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FAQs
Frequently asked questions
It can be a daunting task to hire a drone pilot, especially with the recent accusations in the media. Take a look at our questions and answers below to help us put your mind at ease. We have been flying drones for over seven years and we have the skills to help turn project ideas into a reality.
Can't find an answer to your specific question? Make sure to contact us.
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How long does it take you to film a virtual drone tour?In order to get the best results possible, we generally recommend 1-2 days for our virtual tours. This is not a "quick whizz around". Generally our tours are split into two days. Day one is our recce, where we meet with you on site, figure out our flight route, draw all over a floorplan and figure out how our choreographed extras are going to fill the space. Day two is spent filming and this day is split into two. The first half of the day is spent finalising our flight route, briefing extras and practicing. The afternoon is spent repeating the shot over and over again until it is perfect. We then spend 3-4 days editing the piece, including video editing, sound design and colour grading.
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Can I see what you're filming, while flying?Yes you can! While flying the pilot has a second director's monitor, which mirrors the live feed coming from the drone (minus our telemetry). This is your monitor for the day and you can either hold this in your hands, or we can place it on a stand. This allows you to provide real-time feedback and to see what we can see while in the air.
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Can you fly over people?Yes, we can. As of January 2021, we are able to fly a <250g above people, property and built up areas for short amounts of time. This does not mean that we are able to fly wherever we want and to coordinate these type of flights safely, we must have the correct pre-flight planning/ risk assessment documents in place. The absolute safest way to fly over built-up areas is not to do so at all. We are not allowed to fly over crowds (1,000+ people).
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Can you over a festival, like you see on Instagram?As of January 2021, we are able to fly a <250g above people, property and built up areas for short amounts of time, but we are not allowed to fly over crowds. This means that those shots you see online are not achievable in the UK, meaning these videos may have been shot in another country, where drone laws are less strict. There are things that we can do, for example, flying around the arena, over the stage/ runway and even flying in amongst the band. In doing so, we avoid flying directly over the crowds. Each case is different. Get in touch for more info.
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Do you offer a video editing service?We only offer video editing for footage that we have captured ourselves. As part of our virtual tour work, we offer a full production service. This means we handle everything, from our pre-flight paperwork and airspace permissions, to organising extras, hiring the right team, directing, sound design and video editing. At the end of the project, we can deliver our 2-3 minute one-shot FPV drone tour in 16x9 in 4K for YouTube, Facebook and LinkedIn and/or 9x16 for Instagram and Tik Tok. We can even offer 60-second "highlight videos" in order to deliver as much value to our clients as we can. Get in touch for more information.
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Do you have liability insurance?Yes. We have liability insurance of £10 million, covering the majority of the world. This is a CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) requirement when completing commercial drone work.
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How far do you travel for drone work?We have been lucky enough to fly across the South West, the Greater UK and the EU. We love what we do any will usually travel anywhere in the world, as long as the project is right for both us and our clients.
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Do you charge the earth for mileage outside of Cornwall?Living in the most South Westerly part of the UK has many pros and cons. To stay competitive, we do not charge for mileage within the home county of Cornwall. Further afield, we generally charge mileage from Exeter and this is a sacrifice that we are prepared to make. Get in touch today for a quote. We are flexible and highly competitive. You don't need to live in London to run a successful drone company!
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Can you fly legally in another country or the EU?Bad Wolf Horizon has permmiosn to fly in the UK and all EASA countries. Each country have their own drone laws and sets of permissions which need to be respected Please get in touch for further details and we would be happy to look into your request, free of charge.
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Do you need to complete risk-assessments?Yes. Unfortunately, we are not able to just arrive on-site and fly and careful flight planning needs to be completed before flying. 1. PPT2 - Pre-flight paperwork This allows us to consider restrictions within the area we plan to fly e.g. local airspace restrictions, built-up areas. This could involve contacting local ATCs where necessary. 2. Risk assessment We conduct a thorough risk assessment, based on the task and restrictions. 3. Weather forecast We keep a close eye on the weather in the run up to the filming date. If the weather looks bad, we are happy to reschedule at a later date (no additional cost). 4. On-site risk assessment Finally, we complete an on-site risk assessment when we arrive at the task address. This allows us to identify and record any risks we may have missed e.g. powerlines.
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What is the maximum height you can fly?Maximum altitude of 400 feet above ground level (AGL), as stated from the CAA.
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What is the maximum distance you can fly?Visual line-of-sight (VLOS) only - this is usually 500 metres. The unmanned aircraft must remain within VLOS of the remote pilot in command and the person manipulating the flight controls of the small UAS. Alternatively, the unmanned aircraft must remain within VLOS of the visual observer. At all times the small unmanned aircraft must remain close enough to the remote pilot in command and the person manipulating the flight controls of the small UAS for those people to be capable of seeing the aircraft with vision unaided by any device.
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Can you fly at night?Yes, we have a night waiver which allows operations at night. Traditionally operations are limited to daylight-only operations, or civil twilight (30 minutes before official sunrise to 30 minutes after official sunset, local time) with appropriate anti-collision lighting.
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What weather conditions can you fly in?Our traditional DJI drones cannot fly in winds greater than 15 mph and they are not waterproof. For the best cinematic results, a calm, sunny day yields the best results. Our FPV drones are more flexible and can generally handle wind a bit better. We can also build a waterproof FPV drone if your shoot demands it!
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Can drone operators fly without a license?In 2021, the UK drone laws changed, which no longer distinguishes between commercial and hobbyist drone flyers. This does not mean it is as simple as being able to fly wherever you want and there are certain laws which apply to both categories e.g. flight distance, height, separation distances. All drones in the UK now need to be registed with the CAA. Bad Wolf Horizon will continue to operate under our existing Operational Authorisation until the time is right to switch over to the new system. Always chose an operator who is able to coordinate your vision safely and professionally.
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Were you the person that was flying a drone in Gatwick Airport?This is definitely up there for my most asked question. In my personal opinion, I don't think there was ever a drone at Gatwick and it was most likely the police drone, dispatched after the initial sighting, that caused a stir. This "incident" happened at a very convenient time, when UK drone laws were under scrutiny...
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