Poring over Maps

Day two of the training course. As the day went on we were getting nearer to the inevitable testing of our knowledge.

The course has given me a much greater appreciation of flying a drone and the risk factors that need to be taken into account before we turn on the drone and allow it to rise into the air. Here we are reviewing aeronautical VFR maps, it is surprising how much of the country is actually controlled airspace and subject to local air traffic control.

Most salutary was the final part of the course on military low flying. It was taken by the training company’s managing director, an ex-military helicopter pilot who gave a personal example of the potentially lethal dangers associated with aircraft hitting a small object. In his case it was a bird, that smashed through the cockpit window, into his chest, causing three broken ribs and rendering him unconscious, despite wearing body armour that can withstand large calibration bullets. We’re a drone to do the same thing you could expect similar devastation.

We know that drones can get a bad reputation. The Gatwick and Heathrow incidents at the end of last year were cases in point, but the M.D. actually questioned how so many police, military personnel and other observers could have been stationed around the airport and not a single image of the suspect drone was captured. At the same time the company that owned Gatwick Airport was selling it, just as it’s share price plummeted by 40% because of the incident!

Happily all of the delegates passed the exam. Now for the practical flying test which will be taken in the next few weeks.