Women Drone Flyers
Our very own leading lady Psyona Williams
Learn about her launch into the Drone Industry and the success she’s had being a part of it.
Psyona Williams, 25, a keen Landscape Photographer from Oxford, was first introduced to the droning world at the Photography Show in Birmingham.
Sharing her passion for photography, Psyona credits her Father, Steve Williams, for getting her interested in the droning industry. Having first seen a drone in flight at the Photography Show in 2016, Psyona recalls that she was instantly interested in the potential of this small and mighty new technology.
Psyona admits that Steve was especially interested in trying out this new and exciting way of capturing the world and after a year of researching the relevant rules and expenses associated with owning and flying a drone they were ready to make their first purchase, a Phantom 4 Pro Plus. Without having ever flown a drone before purchasing one, Psyona admits they took a big risk in investing £2,000 in the equipment they had never used, but it’s evidentially paid off.
Check out Psyona’s Company profile on Drone Safe Register
Being an avid gamer, Psyona admitted that learning to fly the DJI Phantom 4 Pro Plus was trickier than she had first anticipated, noting that once she had managed to switch the controller from the default settings to that similar of a gaming controller it was easier to adapt to the controlled movements of a drone. Quickly overtaking her father’s skill level, Psyona then learned to become more comfortable with the control and manoeuvres of her drone.
This enabled her to venture further from the comfort of home, progressing to her local Greenham Common, where she continued to practice. Eventually, Psyona saw that the development of her skill enabled her to venture closer to the old control towers, boasting variations on the typical ground views that helped her to fall in love with the opportunities for creative and cinematic perspectives that drones offer.
After graduating in 2018 from Oxford Brookes University with a Film Studies Degree, Psyona endeavoured to pursue a career in photography with a particular interest in Landscape photography. Discovering the world of droning meant that Psyona was able to reassess her career opportunities, obtaining her CAA Certificate and PfCO, she now finds herself completing a number of jobs from the sky on a daily basis.
How to become a commercial drone pilot
A day in the life of Psyona sees her travelling to numerous locations capturing Aerial Data. Psyona pays credit to Drone Safe Register for the numerous jobs she receives in Aerial Property Photography, just one of the many services our qualified and insured pilots offer.
Psyona does confirm that every day is different, keeping things interesting in her day-to-day work with the inclusion of covering weddings and events. She recalls her first Aerial Filming job was capturing a car ‘burn out’ for a music video, which she found really exciting and interesting. Aside from Psyonas numerous jobs, one of her favourite drone experiences to date was capturing the Harry Potter train at Glenfinnan Viaduct in Scotland.
In addition to the DJI Phantom 4 Pro Plus, Psyona invested in a DJI Mavic 2, which she enjoys using primarily for documenting her travels. However, she does confirm that she is currently using it for a particular job she has documenting aerial data for a Peak District Walking Tour because of its portability and outstanding camera quality. Psyona confirmed this is by far her favourite job to date, capturing aerial and ground data from an area she would have loved to explore regardless of the working opportunity.
“It’s not working if every day you’re doing something you love”
With the Covid-19 pandemic, Psyona, along with many other drone pilots has felt the pinch of cancellations and postponements as a result of restrictions put in place to protect the public. With restrictions in continuous fluctuation, industries across the board have struggled to find a solid working pattern among the ‘new normal', which is one of the many benefits of being a part of the Drone Safe Register exclusive closed network; included in the professional membership we offer.
Regardless of imposed restrictions, the drone industry has adapted incredibly to the many challenges it has faced in the pandemic, seeing drones used for the delivery of medical equipment and cleaning of large-scale facilities.
Closing the gender gap at Drone Safe Register is an important step in our progressive diversity. Psyona confirms that there is a huge amount of interest in the aviation world from all genders regardless of the fact it is a notoriously male-dominated industry. However, she confirms that lack of training opportunities, especially in the current pandemic is one of the key reasons that potential drone pilots may be hesitant to explore the industry.
With the current exploration options focused on spending vast amounts of money, this is sadly not a financially viable option for everyone interested. Drone Safe Register have some exciting plans in the new year surrounding training provisions… make sure you’re following us for updates!
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As an Ambassador for Women Who Drone, Psyona is keen to share her passion for her profession with other passionate women in the aviation industry. Due to the success of Psyona’s story, as an organisation, we would love to see more female operators joining us at Drone Safe Register.
We are now offering a £50 discount on professional memberships to all newly joining female members for their first year. We are working hard to encourage diversity within the industry and endeavour to be an inclusive space for all that share a passion for drones. If you’re interested in becoming a member of Drone Safe Registers expanding network of female drone pilots we would love to hear from you! Contact Jorjia by email at [email protected] or by telephone at 01243 882440.
Psyona’s next steps are to continue building her portfolio and ever-growing job opportunities by delivering quality aerial data in a professional manner. She also plans to venture into FPV flying opportunities, has always been in awe of the control and manoeuvres achieved by FPV Pilots and interested in using FPV combinations to achieve cinematic filming shots. All of this will be in addition to her continued explorations of old abandoned buildings, which is a personal favourite of Psyona’s because of the historical stories it has to capture.
We wish Psyona all the best with her no doubt bright future in the drone industry and we can’t wait to see what her next move is!
