The Drone Trainer Podcast

If you're looking to make the jump from sporadic revenue to scalable and consistent growth in your drone business, TDT Pro is for you!

Check out The Drone Trainer Pro right here!

Amrita Lal is a drone pilot from Fiji, who is flying with South Pacific Flying Labs. Humanitarian and Environmental research, including highlands, village, and coastal mapping are just a few things that she is doing with drones.

Find Amrita on LinkedIn right here.

If you're looking to make the jump from sporadic revenue to scalable and consistent growth in your drone business, TDT Pro is for you!

Check out The Drone Trainer Pro right here!

Sparky Sorenson is a drone pilot form Dallas Texas, currently fling the DJI Phantom 4 Pro and DJI Inspire 2 models. Sparky has been flying since 2014, when he was in a band and taking a lot of cross state roadies. During these trips he started to explore video editing, and eventually added on a drone! His first drone, like mine, was the Phantom 2.

Flying mostly cinematography, and mapping missions, his choice in the P4P and I2 is obvious. The quality and calibre of footage you can get from the I2 is exactly what his film and television production clients want. The P4p and it's global shutter is also perfect for his mapping missions.

Speaking of mapping, Sparky is utilizing the Propeller Aeropoints for many of his jobs. If you've taken my Drone Mapping 101 course, you'll recall that I also use Aeropoints during the training to show you how easy it is to mark your ground control or manual tie points in post processing. If you haven't checked out the course yet, be sure to head on over for all the details!

I won't get into too many details in this blog post, so be sure to listen in to hear how Sparky flew at an airport. Yeah, I know many of us have flown in controlled airspace, but Sparky flew right in the middle of an active airport. Very, very cool stuff!

I hope you enjoyed this week's drone podcast with Sparky Sorenson! Once you've had a listen, feel free to leave a comment so that Sparky and I can hear what you think!

If you're looking to make the jump from sporadic revenue to scalable and consistent growth in your drone business, TDT Pro is for you!

Check out The Drone Trainer Pro right here!

Grant Guillot, a drone lawyer practicing with Adams and Reese LLP in Louisiana, joins us this week for some legal Q&A. Here is the list of questions that we initially went through, and then there are a couple of bonus questions near the end from live attendees:

Intellectual Property Related Questions

1. When working with clients how important is it to have a contract that assigns a license for imagery versus assigning rights, and can you share some examples of typical licensing language for drone services contracts? - Steve Diddle
2. Is it possible / typical to have a contract or license that gives a client certain rights for a specified period of time or purpose and then have the rights revert back to the photographer / videographer / creator of the images/content? - Mark Allen
3. If working without a contract, can it be expected that both parties have full rights to freely use the captured materials? - Chris Anderson
4. When flying and capturing videos and pictures of a field, construction site, farming area or area in the woods, ie not taking videos of structures like buildings, are you able to use the footage without getting permission from the owner of the property? - Peter Matt

Non IP Related Questions

1. So, I pay for legal shield program which is pre-paid legal services. Is there such a program for drone work? One reason for having it was to hopefully protect me if I were to need an attorney for anything in life but the drone issues is an uncertain area for protection. - Ken Elrich
2. I mainly fly in urban or suburban environments. There are always non-subject people and properties in my shots. I haven't used waivers or permission requests so far.

A. Privacy: Do I always need to blur faces, license plates, addresses? Are there situations where I absolutely do need to? What are reasonable precautions to take to avoid violations of privacy? - John Brainerd

B. Rights/Waivers: If I'm shooting in public, do I ever owe someone the right to request I delete footage that they are included in, or of footage that includes imagery of a corporate entity's property, etc.? - John Brainerd

1. I'm interested in hearing some feedback on cases you've worked on that may seem obvious to some, but have caught drone pilots off guard with associated legal ramifications. In general terms, if you thought it was OK to do... you'd better think again and here's why. - Bob W
2. Is there access to the “tribunal” to argue a drone fine and it’s applicability to the situation under which it was given. Perhaps the situation was an accident and the operator was trying to correct it at the moment (say a brief link drop that briefly put the drone over people) operator fixed it and landed but then issued a ticket. - Nick Seemel
3. If using random music on my personal videos “was/is” ok would I then have to do something to my old posts if my YouTube channel gained some audience and could be argued to now be somehow commercial. Same question for flying without a Part 107 in the past, but now monetizing my channel. - Nick Seemel
4. I am a Colombian citizen with living in France with the equivalent of a green card. I want to pass the 107 test and I would love to have the opportunity to fly in America, I mean, commercially. The question goes like this: Can I get my 107 licence as a Colombian citizen? If yes, am I able to fly commercially in the US? What are my options? - Antonio Gonima
5. How do you see the laws changing in the future? Will we be able to fly drones indefinitely? Will there be further restrictions once Amazon starts using their drone service, or others? - Steve Martin
6. Do you have a recommendation for minimum aviation liability insurance? - Ryan Beston
7. How far do you think remote ID will go? I don’t have a problem with police officials the FAA knowing who I am and where I am at. I am however concerned about other people knowing. Also, how do you think they will address the issue of drones that do not have the capability of transmitting ID information. - Henry French

