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Drones and learning how to fly them
When you think of drones, you probably think of unmanned aircraft equipped with highly sophisticated weapons systems, controlled remotely from a secret base, designed to take out any threat. You might think of drones mapping an enemy base and sending coordinates to troops waiting nearby.
Definitely such machines exist, and are used by militaries around the world. But the truth is drones are used for much more than that, by ordinary citizens, for purposes beyond destruction and mayhem.
Recently, DronesPH and Henry’s Professional gathered together hobbyists, enthusiasts and media in a day-long event, “Shoot + Fly.” Here they explored the spectrum of drone capabilities and reviewing the dos and don’ts of this increasingly popular activity. The event included product presentations by Fuji and DJI.
What is it?
Many people are fascinated by remote-controlled machines. With a flick of a switch, the turn of a dial or the press of a button, an RC car or helicopter will speed up, stop, turn or perform some other amazing feat of engineering and electronics.
Drones are sometimes called unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), multirotor aircraft or multicopters. Such aircraft can have any number of rotors, hence quadcopters, hexacopters, octocopters and more. Such machines, coupled with photography and videography, seem to be the latest fad in gadgets and hobbies. Footage and photos shot from drone-mounted cameras can now be found in wedding videos and news reports.
As with all trends though, there’s a downside. Around the world, drones raise concerns about privacy and security. During the papal visit in January, and the recently-concluded APEC summit, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) implemented a “no drone policy” as a matter of safety.
What does it do?
DronesPH is a local organization that promotes the safe ad responsible use of drones. They conduct workshops on a variety of topics, from flying to building, from safety regulations to aerial cinematography.
One of the things they frequently emphasize is that drones are useful for activities beyond surveillance and cinematography. Kalki Jimenez and Jerry Cheng shared the various activities in which drones have been and can yet be used in the Philippines.
Jimenez said, “The first things you think when you see a drone is destruction, surveillance, counter-intelligence. But there are so many uses for drones. We use it for site inspections in construction. We can use it for progress reports, using aerial mapping. We can map using video and photos, with 3D, and we can get actual sizes from the sky.”
Drones offer extensive opportunities for all kinds of surveillance. It is often easier to fly a drone than to find a vehicle that can travel across debris or construction sites. It is safer too, since the drone can simply record or transmit footage of the area being surveyed. Reconnaissance missions, whether on foot, on the road or in a helicopter, still pose dangers to the survey team.
Jimenez provided further examples, such as the use of drones for fire safety and rescue situations. DronesPH collaborates with fire departments to assess the extent of damage and the integrity of a structure from multiple angles, to determine whether or not it’s too risky for firemen to enter the building. In times of disaster, drones have better capability to survey an area, assess damage, and determine rescue and rehabilitation needs. Drones can also be used in agriculture, to view and monitor the status of crops.
All the bells and whistles
Drones vary greatly in price—from a few thousand pesos at a toy store to the hundreds of thousands from high-end brands. The more expensive models are usually used by professionals. Wedding videographers use drones for pre-nup videos, or to capture the magnitude of emotion that runs rampant on the big day.
Professional videographers use them to capture sports events from different angles. Even news reporters and producers use them, to show the scale of a protest rally or a disaster, to provide larger context to events.
These high-end models come in different sizes and complexity, with increasingly powerful cameras of decreasing size and weight. Shoot + Fly featured two such models from DJI. The DJI Inspire is equipped with a very powerful camera, but its real advantage is the dual-operator control option. One person can focus on flying the drone, while the other concentrates on the camera. The single remote model sells for about P130,000, while the dual-remote one is priced at roughly P160,000. A more affordable option—approximately P40,000—is the DJI Phantom. It comes with Beginner Mode that should be useful for first-time pilots.
DronesPH demonstrated the use of both the Phantom and the Inspire at the event. Two of their pilots taught attendees the basics of drone flight using the Phantom. Pilot Mac Eugenio showed examples of his own aerial photography and videography, from commercial ads to footage of the devastation wrought by Typhoon Yolanda. While exhibiting his work Eugenio shared his experience, from his first UAVs to his current equipment, and the adventures that came with the footage.
Safety checks
As with all new gadgets and hobbies, it’s important to remember that safety comes first. At DronesPH Academy, pilots conduct a number of programs covering different topics. Flight 101 is a five-day workshop that teaches the basics of flying, including rules and regulations as implemented by CAAP, pre-flight and post-flight checks, and flight physics. Flight 201 is a five-day workshop that includes a module on aerial cinematography. And Flight Check is for experienced pilots who need a review. All programs issue certificates of completion to attendees.
If you plan to fly a drone, remember that there are licenses and permits you need to acquire. Similar to guns and other deadly weapons, your drone needs to be registered, and you need a license to operate it, especially if you plan to use it for business. You also need to be aware of no-fly zones such as airports and government buildings.
Whether you use drones to take awesome video of your next vacation, or you plan to incorporate its use in your business, it’s important to use it responsibly and safely. — BM, GMA News
