Lifelong aviation and online flight sim nut here, about to give drone flying a go, with a view to combining it with my construction background to supplement my income.
Looking into training, courses, qualifications etc, but also very keen to hear everyones opinion on a modest (financially) setup to learn with.
Flight time and forgiving flight characteristics a priority… a nice HD/4K camera would be a bonus.
Once we know your budget we can give you some suitable recommendations for kit
Also factor in the cost of outsourcing. The race to the bottom began many (many) years ago which means that a drone roof survey these days only costs £35 quid all in, so depending on what you’re planning on doing it might be cheaper to just pay someone else to do it instead
Good 2 Go is a great resource for working out what size drone you can fly at what distances from people, buildings, etc.
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We’re a well established club with many knowledgeable members so it’s very likely that any issues you come across will have been discussed here before. Our discussion forum has very powerful search features which should help you find what you need but if you get stuck you can post a new question in the Questions & Answers category.
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And finally, if you are new to drones and wondering what it’s all about, have a look at Resources for a beginner.
Something like a DJI Mini 4K as a starter model would probably suit you; 249g so can be flown without the restrictions imposed by CAA rules on larger drones, gps positioning (absolutely essential for steady hovering and predictable behaviour), capable of flying in up to force 5 winds, 31 minutes per battery flying time, £269 for basic drone/controller/one battery but there is a ‘fly more’ option with 3 batteries, a charging hub, and a carry case.
Any drone with gps will be very easy and forgiving to fly accurately and will hover steadily enough for serious photography. Most will have a degree of automation and RTH, return to home point, which can be acutated at any time and will usually kick in automatically should signal be lost or before battery is too low to return home.
Pembrokeshire is an amazing area, and even allowing for the considerable restrictions around military areas there are some stunning locations to fly from.