As more surveyors are introducing aerial photography to provide high elevation imagery for reports, they are also finding that it’s not a simple case of buying a drone and sending it up in the air to take pictures.

The need to know..

Whilst the majority of people see a drone as a high-tech flying camera, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) who manage UK airspace, view them as an unmanned aircraft. Because of this, drone operators are required to comply with aviation law, by proving an understanding of aviation law and demonstrating competence. This can be done by taking a written and practical test with a National Qualified Entity (NQE) to obtain an Operational Authorisation (OA) from the CAA.

Once the above criteria has been completed, the operator is required to obtain a Flyer ID and Operator ID and hold Public Liability insurance specific to use of drones. Normal business PL insurance will not cover PL claims in respect of an accident involving drones – as it must, by law, meet EC785/2004 requirements to be valid.

In addition to this, you need to keep up to date with the ever-changing legislation and update your Operations Manual to reflect the changes. This then needs to be submitted to the CAA every year for them to review and renew your CAA approval.

The good to know..

For many surveyors, rather than taking on the additional workload associated with keeping in line with the CAA requirements, they opt to use specialist drone companies to act on their behalf to capture aerial imagery for surveys, dilapidation reports and condition reports. This way, the surveyor is able to not only save valuable time on paper work associated with operating drones, but they are able to mitigate risks by using an experienced and competent CAA approved drone operator to provide them with drone imagery for surveys.

The one to know..

DroneCam Solutions Ltd are certified by the CAA to operate drones and hold the relevant insurance policies required, we have been operating drones for the last 5 years and work with both regional agents and national property management companies alike. 

For more information about the drone services we provide, please visit our inspection and survey page or contact us page. We are proud to have achieved a 5* google rating and you can see some of the kind words our clients have said about us by visiting our testimonials page.