Double Yay!! Phantom is back and Lic arrived.

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Double happiness here.

My Phantom is back from China, and my UAV license has arrived from CASA.

I test flew it after the repairs and it's all working nicely.
The 6 or 7 weeks wait felt like forever.
It's just gone midday and I'm going to head out again soon for some more flying.
Having 3 batteries is good!
 
Thanks Dirk :) and yes, it was the first thing I thought of when I got it out on the field.. lol

One thing I would love to fix is the video/image numbering. They replaced the gimbal and camera, so my videos and images were reset to file number DJI00002. (No doubt they used #1 in testing.) I had gotten up to 225. Anyone know how I can set the number to restart at 226?
 
Good to read you have it back. Even better that DJI did not screw it up during their repair.
As for the camera file numbers, I have always renamed the files and never really used them. Only way I can guess is something that may drive you nuts. Start and stop short videos until you reach the old number. Only have to do it 225 times. ;)
....And congrats on your license.
 
Happyflyer said:
Only way I can guess is something that may drive you nuts. Start and stop short videos until you reach the old number. Only have to do it 225 times. ;)
I had thought about that. Drive me nuts indeed! lol

Happyflyer said:
....And congrats on your license.
Cheers! :)
 
Can I ask how much the Casa deal cost you? Thinking of going that way for real estate work!
Thanks....
 
Double congrats Narrator. Glad it is back home. I wanted to know if there is a way to reset numbers too but have not heard of a way. I tried to reset but it just did the camera settings not file numbers.
 
Narrator said:
Thanks Dirk :) and yes, it was the first thing I thought of when I got it out on the field.. lol

One thing I would love to fix is the video/image numbering. They replaced the gimbal and camera, so my videos and images were reset to file number DJI00002. (No doubt they used #1 in testing.) I had gotten up to 225. Anyone know how I can set the number to restart at 226?

I do believe it increments one up from the last file on the card. I know if I erase the entire card, it starts back over at 1. Try renaming the last photo to 225 and see if it will increment from there.
 
Congrads on the lic :)

Do you mind telling us what the license enables you to do now ??
 
Thought that a licence here only allows you to fly for someone else, and that for Real Estate work etc, you'd have to have the UOC as well, or fly for a company that has one.
I'm doing my licence soon, and then plan to add the UOC after it so I can sell my photos etc.
 
Sorry so long in getting back.
Here's the License deal.
All of what you see below, I've either done or been told by a senior RPAS guy at CASA.

A CC (Controller's Certificate) allows you to fly under someone else. (A bit like flying as a commercial pilot for an airline.) To go commercial solo, you need to get an OC (Operator's Certificate). And to employ anyone under an OC, your policies, manuals, maintenance procedures etc must incorporate each employee.

The CC cost is two-part. The first is getting the theory training and "Type" certificate from an authorized agency. The theory costs around $3500 depending where you go. As I have my Pilot's License, I didn't need to pay for the theory. The Type certificate cost me $250. One outfit quoted me about $1200 for it, which is a rip-off. They justified it by saying you get what you pay for and they ensure professional care. Even if I was going for Type on an S1000+ it wouldn't be worth $1200. The second cost of the CC is CASA. You send them a copy of your theory (or pilot license) and your Type certificate and $160, then wait about 3 or 4 weeks.

The OC is the more expensive part. CASA will turn the meter on when they start looking at your application. If your paperwork isn't complete and correct, it will cost you more. One of their senior RPAS guys told me this and said it will cost between $2500 and $3500. But once you have an OC you can do commercial work on your own. At the moment, there is about a 6 month wait for getting an OC.

It's possible that by June, sub-2kg won't need to go through the OC process, and applicants may just get issued with an OC without the cost. The guy at CASA said they want to get that rule in by June, but it's not certain.

The next cost is insurance. I got a quote a while back, quoting $725 for $5mil cover. That cover doesn't include the drone. The insurer said they won't cover a drone unless it's valued over $20k. I've heard tales of being able to cover it on your home insurance or even your car insurance - not sure how that works or even if it's true.

The guy at CASA said that it's possible for an Operator to use a contract Controller, but the paperwork would be difficult, and in his experience he did not know of any Operator using contract pilots. He said, that doesn't mean some aren't doing so, just that he doesn't know of any. He also said an insurer for an Operator might not be willing to cover a contractor arrangement. In other words, if you're a CC looking for contract work, beware - you may not be covered.
 

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