Where to find Grant:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• MarketScale: Drones in America
• Email: [email protected]

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If you're looking to make the jump from sporadic revenue to scalable and consistent growth in your drone business, TDT Pro is for you!

Check out The Drone Trainer Pro right here!

As of June 1, 2019, anyone looking to fly a drone in Canada is regulated by Part IX of the Canadian Aviation Regulations (CARs).

The quick and dirty on the changes are:

Everyone must register their drones if they weigh 250g or more. Everyone must obtain either a basic or advanced pilot certificate. You must be at least 14 years of age to obtain a pilot certificate. You must keep your drone within line of sight when flying. You are permitted to fly to a max altitude of 400′ above ground. Foreign pilots are required to obtain a SFOC before flying in Canada. How to Fly your Drone in Canada Here is a summary of the key changes that affect both domestic and international pilots that are looking to fly their drones in Canada.

Rules for Drone Flight in CanadaPilot Certificates – Section 901.53

All drone pilots are now required to obtain either a basic or advanced pilot certificate. You must be at least 14 years of age to obtain a pilots certificate, and those under 14 can still fly as long as they are supervised by a person that is at least 14 and possesses a pilot certificate.

Basic Pilot Certificate – Section 901.55

Basic pilot certificates allow pilots to operate in uncontrolled Class G airspace. In the basic category, all operations must be at least 14 years of age, and pass the basic exam. The basic category is great if you’re looking at flying outside of controlled airspace, at least 3nm from airports and 1nm from heliport, and 3nm away from DND aerodromes.

The basic pilot certificate is perfect for this that want to fly in the countryside, and away from people and controlled airspace. The basic permit allows you to operate as close to 100′ laterally (30m) from people not involved in the operation.

Advanced Pilot Certificate – Section 901.62

The advanced pilot certificate is for those 16 years old or older, that wish to fly in more complex environments, including controlled airspace, near airports/heliports/aerodromes, or near/over people. Like the basic certificate, the advanced requires passing an online exam and then an in-person flight review with a Transport Canada delegated Flight Reviewer. Remember the old SFOC applications? The flight review is like conducting a SFOC application in person, and then proving your flight skills.

While the advanced exam is standardized, the RPAS system that you operate will determine which category you can operate within. Transport Canada publishes a list of approved RPAS systems, and the three categories of operation are:

In controlled airspace. Near people – not less than 16.4′ (5m) laterally from another person, and at any altitude. Over people – at a distance of less than 16.4′ (5m) laterally from another person, and at any altitude.

Even with an advanced certificate and a drone that is allowed to operate in controlled airspace, you are still required to obtain permission from the airspace controlling agency (Nav Canada) prior to flying in that airspace. Failure to do so can result in a hefty fine.

Regardless if you’re in the basic or advanced category, you’ll need to carry your pilot certificate with you during all flight operations.

Drone Registration in Canada – Section 901.02

In order to be able to fly your drone, you must register your drone with Transport Canada. This applies to all drones above 250g, and the registration number must be clearly visible on the drone. Registration costs $5, and requires you to provide the purchase date, make, model, serial number, weight and type of drone. Once you have registered, you’ll immediately receive a download link to obtain your registration. Print that off and keep it with your drone as it’s required to be with your drone during all flight.

Flying your Drone in Controlled Airspace

Drone Site Selection Tool

In order you fly your drone in controlled airspace, you are required to obtain approval from the controlling agency. Nav Canada has created a RPAS Flight Authorization Request form that needs to be submitted and approved before you are allowed to fly. In addition to this tool, the National Research Council Canada has published a Drone Site Selection Tool to help you determine what kind of flight operations may be permitted. In addition this tool, I highly recommend a copy of the Canadian Flight Supplement, and ForeFlight or paper VNC maps so that you can most accurately determine which airspace you are in.

Visual Line-of-Sight Operations – Section 901.11

All drone flights must be conducted with either the pilot or visual observer maintaining visual line of sight at all times. Looking through FPV goggles or...