Does anyone know about taking the BNUC-S exam for commercial

[ukmdb]

Hi all,

Please forgive me if I start posting complete noob questions, It will because I am.
Over the weekend I took delivery of a Phantom. Now I must point out I have never used anything like this.
I am hooked and obsessed already, what have I let myself into.

I am a photographer based in UK, and so the idea came about arial photography when I stumbled accross the DJI Phantom.
I took the plunge following everyones reviews on how easy it is to fly and because it is pretty much all out the box with no building involved. My kind of Kit

However, for me to use this with a camera onboard for commercial work I need to be registered with the CAA before which I need to take the BNUC-S exam. All of which I am prepaired to undertake.

The questions I have is based upon the BNUC-S exam.
A requirement is that you must not fly over 400M and 500M away and you must remain in line of sight.
How can I demonstrate that I would not fly above 400M ? I do not have any information at hand that tells me how high the Phantom is. So straight away I am thinking do I need another controller that would display this information to me? or is none of this required?

Thanks for any advice that you can give.

 

[mercillus]

Re: Does anyone know about taking the BNUC-S exam for commer

Hi all,

Please forgive me if I start posting complete noob questions, It will because I am.
Over the weekend I took delivery of a Phantom. Now I must point out I have never used anything like this.
I am hooked and obsessed already, what have I let myself into.

I am a photographer based in UK, and so the idea came about arial photography when I stumbled accross the DJI Phantom.
I took the plunge following everyones reviews on how easy it is to fly and because it is pretty much all out the box with no building involved. My kind of Kit

However, for me to use this with a camera onboard for commercial work I need to be registered with the CAA before which I need to take the BNUC-S exam. All of which I am prepaired to undertake.

The questions I have is based upon the BNUC-S exam.
A requirement is that you must not fly over 400M and 500M away and you must remain in line of sight.
How can I demonstrate that I would not fly above 400M ? I do not have any information at hand that tells me how high the Phantom is. So straight away I am thinking do I need another controller that would display this information to me? or is none of this required?

Thanks for any advice that you can give.

No idea about the exam but I can tell you this.. Put something on the ground about the same size. Walk away 400m. Tell me if you can see it without specs and make out what direction its facing to fly it? I cant.. So in short only fly it where you can still see it.

 

[TickTock]

Re: Does anyone know about taking the BNUC-S exam for commer

You can always bungee/velcro an old smartphone (or new if you're willing to risk it )to it with one of many gps tracking apps (including altitude) available on the Google Store (many free). Just make sure you turn off wifi. If the phone is in service, you could even use Latitude (or other) to find it should you lose it.

 

[mercillus]

Re: Does anyone know about taking the BNUC-S exam for commer

Not sure if it matters but according to DJI page on specifications it states the TX transmission range is 300m..

 

[auck]

Re: Does anyone know about taking the BNUC-S exam for commer

more important is the line of sight.

the 400 - 500 m range is, generally speaking, the distance that a person can see an average sized object unaided.

as posted above, you won't have to worry about getting out side of that range because:
1) the range of the stock transmitter / receiver is stated as 300m
2) considering the size and shape of the craft, i would be hard press to believe you can see what the craft is doing beyond 300m
3) arial photography would require that you be able to see the craft and arrange a specific angel for the shot, so i would think that you would not want to be more than 100m away

 

[martcerv]

Re: Does anyone know about taking the BNUC-S exam for commer

Not sure if it matters but according to DJI page on specifications it states the TX transmission range is 300m..

But it does go much further, I have flown it to just over 900m LOS with no issues. Orientation is an issue and its rather small at that distance :lol: . Lucky the light was getting a bit low and I could still just see the tail led flash to tell the heading direction but even with some obstructions you should be able to get 500m as I just did that on my first FPV flight at just under 500m away and behind a bunch of trees. The video signal was starting to break up but was fine once I got LOS back though the radio has yet to lose reception on me and I have been testing its limits so I know what is a safe level for more hazardous flights later.

In Australia I think we have much more to go through to use drone footage commercially so I will just be sticking with it as a hobby. Not sure If I have really read the rules here that well but have heard some say you first need a regular plane license first I havent really looked into it and that seems silly to me if your flying within recreational rc limits with a camera on board I see no difference between viewing or selling footage. Going above 400ft into restricted airspace I see how the regulations should be much stricter but especially if flying LOS with a cam to reasonable range under 400m it really should be the same for recreational and commercial use I think.

 

[Racklefratz]

Re: Does anyone know about taking the BNUC-S exam for commer

No help on the BNUC-S....

I'm not aware of any licensing requirements for flying "drones" in US airspace - YET- .... but with some people flagrantly posting their feats of flying these things above clouds (where they can't see it anymore) and well above 1,000 ft AGL (where real light aircraft could legitimately be), unfortunately it may be only a matter of time. First time one of these things goes through the windshield of a light plane, business will pick up briskly, I predict.