on doing 2 years ago but it wasn't practical or possible for me to do that at the time but it is something I could do now I think.

So the commercial drone industries that im looking at are real estate, mapping and surveying.

It looks like the real estate industry pays the least at about £120 per house for 4 ish pictures not edited of the outside of the house only. Im not sure really how much is standard for 3d models of the outside of the house too though?

3d Mapping of things like solar panel farms or construction sites seems to pay between £400 and £1000 on average per job?

For surveying I've found it really hard to find prices but it seems like its £1000 upwards?

One of the main things I'm trying to understand better though is the laws/rules. What are the rules for operating commercially because for things like real estate I would likely need to fly over roads, property and people so would the only drone I could use for that be a mini 2 with a minamum of a A2 COFC and then if I used something like a mavic 2 pro would I have to be selective with jobs to only shoot houses that are in the countryside?

Or am I misunderstanding the rules and I can fly either drone anywhere within reason providing I conduct a risk assesment prior to conducting the flight and submit the risk assesment to the CAA to get approval.

Please let me know where Im wrong?

If I do end up going ahead with starting to fly commercially I would likely start in real estate with a mini 2 or mavic 2 pro depending on rules, then I would do the mapping with a mavic 2 pro and after that surveying with a matrice m200 I have or I would invest in a matrice m300 RTK. I have a Mavic 2 Pro already too so ideally I would like to start with that but if the rules make that too difficult I would likely buy a mini 2 to use.

Thanks for reading
James
OK the laws and/or rules have changed recently regarding commercial operation within the UK.
with effect from 1st January this year the CAA adopted the EASA framework with a little ‘tweaking’.

Basically the designation of flying commercially or recreationally has been removed completely so you are free now to make money from your images In any way you see fit. The caveat with that is that you will require liability insurance for commercial operation that is EC785/2004 compliant.
With regards to operational limitations, This again has totally changed and is now by weight/risk based.

So, depending on your aircrafts take off mass (and more latterly kinetic energy once certified UAVs appear) will determine what category you are able to fly in and consequently how much freedom you have to operate in urban/congested areas.

You are correct in your assumption that currently the Mini 2 is probably the most capable UAV available that will afford you the most freedom within the UK.
Sub 250g aircraft allow you to operate virtually anywhere (subject to air law and CAP722 restrictions) including flight directly over people (but not crowds).

As soon as you go over 250g your aircraft will fall into a different class with the subsequent more restrictive operation limitations. However, these can be mitigated by taking an A2CofC course and further improved stand off distances can be enjoyed (down to 5m of uninvolved people) by taking the GVC bolt on.

I would start by taking a look at the pertinent sections of CAP722 together with getting to understand the weight classifications and how they affect where you are able to legally operate.

Hope,some of that helps
 
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OK the laws and/or rules have changed recently regarding commercial operation within the UK.
with effect from 1st January this year the CAA adopted the EASA framework with a little ‘tweaking’.

Basically the designation of flying commercially or recreationally has been removed completely so you are free now to make money from your images In any way you see fit. The caveat with that is that you will require liability insurance for commercial operation that is EC785/2004 compliant.
With regards to operational limitations, This again has totally changed and is now by weight/risk based.

So, depending on your aircrafts take off mass (and more latterly kinetic energy once certified UAVs appear) will determine what category you are able to fly in and consequently how much freedom you have to operate in urban/congested areas.

You are correct in your assumption that currently the Mini 2 is probably the most capable UAV available that will afford you the most freedom within the UK.
Sub 250g aircraft allow you to operate virtually anywhere (subject to air law and CAP722 restrictions) including flight directly over people (but not crowds).

As soon as you go over 250g your aircraft will fall into a different class with the subsequent more restrictive operation limitations. However, these can be mitigated by taking an A2CofC course and further improved stand off distances can be enjoyed (down to 5m of uninvolved people) by taking the GVC bolt on.

I would start by taking a look at the pertinent sections of CAP722 together with getting to understand the weight classifications and how they affect where you are able to legally operate.

Hope,some of that helps
Hi, Moderator, just read your profile....wow! Are there any photos/ videos of the Hexcopter? Would love to see it. Take care. Peter
 
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