Drone Flying Experience
I recently met Jim Elliott to give him a drone flying experience he had been bought by his son Matt as a birthday present. We spent about 3 hours (2 of these with Jim enjoying flying the drones) one afternoon a couple of weeks ago.
Drone Safety
Before we headed off to the large field I had picked as the flying area I spent time with Jim showing him the failsafe button on the controller, what it did and how he was to operate it in the event of me becoming suddenly ill. After that we spoke about drone safety in general and then the specifics of flying and what to do in the event of someone coming in to the area we were flying. I told Jim that the over-riding safety feature though for him was me taking back control of the aircraft.
Once I had shown Jim the basics of how to fly both the DJI Inspire 1 Pro and the DJI Phantom 3 Pro I took off and demonstrated this in the air before handing the controls of the aircraft over to him. I always stood slightly behind Jim and was able to touch either his right or left shoulder to help him get used to using that hand to turn or raise / lower the aircraft.
Testimonial from Jim
Without asking, Jim sent this testimonial the day after his drone flying lesson with me.
Two massive “thank yous” are in order: first one to my son Matt for his inspired early birthday present to me….a drone flying experience cum photography session with the recipient of the second thank you – Nick Sievewright of Footprint Photography.
The weather for my drone flying experience was favourable and I passed a very convivial and relaxed afternoon in Nick’s company.
During my time with Nick I flew two drones of differing sizes. Nick’s attention to detail and safety was impeccable and his manner was that of a reassuring British Airways pilot!
Always encouraging, building confidence and giving me maximum hands on experience as well as tips on how to get the best from the controls and showing tremendous patience with a student with thumbs having the dexterity of a couple of Fyffe’s bananas!
During the drive to the flying zone, we chatted amiably about photography and some of the projects Nick has been involved with recently, all the time he was putting me at ease and allaying any apprehension that I may have felt.
It is testament to Nick’s professionalism and attention to detail that I felt no apprehension when taking the controls of the drones and thoroughly enjoyed every minute!
Nick also took the time to explain some of the finer points of RAW image photography and how to get the best from my own photographs using editing software and techniques I had not tried.
Thank you Nick and I wish you every continued success; and thank you Matt for having the foresight, imagination and generosity to provide such a wonderful afternoon. It is really appreciated gents!