AERIAL FILMMAKER
TAKINGTHE TEST
For example, one of the subjects involves decoding a TAF – or Terminal Aerodrome Forecast, like this one: EGCC 120456Z 1206/1312 11005KT 6000 FEW030 PROB40 TEMPO 1206/1215 4000 -RA BKN009. This is a weather forecast around an airport and reveals information in code, such as the name of the airport, when it was issued, how long it is valid for, wind conditions in terms of speed and direction, cloud cover, visibility and lots more. And you are asked to decode part of it. Of course, you can’t fly your A2 drone near a big airport anyway, so it is of limited use. Other questions concerned things like weather fronts, the relative speed of cold and warm fronts, how different cloud formations are formed and their names, weather symbols and synoptic weather charts – even how the weather might be up to 600miles away at a height of 30,000ft. That’s fine if you are flying a 747 across the Atlantic, but it’s little use for flying your drone nomore than 500m away. As for Kp values, which quantify disturbances in the horizontal component of the Earth’s magnetic field to indicate a geomagnetic storm, it’s unlikely to be relevant when flying your DJI Spark for a flight time of about 16minutes. On the subject of flight time, the test also required you to learn how to use the battery cell arrangement in your drone to carefully manage the stated capacity, measured in milliamp hours (mAh), and work out how long it would take to recharge or discharge a battery, using its C-rated charge and discharge figures. As all A2 drones have intelligent batteries that display this information on a dedicated app, it is of little use in the real world of piloting a drone to shoot some film scenes. I also had tomemorise a huge list of CAA acronyms: so I knowmy NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) frommy TDODAR (Time, Diagnose, Options, Decide, Act or Assign, Review) and ECCAIRS (European Co- ordination Centre for Accident and Incident Reporting Systems). And, yes, decoding one of these did come up inmy exam. I also learned about lift and the wing angle of attack on normal fixed-wing aeroplanes, and how they are controlled in pitch, roll and yaw by elevators, ailerons and rudder, even though A2 CofC doesn’t allowme to fly one, obviously. Plus, the advantages of hybrid aircraft – normal planes with a drone bolted to the top for vertical take-off and landing – are now clear, though I’ve never even seen one. I also discovered how drugs and alcohol can affect your capability to fly (spoiler alert: don’t do it), how circadian rhythm can affect your normal bodily functions including cell generation, especially when
“All currently available commercial drones fit into the ‘legacy’ open category”
flying in different times zones and how many hours your aircrew can work for within their prescribed rest hours. It’s hardly essential knowledge to fly my drone for less than 15 minutes at a time. Then, to cap it all, after passing the A2 CofC, you find there aren’t actually any A2 category drones on the market. All currently available commercial drones fit into a legacy ‘limited open’ category until the end of 2022 and the rules are slightly different to A2. Instead of flying up to 30m away frompeople, legacy drones have to be at least 50m away. On the other hand, I am ready for when the new CE-marked drones hit the market in the future. If this all sounds confusing and appears to suggest the training is of little practical use, I’mdoing it a disservice. There was lots of useful information about flying drones, as well as firmguidance on the rules and what can go wrong and why. These were vital details, such as what happens when wind gets funnelled between buildings, how temperature, wind and weather affect drone performance, the difference between flying in full GPS mode and semi-manual ATTI mode and how tomanoeuvre your drone to safety if it suddenly drops due to vortex ring phenomenon (and, yes, I do knowwhat this is and why it happens). I’mdefinitely far more clued-up about the rules of flying a drone, how to get the best out of it and how to stay within the law. And if you need someone to decode a weather report from an airport, I’m your man. It alsomeans for the price of £9 for my Operator ID, £120 for my drone course and about nine hours of training from the comfort of my armchair, I can now legally fly my DJI drones for filmmaking. So, expect the production values of my films to go up, in all senses of the word!
AND ONE FINALTHING…
Just when you think you are safe to scramble your aircraft to do a bit of
commercial filming, there is one last hurdle, and that’s insurance. To do any commercial work you need to have the right liability insurance and one that is compliant with EC785/2004 – see, another use of my comprehensive A2 CofC training right there! There are lots of specialist insurance companies offering different levels of cover, but the crucial thing is that it is for commercial use and has public liability. Some policies offer cover for theft or accidents to your drone while flying, and different levels of public liability, which is usually set bywhere you are flying. And some places or clients demand a given level of liability cover, for example £5 million or £10 million. Many policies also cover you for invasion of privacy or noise complaints. These all impact your premium. A lot of policies cover you for a set time, such as a year. But others recognise you might not be using your drone that often and offer a pay-per-flight policy. Or you can buy, for example, a policy that covers you for 30 flights per year. Every time you fly, you log in to an app to arrange cover for that day, which comes off your 30-day allowance. You also have the option to buy additional flight days if you go over your specified limit.
More information
caa.co.uk flybydronetraining.co.uk
IMAGE The A2 CofC course provides you with all you need to know about the rules of flying a drone legally
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PRO MOVIEMAKER
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