Hi all,
Probably not the right place to post this; though this is where I usually post so thought it best to stick it here
For work I'm weighing up the feasibility of buying a small drone for producing promotional videos at my firm. Obviously this is commercial use, and would also involve flying within 50m of people and property (we're a cladding & facades contractor and are looking to put video tours of finished projects, in some cases entire villages) on our website. We would also look to use it for checking defects on tower blocks after scaffold dismantle (below 400ft).
I understand it's not illegal to record the video (though I'm not sure what happens when someone objects to their face being on a website), it's the flying 'qualifications' and permissions I don't quite understand.
As the purpose is commercial and within 50m of people and property we're looking to apply to the CAA for permission and exemption.
From what I gather, I need:
- SRG1320 completed and approved for permission to fly drone commercially (Fee £112)
- Exemption for flying within 50m of people or property (I can't work out the costs of this, if it's £2,846 as per table 6 of the GA scheme of charges I'll give up on the whole idea now).
- Training? The cost of the BNUC-S course is approximately £1k. For a 1kg toy?! Will the CAA want this? I have a PPL(A) with a recently lapsed SEP rating and suspect the majority of the course will be stuff I already know. SRG1320 refers to the course but doesn't state compulsory - it also asks for statement of experience, which is compulsory - is my 100 hours SEP enough?
- (EC) 785/2004 insurance - I see the relevance of this. Any ideas of cost?
The cost of the drone is about £800. It won't be used every day, so if all the costs above come into fruition it's not feasible. Any help much appreciated!