I’m a broadcast professional who’s taken up drone flying to add to my contractor resume (I work in professional sports broadcasting) to try and counter some of the lost work to automation and move to remote broadcasting for a lot of sports events and to also have a hobby which gets me out of the house and dark tv studios!
Currently midway through my a2 C of C and hoping to push on from there. Would love to connect with anyone really as my family connections are not local to the area as we are originally from Wales so have no network here really.
Still getting to grips with where to fly around Aylesbury as there are a number of local restrictions here due to the RAF base (soon to be decommissioned, I believe) and the HMP in the middle of town so would be good to make some connections on here either with other eager learners or more experienced flyers who I can bounce ideas and questions off. Cheers!
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Didn’t realise you could add tags until after posting my first message, but for some extra context I’m currently flying a Lito X1 and a Mavic 2 Pro. Obviously tighter restrictions at the moment with the M2P given its weight but hoping to use that more in a professional capacity further down the line given the camera sensor quality/size and learning the basics with the Lito currently.
Once you have your A2 CofC you can fly them both in the same areas until the end of next year. The CAA might change there mind again by then, who knows
Thanks for the insight. Yeah the regs have definitely been the biggest learning curve so far and I’m trying to approach the whole process with as much seriousness and environmental sensitivity as I can hoping that building up good habits now will help me further down the line.
Longer term I think I’d like to get into thermography as I have a few contacts in the sustainability / environmental/ architectural sectors due to my wife’s career - but fully understand there is an awful lot of water (and money) to go under the bridge between now and then. This would hopefully allow me to “retire” from broadcasting as it’s becoming too arduous and unfulfilling now - and the pay has stagnated badly given relative to the awful work hours and conditions.
But as of this morning I’m just loving flying and learning about all the nuances of this new world.
I retired from everything early. 4 Years now! Don’t know how I had time to work.
I’d like to get a thermal camera but for the price and how much I would use it probably not worth it. @PingSpike was selling one recently and I was sorely tempted. Then someone else purchased it and solved that for me!
Don’t tempt me Already spent a good amount upfront getting on my feet with the hobby and am already starting to spend too much time looking at the enterprise section on the DJI website!
Your background caught my attention because there are a few areas where our interests overlap quite nicely. My own route into drones is very much from the technology, photography and video side of things, with the longer-term aim of combining the creative side with more practical and commercial work.
Thermal is an area that really interests me too. I’ve been thinking about how I could eventually put that to some genuinely useful purpose, whether that’s roof inspections, finding defects, energy-efficiency work or other practical applications, rather than simply having an expensive thermal camera because it looks interesting! It sounds like you may have some useful contacts and experience to draw on as you move in that direction.
I can also relate to the broadcast side of your background. My own interests are much more centred around video production and content creation, and I’m gradually trying to bring the various bits of that together. I’ve got a DJI Mini 5 Pro for the slower, more deliberate landscape and cinematic stuff, and I’ve recently added an Avata 2 with the FPV Controller 2 because I want to start exploring a completely different style of flying.
I didn’t actually get as far as using the full manual mode at the Big Meet in Brigstock a couple of weeks ago, but I’ve since bought Liftoff on Steam for some virtual practice, so hopefully I’ll be considerably braver with it at the next one!
I’m also very interested in the whole production side, particularly DaVinci Resolve Studio and eventually getting into more ambitious fictional and technology/science-fiction content. That’s probably still a rather distant ambition, but there’s nothing wrong with having a slightly ridiculous end goal!
Anyway, welcome again. It sounds like you’ve already got some interesting plans for where you want to take things, and I’ll be interested to see how the thermography side develops.
Already spent a good amount upfront getting on my feet with the hobby and am already starting to spend too much time looking at the enterprise section on the DJI website!
It sounds like you may have some useful contacts and experience to draw on as you move in that direction.
