Drone usage has been exponentially increasing, the day isn’t far when there’ll be thousands of drones flying in the skies over us. Drones have the potential of making lives easier and even saving them. But they also bring along risks to safety, privacy and security.
Imagine you are walking back home from work thinking about a sumptuous dinner. Suddenly something weighing 2 kg falls on your head from 100 feet. You might end up having boiled vegetable soup or bottles of glucose for the next few days.
To avoid such instances we need to have responsible drone operators. Drones can not only pose danger to bystanders but also to the operators themselves. Currently, most drone operators underestimate the damage that a small polycarbonate or carbon fiber propeller spinning at 10,000 rpm can do to the human body.
We at Betterdrones believe that this sense of responsibility has to be inculcated into the pilots’ thinking right from the start of training itself.
We teach all pilots to follow strict safety dress norms-:
- No loose clothing item
- Helmet and jacket on the ground.
- Covered shoes and laces tied.
- Female pilots have their hair properly and securely tied.
Steps to be taken a day before flying day-:
- Weather and site safety check.
- Check for no flying zones.
- Taking required permissions.
- Being aware of operating restrictions in your area.
- The pilot must be able to conduct a visual inspection of the aircraft.
Instructions to be followed at drone pad-:
- Silence
- Follow safety and dress norms.
- No heavy gadgets like cell phones in pockets.
- Performing pre-flight checks before takeoff.
After take-off-:
- The drone is within line of sight.
- Wind speed less than 2 Kmph.
- No human activity within a 15-meter radius.
- Emergency landing in case of human/animal intervention or air disturbances.
Recently Brig. Sunil Chadha mentor and CEO of Better Drones moderated a session at the Drone festival of India 2020. The session was on “Drone Training: Improving the safety of drone operations with drone pilot training and how we can learn from Aeromodellers.” : He spoke of the importance of safe and responsible flying.
Drones can prove to be a blessing when worked with carefully, slight negligence can prove to be very harmful indeed. So if you wish to fly a drone, you must also accept the responsibilities that come along.