In my personal experience, the best part is being a drone pilot
What are my top 10 favorite things to do as a drone pilot?
Very good. I’m Gregory Castro, a drone pilot with DroneProfessional.com . Although I sign many records in this BlogI almost always talk about drones, and very little of myself. I know that sometimes it can make me come across as cold and distant, but the truth is that I usually prefer my worked speak for me I also know that the human factor and proximity are differential values contract any maintenance, and so I decided to write this post, a little more personal, in which I will talk about some of the reasons that make me do my best for this profession. They are not all there is, but they are all there is:
10 of my favorite drone pilot things
1- The first time when «you fly»
All the pilots I have met during this time agree on one thing: there is no better feeling than taking control of a drone for the first time. In my case, I remember this incident very well. After moving to a perfectly prepared area and listening to my instructor’s explanations, he gave me control of the drone, I started the engines and took off. Then my instructor said to me, «Well, that’s it, you fly«. The truth is that although it was a small drone weighing less than two kilograms and it was no great feat to lift it, thanks to its advanced systems that allowed it to fly with precision and without difficulty, I had the feeling at that moment that absolute euphoria. The realization that you are gaining the knowledge to fly a drone safely and have control of what is still legally an aircraft, with all the opportunities and responsibilities that entails, was wonderful.
Although that moment was indescribable, and seen now it sounds silly and childish, I still remember, as if it were yesterday, the overwhelming feeling «to fly«.
What follows will be a lot of ratings based on my personal experience, but if you have specific questions about this topic, feel free to leave me a comment or contact me privately using our contact form.
2- See the world from a new perspective
My interest in the world of drones arose gradually but steadily from my previous profession: audiovisual producer I freelance photographer. Although a good photographer with creativity and technique can get incredible images with a good camerafor some reason, I always felt tied to the earth and longed for a tool that would allow me to expand my horizons, see the world from places no one had seen it before, and capture unique images.
It’s still amazing to pick up a drone and see the world from above. Places that, to the human eye, have characteristics that turn into shapes and colors as you go up 10, 20, 30, 120 meters. It’s not uncommon for you to arrive at a place that doesn’t really stand out at first glance, pick up the drone, look through the screen, and gasp.
Although drones are on everyone’s lips, it must be remembered that they have begun to exist legislated in Spain in October 2014, when its increasing use made it necessary to regulate its activities. That was just over 3 years ago, and while I wasn’t the first person to take control of a drone, I’m aware that in a few decades I’ll be part of the first wave professionals which used drones as a tool, contributing a grain of sand to the history of the sector in Spain.
4- Discover new places
Despite our busy schedule, we try to go out and shoot new locations with drones every week. We do it to train, practice and improve our technique and relax with the new planes and pilots we include, to discover new places we can offer our customers, to record videos for our website and, why deny it, because we had a great time and we love it. I think there are few things more rewarding than working on something you love so much that it blurs the line between leisure and work, and we feel very fortunate to be able to dedicate ourselves to making drone footage professionally.
Be that as it may, the truth is that flying drones is another reason to leave the house and explore the beautiful corners of our environment that we did not know until now.
5- Pre-flight preparation
Piloting drones is much more than just driving to the right place, turning on the drone and flying. First of all, you have to do intensive office work to discover new places and make sure that flights there are possible and safe; and both on the eve of the flight and once in the desired place, you must follow many checklist conscientiously, lest the force of habit should make you fall into the errors which arise from the confidence of those who believe they know something perfectly. Being rigorous, methodical and disciplined is very rewarding if it helps you become better at what you do.
That’s why one of my favorite parts as a professional pilot is charging the batteries, because while I’m getting everything ready, I can’t help but fantasize about what I’ll see from my drone the next day.
Drones are one of the most important technological developments of recent years, and being able to keep a precision instrument suspended in the air opens up so many possibilities that it’s a sector that will transcend fashion.
When it comes to audiovisual productions, drone video increases the filmmaker’s capabilities. It allows you to show what you want to teach in ways that weren’t possible before and ensures you thrills I to transfer incomparable sensations. In this day and age, although there are many factors that can dictate the presence of a drone in your production, it seems to me that it is something that is almost mandatory, if the means allow. We know this, companies that strive to make a corporate videoartists who want to record a video clip and also the directors who ask us for ours services.
Knowing that you are ultimately responsible for something as special and valuable to a production as aerial photography is one of our greatest rewards.
7- Learning curve
One of the best things about aerial video lessons is definitely the learning curve: autonomous drone systems make it easy to get the drone in the air and maintain steady flight, so getting started is a breeze. The real challenge comes later, and it consists of refining and perfecting the technique and maneuvers, and the learning curve is such that every hour of flying, even today, counts when it comes to learning the intricacies of each type of aircraft and each one of our drones to have the ability to offer better videos, to do a specific maneuver for a specific aircraft in less time, with fewer passes, optimizing our performance and offering more and better capabilities.
Few things can be more encouraging than knowing that no matter how good you are at something, you will never stop learning.
As I mentioned in the previous point, I used to do freelance audiovisual production. Video production and creation, especially at the freelance level, requires you to be a one-man team and have the knowledge and skills to take care of everything related to video production. Although this is not a negative point, having dedicated myself to specialized aerial videography, I know that all the achievements I make as a professional lead me in the same direction and make me better, helping me stand out from the competition.
9- Learn about the world of aeronautics
I have to admit that when I saw the spectacular aerial shots from National Geographic on TV, I thought more of «How I wish I could do that!» what was necessary for this. And when I thought about what it would take, I have to be honest when I say that it never occurred to me that I would have to learn so much about aeronautics, its mechanical principles and safety regulations.
While being a drone pilot does not make you an aeronautical engineer or an expert in operational procedures for other types of aircraft, it does require you to have a good enough understanding of how a drone works and a solid knowledge of how aerial movement ., what organizations have what responsibilities in our country, what are the different types of airspace…
I never thought I would be a fan of the world of aeronautics, but the truth is that by devoting myself to creating aerial video, I learned more about it and learned to appreciate it. For a restless person, the discovery of a new world to be interested in is more of a stimulus than an obstacle.
I sincerely believe that in each of the above points this is enough: self-improvement. With the people who work next to us, we motivate ourselves every day to be better than the previous one, better than ourselves, and this helps us to be better professionals. Being a drone pilot is not only beautiful, but extremely stimulating as it offers endless challenges to solve day after day.
In short, I feel very honored and very grateful to be able to dedicate myself to what I do. It is true that there are many obstacles and that the road is not easy: I will write a post about the ten biggest challenges of being a drone pilot later, but the truth is that every obstacle that we overcome is an encouragement to overcome the next ones that we feel that day after day we are doing wonderful things.
I hope you enjoyed this article as much as I enjoyed writing it.
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