PHOTOGRAPHY • VIDEO • DESIGN • DRONE
Phil Crow ABIPP is a photographer based in Lincoln, UK

Drone

I am a CAA approved and qualified drone pilot, legally allowed to undertake commercial projects.

Throughout my career, I have undertaken a lot of work from the air- I’ve shot air to air and air to ground. From fast jet and microlights to raised static and remote platforms. A lot of my clients have asked if I can provide drone photography, so this was a natural progression for me. At the end of 2017 I completed my SUA training and I am now a CAA approved SUA/Drone operator, legally allowed to undertake commercial projects.
I also have passed the OFQUAL TQUK level 4 Award for Commercial drone pilots (RQF).
Drone laws are constantly evolving for best safety practices and as of 2022, I have also completed my conversion from PfCO to GVC as required by the CAA.

Drone: Also referred to as Unmanned Aerial Vehicle’ (UAV); ‘Small Unmanned Aircraft’ (SUA); ‘Remotely Piloted Aircraft System’ (RPAS); ‘Unmanned Aircraft System’ (UAS)

A lot of SUA operators come to this activity from flying model aircraft. If you are reading this page, you will realise I am flying drones with a photographer’s eye, therefore able to offer clients great composition and offering a variety of well composed video sequences.

Do be aware of SUA operators who are not CAA approved. You will only get full legal compliance from an operator with a CAA Permission for Commercial Operations (PfCO) or a General Visual Line of Sight Certificate (GVC) qualification holding a valid PDRA-01 OA who will have been correctly trained and passed the relevant exams in this field. You can check any UK commercial operator’s status by contacting the CAA.

A commercial drone operator who has been granted CAA permission (PfCO and/or GVC) will have a comprehensive Operations Manual which will include his/her CAA PfCO/GVC certs, insurances and full details of how he/she operates.  You can ask the operator to show you his or her Ops Manual and Operational Authorisation (OA) and discuss how your project can be achieved within the rules & regs as laid out by the CAA.

MAPPING, SURVEYS & INSPECTIONS

Another area of drone photography is mapping/surveying.

Site inspections, mapping and surveys can be created for all sorts of industries including farming, construction, education, archeology, even roof inspections.

The flight can also be precisely repeated at a later date so you have comparison images as well as the possibilities of creating orthomosaics and 3D Maps of your data.

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