First, I am a professional photographer and have resisted drones due to Class B airspace dominating the area. But with competition forcing the issue, should take the Part 107 in a week or so. As a former/inactive private pilot in the 1980's quitting due to cost to remain current (and safe) the study for the exam is a review and would be surprised if I don't pass on first attempt. Then it becomes interesting, and I have two questions.
1) It appears I will need to apply for a waiver to fly in Class B (or and other regulated airspace) which I understand takes months. Realtors of course want their photos in 24 hours to list the property and I just drew a 5 mi radius around Orlando Executive which is the original airport close to downtown and even limits downtown building height. Within that 5 mi radius there were 171 $1M+ homes for sale, and an additional 97 sold in the past 6 months. That doesn't even include the other two international airports in the Orlando area, with MCO the one most people know. Not to many high end houses in Sanford, but MCO is a different story as the medical community has made it a major expansion area. Orlando is not an LAANC test city - Miami is only one in Florida. Is there a faster waiver method that can be filed with each drone shoot while waiting for a blanket waiver? All flights will easilly be below 400' as too high accents the roof, and not the house.
2) While I have settled on the Phantom 4 Pro due to the camera, one thing that concerns me is the "no-fly" which in P mode wouldn't even allow it to take off even if I was legally operating with a waiver. Reading the manual, it appears A mode would allow flight...but you lose everything supporting flight safety - GPS, vision sensors, auto return, etc. You are literally 'pilot in control' flying by the seat of your pants. Is there an override that would allow the P mode features to be active?
1) It appears I will need to apply for a waiver to fly in Class B (or and other regulated airspace) which I understand takes months. Realtors of course want their photos in 24 hours to list the property and I just drew a 5 mi radius around Orlando Executive which is the original airport close to downtown and even limits downtown building height. Within that 5 mi radius there were 171 $1M+ homes for sale, and an additional 97 sold in the past 6 months. That doesn't even include the other two international airports in the Orlando area, with MCO the one most people know. Not to many high end houses in Sanford, but MCO is a different story as the medical community has made it a major expansion area. Orlando is not an LAANC test city - Miami is only one in Florida. Is there a faster waiver method that can be filed with each drone shoot while waiting for a blanket waiver? All flights will easilly be below 400' as too high accents the roof, and not the house.
2) While I have settled on the Phantom 4 Pro due to the camera, one thing that concerns me is the "no-fly" which in P mode wouldn't even allow it to take off even if I was legally operating with a waiver. Reading the manual, it appears A mode would allow flight...but you lose everything supporting flight safety - GPS, vision sensors, auto return, etc. You are literally 'pilot in control' flying by the seat of your pants. Is there an override that would allow the P mode features to be active?