Frequently Asked Questions

The term drone is widely used to describe unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), Basically a “drone” is a flying robot that can fly autonomously with software controlled flight plans or from a remote control device. Other names for drones often include: Multirotor, Quadcopter, Hexacopter, Octocopters and Whizboppers.

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With GPS position hold (like in your Sat-Nav) standard on most consumer drones these days, multirotors are becoming a lot easier to fly than days gone by. The learning curve for lightweight drones is around two weeks for someone to feel confident flying and filming, This would obviously depend on if the Pilot has previous experience with model aircrafts.

First time drone pilots should practise in large open fields, keeping the drone in the right orientation and at a safe height. That being said with better technology coming out every year, drones are begginning to become smarter and thus much easier to fly. As a general rule of thumb, Ready-To-Fly drones are generally aimed towards everyone, be they beginner or advanced.

You can see our full range of Ready-To-Fly drones right HERE.

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Anyone flying a consumer drone for recreational purposes in the UK does not actually need a license, as long as the drone is under 20kg in weight and the operator follows the laws of the air navigation order. Click here to view our handy guide to the UK flying guidelines or for the most recent information you can visit the Civil Aviation Authorities website here.

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Flight time will differ depending on the drone you have. On a begginner drone you would expect the flight time to be around 5-10 minutes, a mid-range drone would be 10-30 minutes and an advanced drone 30-40 minutes.

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FPV stands for First Person View, Basically FPV means you see what your drone is seeing, by having a video downlink from the camera on the drone transmitting the signal to your LCD monitor or Smart phone/tablet (on drones with that feature). This is an essential addition to any videographer ‘s drone setup.

You can see our entire range of FPV Drones right here.

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Just like the old saying “the best camera is the one you have with you” this can apply to camera drones as well, with a few exceptions the best camera drone (for video/photography) will have a stabilising gimbal, a decent flight range, a high resolution 4K and some sort of FPV feature.

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The first thing to think about when buying your camera drone is what do you want to achieve with it? Do you want to fly with FPV for fun? or do you want to make high quality aerial video’s for a career.

Entry level drones such as the ProFlight Tracer and Proflight Maverick are a great low cost option to get you into the Drone game and learn the basics. However while these are very accessible they are not really designed to make high quality videos.

If high quality videos is your goal then advanced drone’s would be the best option to achieve some great aerial footage.

The next step up would be commercial drones which can be used in a number of different applications. The most popular uses for commercial drones currently are; Photography, Surveying, inspections, search and rescue and radiometric measurements (thermal) . The investment can be large but the returns from commercial work are substantial. If this is something you want to work towards then the best course of action is to contact us.

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Anything shot from the air, whether it be video or photos can be called aerial photography, In the past the most common Aerial photography was done in helicopters, now with powerful battery powered multi-rotors on the market, aerial photography is more accessible than ever before.

To see our most popular aerial photography drones you can click here.

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The name says it all, A quadcopter had four rotors (quad) a hexacopter has 6 rotors (hex) and octocopter has eight, rotors (octo).

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More rotors = more lift, more rotors also make a craft more stable, Pro level Aerial drones often have more rotors for lifting heavy cameras. Other advantage of 6 or more rotors is the fact that some crafts can still fly if a motor or ESC (electronic speed controller) decides to stop working mid flight, While it’s not ideal most crafts with this amount of rotors can usually make it home, this is not the case with quadcopters.

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DJI is reported to be the most complete drone manufacturer on the market and the DJI Phantom 4 or DJI Mavic 3 is the drone of choice for filmmakers. while the DJI Mavics are the most popular consumer drones on the market. Other competition to the offerings of DJI consist of Parrot or Yuneec who both offer brilliant drones at much more wallet friendly prices.

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This depends on the range of your drone, Most consumer drones Eg The Mavic Series have a range between 500 -1000 meters. The Phantom 4 series have ranges of around 3.5KM though which is brilliant for surveying landscapes bear in mind that in the UK the CAA guidelines say you shouldn't fly higher than 120M from ground level. 

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The short answer to this question is yes, but keep in mind sea spray can be very corrosive to electronics and motor windings, Its a good idea to keep you drone well up and out of the way of waves, drones are not commonly waterproof.

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Yes for sure, There is nothing better than flying in the mountains! Keep your mind on the job and be aware of weather changes that could catch you out!

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The term heavy lift drone refers to a multi rotor that can take off and carry a large amount of weight, usually more than the total weight of the actual craft. Heavy lift drones usually have larger props and batteries than hobbiest drones.

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Take off weight means the total weight the drone can take off with including the weight of itself. So for example a drone that weighs 5 kg and has a take off weight of 10kg will be able to lift a 5 kg payload (canon 5dmkiii for example)./p>

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