You must be charmed Tony!,
at least when you fly, if you have their blessing, then go for it!
Do you think that it will be the same all over the country Chris or vary from area to area ?
It is the same no matter where you are in the UK, it is now Law.
I would if I were you, clarify with Southend ATC, better still, get it in writing via an email, what has been said between you.
So, if you are approached you can produce it to anyone who you think may require to see it.
This ensures you have covered your back so to speak, then you cannot be doing anything underhand.
If the reply is from one of the senior people, then you should be Ok.
It may also be advisable to also get clearance from the CAA direct as well, although I believe they are saying that providing local ATC give you clearance then you are permitted to fly.
ALWAYS pays to make a call to Southend ATC informing them of ANY drone activity, what ever time it is!.
That sounds like good advice, as much written confirmation as possible to be able to produce if challenged at any time, the very polite reply I received was direct from The Head of Air Traffic Control Services at the airport.
Might be worth asking Southend ATC if you need Offical clearance from CAA, they should be able to advise you of the best course of action.
Tell them that you do not want to fall foul of the new regulations.
Thats a good idea Chris, the more assurances received the better.
Thanks again,
Best wishes,
Tony.
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Does anyone know please if a DroneX Pro drone is any good as an under £100 starter drone for a newbie ?
Many thanks
Besr wishes
Tony.
Funnily enough we had an example of the cheaper drones today with another of our members.
@Simon_T and I met up with @Paul_M at Caister, Norfolk.
Simon’s drone seem to have a mind of its own, as much adjustment and coaxing by me would not work.
I have to say it’s the old cliche, you get what you pay for!.
Personally i would put your money to a better drone ( “Tello” or a"Spark")
Flying them would be a different experience.
At the moment there are soooo many “Cheap” drones around, it’s crazy, they all claim to do this, and that.
A lot are scams (as we have seen on the Forum) with offers of these drones, and when you get them, they are nothing like advertised !.
Buyer beware, I say !
The claim was for 20 minutes flying time but the video review only said 10 minutes.
Well if you couldn’t get the cheapie drone flying Chris no one could.
Thanks for that I will have a look into the Tello and Spark.
Tony.
In my opinion, money thrown at a cheap drone is worth putting towards a more expensive drone, the Tello’s range is not great, but, it gives great picture for what you pay, the Spark is the Mavic Air’s little brother so to speak !.
Second hand ones are more freely available as well, always worth looking in the Forums “For Sale & Wanted” section, several people have bought High Class drones at a respectable price !
Thats some great advice Chris, its a pity all newbies cant get this sort of advice to save them from getting drawn in by all the advertising hype and exagerated claims and scams.
Best wishes,
Tony
Also Tony, on the Forum you may well find a lot of people selling on say… a Mavic Air, then put the money towards a Mavic 2 Pro, or,
upgrading a Mavic Pro to be able to buy a Mavic 2 Pro/Zoom.
You can pick up the Mavic Pro’s and the Air’s ,now at a respectable price, but, never buy without knowing what flight hours it’s had, or if it has crash marks on it, bad gimbal, etc.
Always want to see it fly, before you buy !.
Hi Chris,
How do you verify the flight hours please ?
Tony.
Sorry for the late reply Tony, been very busy.
The only way is for the person selling it to you firing it up “Airdata” (assuming he uses it!) it should give a total hours of flight.
Not sure if this is available in the Go4 App.
Will try and find out for you.
Thats great info Chris, thank you.
We are going through a period of quite strong winds and waves at Chalkwell Beach at the moment not very good for drone flying, what wind speed do most pilots call their maximum ?
Best wishes,
Tony.
Well, depends on what drone you have, several of the DJI drones will handle upwards of 25 mph before things get a bit hairy !.
In formations on this can be found on the website, under the SPECS (specification) section for each drone type of Consumer Drones.
Thanks for that Chris we are getting a lot of days in excess of a 25mph wind speed at Chalkwell Beach at the moment, Sunday was particularly windy with lots of waves.
Best wishes;
Tony.
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Another wet and windy day forecast for Chalkwell Beach here in Essex on Sunday, I hope that drone pilots in other areas are having better luck and better conditions for drone flying.
Best wishes,
Tony.
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