Most modern drones such as ours use rechargeable batteries. Why hire a helicopter or aircraft that burns aviation fuels when you can hire a drone operator like us and use a zero CO2 method?
Drones can also be used to asses the environment, and help scientific research while again, using no combustible fuels, and growing the technology and renewable energy sectors! Do you have any other suggestions on how using a drone can save the environment? Comment below!
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As seen by the many memes and posts across the internet, there is a real wave of calling "drone pilots" a joke. Calling drone operators pilots, for some, conjures up images of under-qualified persons flying drones and saying to all of their friends and family they're full fledged mavericks and pilots, while traditional pilots (like myself) took time and effort to get our pilots licence(s), ratings, etc...
As defined on the Transport Canada website, a PIC (Pilot in Command) is defined by as "The pilot having responsibility and authority for the operation and safety of the aircraft during flight time.". Furthermore, the Transport Canada definition for aircraft is defined as "Any machine, including a rocket, capable of deriving support in the atmosphere from reactions of the air". So from a definition standpoint, yes, commercial operators of drones are legally deemed "pilots". To prove this even further, Transport Canada calls drone pilots pilots as viewed from their site here on the Pilot knowledge requirements for UAV's (link). While they are not be flying friends and family around, drone pilots are indeed, well, pilots! Just not in the traditional sense. (I still think being an actual PPL pilot is more badass). Having your UAV SFOC, or PPL, etc... We are ALL responsible for the safety and wellbeing of our operations, and must remember to work together to keep airspace open, secure and safe for everyone! This is a very important, yet sometimes difficult subject to talk about. With drones becoming more cheaper and more easy to get, there stands to reason that people who are not qualified or do not have "common sense" may attempt to fly for money without thinking about the safety of the public or the legal requirements as we have discussed before. If they are a legitimate operator, they should have talked to you and other neighbours in the area to let you know what is going on before flying a drone. Below is a few steps to go through if you think they are not flying legally (as a commercial entity). Lets say you're at home, and a drone is flying above your house, or maybe it is flying close to your kids, or simply over your property, or is doing dangerous manoeuvres near your property. What do you do?
Below is a simple process one should follow if you get into one of these situations with a suspected commercial operator (NOT a hobbyist). Before we start, If you feel that your life or someone else's life is in immediate danger, call 911! (please note I said danger and not being annoyed). 1. Talk to the Operator (If present) The first stage you should always take if possible is simply talking with the operator of the drone. If they are flying commercially legally, they should have a spotter (A second person with them meant to look out for people walking, cars, etc...). Staying 100 feet away from their operation, yell to get their attention. Do not approach the operators if the drone is still in the air. Once the drone is landed, you can then approach and let them know your concerns. Please be courteous, since they might be a legitimate operator, and they have talked to the other neighbours but possibly forgot you! (It happens, we are all human). If you suspect they are working 'under-the-table' You may ask to see their S.F.O.C. and/or insurance (which they should have both at the operation if they are a legitimate operator). An S.F.O.C. (Special Flight Operators Certificate) is paperwork from Transport Canada saying this operator is allowed to fly commercially, and the insurance of the operator must be at least $100,000 for liability. 2. Reporting to Transport Canada If you deem that they are an illegitimate drone operator, then you may want to report them to Transport Canada (Link to reporting page here). Simply follow the process and fill in the required fields. Reporting an unsafe or an illegitimate operator helps make both the Canadian drone industry and your community a safer and more connected place. 3. Ask Questions, and get informed! Do you have questions if something is legal or not? You can contact Transport Canada with questions, or even contact a legitimate operator like us! We are always willing to help educate the public! Have questions right now? Feel free to comment below! Click here for the official Transport Canada Drone information page! Click here for the official Transport Canada Drone Incident Reporting Page! It is a question that you may have asked yourself before: "Why Should I hire a professional? My friend has a drone that can take photos of the property I am trying to sell" or "I can just buy a drone and take shots of the construction site myself!". Many other similar arguments can be made, but hiring a professional in the Canadian drone industry is always the best option. Here are some reasons why it is best to hire a pro like us to do the aerial work!
