Online Drone Training Course

Aim

Design, build & deliver a course teaching safe & successful drone use - for everyone from hobbyists to businesses - Learn from experts

Drones constantly receive bad press and we're more often hearing media stories of near misses and close collisions between drones and other aircraft.

As commercial pilots, (running our own aerial drone photography and video business) we know that drones can and should be operated safely within the rules and regulations set out by the civil aviation authority. We also know whether you're flying a drone as a hobby, or as a business, it is hugely enjoyable, and there are some incredible tasks we can accomplish with drones.

Safety is key at any level and our course will set out to educate and help gain an understanding of the rules and regulations when flying drones. On top of this, we want to pack all of our experience we've learnt over 4 years of flying drones as a video and photography business, into a course that is filled to the brim with learning material, top tips, key messages and insider knowledge... What does this achieve? It means we will be able to fast track anyone wanting to learn to fly a drone, or wanting to further their pilot experience, through a course of safe, correct knowledge, which ultimately allows them to have fun and get the best from their drone.

But we don't want to stop there... We would like to make the course available for free to registered charities and youth groups. By doing this, we hope we can educate at younger ages, building as many safe and well informed drone pilots for the future. We also hope this will get more young people into the drone industry, as a hobby or even as a job, but giving them the right starting point with the correct knowledge.

The drone hobby industry has exploded, plus drone racing is set to become one of the fastest growing sports. There's plenty of news out there about drones however it's difficult to find one source of information, that details everything from buying the right drone, maintaining it correctly, the safety and legal considerations, flying your drone to capture the best images, editing and even publishing and sharing your content.... that is exactly what we'd like this course to be, a single point of information for everything you need to know.

Key selling points will be:

The course will be aimed at every level from beginner to advanced, from hobbyist to commercial pilot - we aim to share all the knowledge we have gained through our experience of operating drones commercially over the past four years.

Learn everything you need to know from experts so you can get into this industry or hobby, or even improve your drone pilots skills.

The course will be delivered using a combination of Keynote slides, animations and live videos, plus downloads will be available of all the documents we use in our operations.

The course contents: 

01) The start of your drone journey - What you need to know before buying or before flying                                                                                                                             

• Legal standings and requirements
• CAA
• Safety, Rules & Regulations - dronesafe.uk code (distances)
• Airspace and checks – where you can and can't fly droneassist app
• Privacy Laws
• Frequencies
• FPV Flying
• Line of sight
• Licenses
• Do's & Don'ts Summary
• Safety Considerations:
• Maintenance
• Propeller maintenance
• Battery maintenance
• Weather
• Flight Modes
• Flying with a Spotter
• Take off/landing
• Radio links
• Air traffic
• People, public and distractions
• Cordon

02) A buyers guide                                                                                                                     

• Ask yourselves these questions to decide what drone you would like
• What are you using your drone for?
• What is your budget?
• Gimbal?
• Cameras (on board or interchangeable)?
• Dual or single operator?
• Flight times and batteries?
• Manoeuvrability and speed?
• Portability?
• Spares (readily available)?
• Ready to fly or build your own?

03) Setting up                                                                                                                               

• Owner's/Instruction Manual(s)
• Modes
• Return-to-home
• Stick Movements
• Simulator
• Aircraft Prep
• Calibration
• Battery Checks
• Props Balancing
• Firmware
• Spares Packed

04) Flight Planning                                                                                                                   

• The importance of Flight Planning
• Location:
• Google Earth recon:
• Weather:
• On Site Survey
• Pre-flight checklist
• Cordon
• Airplane Mode on your phone
• Discuss flight with your spotter
• Water: What’s it like to fly over water?

05) First Flight                                                                                                                            

• Complete Airspace Checks & Weather Checks
• Transport
• Allowed to fly in the area allowed
• Find Suitable level ground
• Check with RF explorer if you have one
• Get equipment out:
• Confirm lights and that the drone has satellites locked on if flying in GPS
• Commit to taking off
• Aircraft Control Check
• Landing
• LOS then FPV
• 10 Basic Techniques to practice

06) Advanced flying for Filming                                                                                         

• Basics of Camera Movements
• Framing
• Drone Aerial Shots & Movements:
• The fly-by & Fly-over shot
• The Reveal Shot
• Follow Shot or the chase shot
• The Never-ending Crane (pedestal) shot
• The Lateral Tracking shot
• The High Shot (helicopter)
• The High Pano Shot
• Close Quarters Shot
• 360 Shot
• The Gentle Rise Shot
• Bird’s Eye (the look down) shot
• The Voyager
• Advantages of a dual operator setup

Camera Set-up - Video                                                                                                                    

• Camera Quality – Resolution and format
• Choosing a Frame Rate – frames per second (fps)
• Progressive video and interlaced video
• Format Photo and Video
• Shutter Speed
• Aperture – same for video and photo
• ISO/Gain – Same for video and photo
• Focus
• White Balance
• Camera Profile Settings and colour settings
• Media Storage and File size – Resolution vs File Size
• Editing Video
• Storage for your files
• Software Options
• Music
• Editing
• Exporting
• Advanced Editing options – removing blades, rotor wash, drone shadows
• Speed ramping & Time Remapping
• Stabilising
• Editing Photos
• Software options, free vs paid

07) Sharing and Publishing                                                                                                   

• YouTube
• Facebook
• Vimeo
• Titles and Descriptions

08) Real Life Case Studies – Bonus                                                                                    

• Desert – Abu Dhabi
• Canary Wharf, London
• At sea on a dredger

The drone industry is growing at a massive rate and we want to pass on our knowledge to teach and advise as many people as possible how to fly and film safely and successfully, safeguarding the future of this exciting industry.

This project successfully funded on 1st May 2017