Oh no i have been illegal all these years!
Hello everyone. I have a ppl and make my living taking SPECULATIVE aerial photos. I have done this only for the last 20 years. I keep getting "handed-in" to the CAA by legal experts not unlike some of the posters on this thread. The CAA dont even bother to come and see me any more about it as they say i am legal. I don't go getting myself all embroiled in paragraph this or that as i'm real happy that the authority know what i do and the armchair legal eagle self-righteous i- dotter t-crossers don't upset me anymore.
I won't enter into too much debate on the rules and laws cos my limited mental energies are better spent working on how to operate better. However i do recall some factors that seemed to be relevant from the last time i got myself "handed in" by a diligent CAA "Deputy" (you know the type i mean dont you? - very well versed in all the rules and regs and quick to pass judgement, always at the airfield - but never flying?!- and very very watchfull of others). I seem to remember the inspector saying things like "Not public transport to carry a phtographer as he is "Crew" and not paying to be transported"
"no-one pays you to go do speculative shots" This one makes sense, actually, cos otherwise a lovely shot of a Yak that someone took air to air couldn't find its way onto the front of a magazine for a fee. This happens all the time. Mate of mine took a shot of that big explosion near London as he flew by, it got published, and he got paid and he only has a ppl! And he asked the authority before he agreed to accept the money - just to be on the safe side.
Naturally i will be a bit pissed off for all of us in the business if it turns out weve been illegal these last 50 years or so - especially for all the salespeople who also make a living. By industrial standards it is a small industry employing less than 500(?) people in the UK (we supply 70-80 by the way).
One question i do have is how all the companies that offer to do pre-commissioned work are mainly one man bands with ppl's? I can see that people like me monging about taking photos no one has asked for is legal but someone commissioning the work seems different possibly? Live and let live though - buzzards gotta eat - same as worms.
I still employ cpls for my other crews as these pilgrims need all the help getting the experience they need to get jet jobs so if i am illegal it'll only be when i go to work personally.
Depressingly my competitors are mainly single man crew which though legal i find astonishing. Even with a cpl, dfc and bar how can it be right for someone to spend 6 hours a day orbitting looking through a camera? whilst sacrificing at least a bit of attention to the plane and other aircraft! Funny old world innit?
Can we have a campaign for the return of the old ppl holding instructors and let them get paid like before? They were good guys they were - real enthusiasts for GA and all round good eggs! The vested interests (cpl factories) will never let them put the toothpaste back in the tube on this whilst they have the ear of the authority i fear, not while there are wannabe's wanderering about with the ability to borra dosh - shame!
Spernkey Bowlock