1. We are Legal As a professional company in the industry, we have put in our time to ensure that we are approved by Transport Canada, are fully insured for liability damages, and are a registered business. When you are hiring someone to do any commercial work with a drone, they must have the minimal listed above. Hiring a pro means that you will be covered liability wise, and will be supporting the legitimate businesses who work hard to follow the rules and that help create a safer and more effective industry for all! 2. Quality! We are well practiced when it comes to both flying a drone, and professional photography and film production. We have the resources to help make your project(s) stand out from the rest of the crowd, and the experience to make the process seamless. Don't compromise the quality of your project! Go pro! 3. You may Learn Something Even if you are a drone hobbyist yourself, hiring a pro means that you may learn from them! Ask them questions while they are working for you, you may learn something new about the industry, or even your drone! 4. Support Local Small Business! Air Support is a small, locally owned and operated business in Barrie Ontario. By hiring us, you help support local creatives and help the local economy thrive! We also put in the hard work to educate our local community on the drone industry, as well as put in the long hours to be a legitimate, safe and fully legal drone business. Please don't support fly-by-nighters, support legitimate local businesses like us! If you don't feel confident that the people you hired are legitimate, ask to see their S.F.O.C! Any other ideas why you should go with the pros on projects? Let us know below! As always, thanks for reading! A good little video from Henry describing the basic rules! Enjoy!
Using filters on a drone's camera separates the casual drone pilot with the pros. The difference in quality can be outstanding.
Camera filters are transparent lens-mounted camera accessories that control how much light makes it to the lens, and eventually the CCD (sensor) of your drone's camera. There are many different types of camera filters. Here are some of the more common ones: Polarized/CPL: Just like your sunglasses, polarized filters help reduce light glare and makes shots look a lot more sharper - perfect for shooting shots over water or in other high-light conditions. These are sometimes called CPL filters (Circular Polarized/Linear). They generally do the same thing. ND: ND stands for neutral density filters. What they do is that they limit the amount of light that can pass through to your camera. These are especially important if you are shooting in a high-light environment such as a snowy location on a sunny day, or at a beach/ over water that reflects the sun. The different levels of ND indicated the power of the filter. 8 being less powerful and blocking less light than a 32, and so on. These two are the most important filters you can use with your shoots. Note that there are also combinations of CPL ND filter, so take a look on google for some for sale that can fit your drone! Note that shutter speed is a good way to control the general brightness of your photos and video, but this comes with its own limitations. slower shutter speeds, while brighter, add more blur to videos while faster shutter speeds can add distortion and grain. Shutter speed can be a totally separate post! Below are a few examples of what an overexposed (no filter or too slow of a shutter speed), underexposed (too much filter or too fast of a shutter speed) and a good filter/shutter speed combination. The results speak for themselves! UnderexposedOverexposedGood CombinationA $50 lens can really help make your works stand out and with professional looking photos, both you and your resulting pictures will be a lot happier! Do you have any experience with using filters? Do you have any questions regarding camera filters or other techniques you would like us to share? Put them in the comments below! Thanks for reading!
The usage for drones in the construction industry is absolutely growing. Technological advances and new ways of thinking are bringing more and more drones to sites across Canada!
Usage for a drone can range from documenting a site through photos and video, to surveying and 3D mapping, Insurance claims and medical as well as security. The potential is limitless! Throughout the years, We have documented a lot of construction sites. Mostly for marketing and documenting purposes, but we are always interested in trying something new, especially our move into 3D mapping (see below).
What do you think about drones and construction? Did we miss any potential usage ideas? Let us know in the comments below!
And we're back to flying! Thank you all for continuing to support our services! It brings us great pleasure to meet so many amazing people, and be a part of their own adventures through photography!
This is going to be another exciting season for us here at Air Support, and we are thrilled to have you be a part of it! From new certifications, The Matrice 600 drone, and new adventures await! We'll be in touch when more exciting features come into light, but for now, see you in the skies! Your drone pilot, Henry Wow! What a winter! Hard to believe it's already over! With that being said, we at A.S.A.P. are already gearing up for another great year of flying! Insurance and SFOC has been renewed, and we are looking to start operations again as early as May 1st,
Hello, everyone! Henry here. I just wanted to explain why we are closing for the winter this year. I am finishing up my Aviation Management College course, and part of this is a Coop semester. I will be in Nunavut finishing my final coop over the winter, but will be back in the spring for ASAP! Since we are a smaller local family business, we cannot safely conduct operations without myself (hence the seasonal closure this year) but I will still try to answer any questions or calls left. Thanks for your understanding and support, everyone!
Have a great winter, all! And thanks again for a great season! See you in 2018! Henry :) |
Henry Baillie-BrownHenry is the founder and operator of Air Support Aerial Photography. Here he talks about A.S.A.P. news, drone industry news, and opinion pieces! Archives
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