Gone are the days when aerial footage, of any description, cost thousands of pounds and involved complex helicopter flight planning and camera operators. The world of commercial UAV flight taken over a large part of this market, evolving quickly over the last decade in pace with technological innovations. However, this has caused governments and air traffic controllers around the world a bit of a headache working out how to regulate and integrate this emerging industry. The prospect of Google drones delivering your weekly shop in your back garden or the Royal Mail swapped their trusty red vans for an angry swarm of delivery drones along with numerous reported 'near misses', has understandably, got The Press's and people's attention.
Enter the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) who are a leading global aviation regulatory organisation. The CAA has embraced 'all-things-UAV' recognising that this issue isn't just going to go away and are addressing the assoicated problems and opportunities head on. Consequently, they have adopted a regulatory process that ensures any registered commercial UAV operator meets a certain criteria based around a standardised syllabus, a written exam and a practical flying assessment which are accessible across the UK. You can find a list of themhere or you could try some of the many 'Drone Directories'.
The resulting permit granted by the CAA is for 'Permission For Commercial Operations' (PFCO) and together with associated Public Liability Insurance are two essentials documents
that clients should ask for, and check that they are current, before commissioning commercial UAV work to ensure their own Duty of Care and Compliances are appropriately discharged.