by Smart Industry students

Drones, where to start?

Dear Reader,

In my last blog I wrote about my view of the usages of drones inside a company. Today I will write about how to get your own drone and what to do with them.

Drone licence

If you want to fly drones as a hobby, you don’t need any licenc1e. But you still have to be aware that the rules about drones usage are changing a lot and new rules are added rapidly, so it could be that you will need a licence as an hobbyist any time soon.

If you want to fly drones as part of your job, you will need a licence. In The Netherlands you can get a drone licence at NLR RPAS. On the image on the right you will see the things you have to complete to receive your RPAS Operator Certificate (ROC).

Drone rules
There are also some rules that every drone owner should know about. These rules are for hobbyist drone owners in The Netherlands.

  • You have to stay under 120 meter.
  • You have to keep an eye on your drone the whole flight.
  • You can only fly during the day and with clear vision of your surroundings.
  • Avoid people and animals.2
  • Do not fly above cities, villages, train tracks, roads and harbors.
  • Do not fly close to airports.

On this image you see the restricted fly zones in The Netherlands.

If you fly drones for your job there will be some extra rules.

  • The drone pilot needs a certificate.
  • The drone needs prove of airworthiness (BvL).
  • You need to have an approved operation manual.

 

One of the best drone on the market right now.

DJI Phantom 33

The Phantom 3 has 4 versions.

Phantom 3 Standard: €599,-
Phantom 3 4K: €899,-
Phantom 3 Advanced: €899,-
Phantom 3 Professional: €1199,-

On this site you can see the differences: http://store.dji.com/compare-phantom-3

You can see here which version fits the best with you.

What to do with a drone

For a business point of view the most drones are used for aerial photography and cinematography.

There is also the option to race with drones. For this you will need to buy a special racing drones, these drones can go up to 120 km/hour.

And as a hobby, you can do whatever you want if you stick to the rules.

My view on drones

Drones overall are great and fun to use, but right now there are some limitations. Like the carry limit and the battery time. And drones will be more useful with something like transport if these things are improved.

This is my current view of the use of drones and I would like to know your view on this subject. Have a nice week and I will see you in my next blog.

 

By: Erik de Vries

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