Passing my Flight Test!

It's been a long and, at times, painstaking process, but I finally passed my flight test on December 16, 2015, on a very blustery day in Bristol. This means that I can now apply for my PFAW Certificate and I'll be able to offer commercial aerial filming early in the New Year, so do get in touch if you might be interested in using this service.

The Flight Test itself is a little like a convcentional driving test: you're given a task in advance and you need to do a thorough survey of the site where the test is taking place to check for flight restrictions, nearby hazards - in my case the M4 motorway about 700 metres away - and any other obstacles that you might need to be aware of. On the day you're given your task in more detail and you need to walk the area where you're flying to check for any hazrads where you're intending to fly. You're also tested on your emergency proceedures: in my case an imaginary incursion into the field by a passer-by, a bird strike and loss of GPS.

It was the latter that gave me the most issues: with the wind gusting at up to 20kts I had to switch to manual mode and ensure that I didn't lose my drone over the horizon: a nerve wracking moment but I managed it and got my pass and gained my wings.

You can read the full story of the day and how it went in the Summer 2016 issue of Pro Moviemaker Magazine.