AERIAL FILMMAKER
TAKINGTHE TEST
IMAGES Drones like the DJI Mavic Mini are great for capturing unusual action angles and are easy to carry as they are so small
Actually, it’s not quite as simple as just signing on to take the course. To get on to an A2 CofC course, you first have to register and complete the CAA’s Drone andModel Aircraft Registration and Education Service training and examination. You do this online by studying the Drone andModel Aircraft Code, before taking an online test. You receive an Operator ID, which costs £9 annually, and it must be labelled clearly on every drone you fly. Passing this CAA online test gives you a unique Flyer ID number, which acts as an acknowledgement from the CAA of your competency as a remote pilot. The code and online test cover the need to keep your drone in sight when flying, where you can fly – including the maximumheight (120m) – the no-fly zone over crowds, flying near airports, the need to know how your drone’s ‘return to home’ feature works, how to check battery levels and respecting people’s privacy. Once you have your Flyer ID, you can register for an A2 CofC course. This covers the same ground again, but inmuch greater detail, as well as taking the training up a notch or two. What it doesn’t cover, however, is the basic operation of your drone – you are expected to have read and understood the manual in full. Many training companies also insist that you have already hadmore than ten hours of flying practice before doing the course, or paid for a day of flight training with “I feel lots of the questions were of no relevance to flying an A2 class drone”
What did strike me was howmany actual pilots were on the course, too. One was a fighter pilot turned commercial airline pilot, while others had significant flying and training experience. This huge spread of knowledge meant the tutor had to spend more time than normal explaining the basics to us newbies and also answering advanced questions from the pilots. The final two-hour course actually lasted three hours, and then there was an additional pre-exam course that lasted about 30minutes. With seven-and-a-half hours of intensive training under my belt, I was fully prepared. The closed-book online exam can take up to 75 minutes to complete in a secure online environment. I passed with a score of 90%, in about 25 minutes. Perhaps I should have taken longer and I might have done even better. But 75% is the pass mark, so I reckon I did OK. Especially as I feel lots of the questions were of no relevance whatsoever to flying an A2 class drone!
them. It is worth noting that the A2 CofC course isn’t really about how to fly your specific drone – as I was about to find out. I booked online with Flyby Drone Training, which offers the course via three, two-hour Zoom tutorials with a specific tutor. I got sent a PDF study guide that covered all of the training, plus a list of useful apps and websites to visit. My tutor was called – honestly – Dicky Bird. And he was very experienced, having spent lots of time flying helicopters in the Royal Navy and training helicopter pilots. Flyby’s founder, Jon Parker – a former RAF fighter pilot and instructor –was online several times, too. These guys are the real deal when it comes to flying and passing on that knowledge to budding operators. There were about 23 students on the online course, including a significant number of filmmakers. The three-evening course is shared with the first part of the GVC course as it’s identical, somany of these students were going for that.
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PRO MOVIEMAKER
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