Location and Weather Limitations Exist: Be Informed
As mentioned in another post, I discussed the fact that rules and regulations exist for drone operators. Also discussed was the penalties that exist for drone operators who fly where they shouldn’t.
Besides location limitations, weather limitations also exist, and if exceeded, can cause our very expensive pieces of equipment to crash – drones do not like wind and rain. Our drones can tolerate a certain level of wind, but at the end of the day, the quality of work diminishes if we push too hard in too-windy conditions.
Put aside the fact that if the drones were to crash and injure somebody, and or damage someone’s property, we have to consider what the insurance company would say, and whether or not they would pay out for any injuries sustained, damage suffered, and last but not least, whether the insurance company would pay up for a new drone.
Insurance companies spend a lot of money investigating claims, and all they would really need to do is research the weather on that given day, and discover that the wind tolerance of the device was exceeded, and the drone should not have been in the air. Case closed.
All we can do as drone operators, is hope for the best and prepare for the worst. How many times have you checked the weather and it indicated clear and sunny, with little to no wind, only for the ‘actual’ weather to be horrible? I’ve seen that too many times. Then we have weather ‘events’ that may last for weeks, making it just impossible to complete the job.
I have an aviation background, first in engineering, then only a decade ago, I gained my Grade 3 Instructors rating. Call it a mid life crisis if you will, but flying is what I dreamt of from a young age, and I achieved it. Then I discovered the what the industry was really like, and the ridiculous pay that came with the job. Anyway, I digress. What I learned sticks with me today, and that is;
Prior Preparation Prevents Pi$$ Poor Performance
I’d encourage anyone looking at advertising their rental, or a property for sale, to take advantage of the weather conditions prior to organizing the listing. Because murphy’s law dictates that if it can go wrong, it will. There will be no sudden high rise building, railway or school built within the time your aerial photos are taken, so you don’t have to worry.
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