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Crop Pilot school practical courses

Let's take a look at the pre-start checklist.

This is a sequence of the basic steps for a drone operator to start working with spraying drones.

As a first step we recommend contacting the local CAA office with a simple question - am I allowed to fly at this location and, what are the specific area requirements? If you are a farmer, please prepare a list of your fields for CAA reference. In some cases, for example in the vicinity of airports, you might get a negative answer, and that is the end of your checklist. Also, don't forget to mention to the CAA your drone model and size, as it plays a significant role in the approval process.

Hopefully, the answer is yes, and you can proceed with the pilot training, which will normally take around 2 weeks. Please note, the pilot training has to be CAA approved. If you are offered drone dealer training or for example DJI Academy training, which is not up to EASA or regional CAA standards, it will not give you a valid license to operate drones above 25 kilograms. Basically, drone dealer training is good-to-have, but it doesn't replace CAA drone pilot training standards and certificates. Please contact your local CAA for the training requirements, which are obligatory for your country.

Next step is to register as a drone operator in your country of residence and obtain operator ID. 

Once you have an operator ID, it is time to submit all paperwork required for CAA operational authorization. At this point, you should already know which drone you will be flying, as this information has to be included in CAA application. We don't recommend buying a drone until you actually receive a CAA flight permit, as this could be a long process.

The main part of documents submitted to CAA consists of a risk assessment for the planned operations and operations manual. We will discuss SORA and PDRA risk assessments in the next section. The application processing time may vary from 1 month to 6 month, depending on CAA workload. If your local office is very busy, like in Spain, you will have to wait 6 month, which means you have to submit the documents well in advance of planned operations and not in the last moment. 

Once you receive CAA authorization, please make sure to familiarize yourself with conditions, under which it was issued. You may be limited in height of flight, restricted to fly only in day time or any other limitations.

When you get all necessary documents from CAA, you may buy a drone, accessories and transport means, which we already discussed in previous lessons.
Before the start of spraying operations, make sure to purchase a drone insurance, which might be hard to find in some countries. We recommend using professional insurance company, Coverdrone, as they provide best conditions and pricing for EU drone operators.