Drone Hire
The question of where to hire a drone operator is increasingly common.
Drones are becoming increasingly popular, and they are being used in a wide range of businesses. Examples include drone roof surveys, aerial inspections, insurance work and land surveys for farmers.
If you’re wondering where to hire a drone operator, there are some important things you must understand. Ignoring this advice could at best mean you get a poor quality job and worse mean you end up on the wrong side of the law. Of course the obvious route to find anything nowadays is a search on Google, but this isn’t always the best route to find a professional service with experience and expertise.
The first thing to understand when considering where to hire a drone operator is the rules and regulations. Anyone using a drone commercially in the UK must have approval to do so from the Civil Aviation Authority. There’s no such thing as a UK drone licence, and approval comes in the form of a PfCO, or Permission for Commercial Operations. If you’re hiring or paying for the services of a drone pilot, always check that they have a current PfCO.
The next thing to consider when you decide to hire a drone operator is the different types of aircraft available. There are some excellent all round drones like the DJI Phantom 4, but some jobs require more specialist equipment. More advanced drones like DJI’s Matrice and Inspire aircraft can carry bespoke payloads such as specialist cameras. For something like a drone aerial inspection, check that the operator has the right kind of equipment to deliver what you want.
More advanced drone services for hire include 3D mapping, and this work involves sophisticated software to process the data captures in flight. Carrying out searches using thermal imaging cameras is also a more specialist area.
When planning a drone hire you must also understand the limitations on their use. For examples, in built up areas like city centres a pilot must maintain a safe distance from people and property. This makes some job very difficult, and work may be necessary to obtain permissions from councils, land owners and other parties. Understandably, there are exclusion zones in place close to airports and other areas where drones could represent a hazard, so these must be taken into account.
