Drone Safety - people & aircraft
This is the kind of damage that can be inflicted on drone pilots who misjudge their aircraft's position and trajectory or have lost control of their aircraft.... even potentially attempting to catch their drone!
Many drones, even relatively large ones, can be bought as toys and they simply aren't; and they need to be treated with due care. Often the cheaper the drone is, potentially the more difficult it is to fly ie less sophisticated electronics and software. You can find recreational drone courses from £199 so if you intend to fly a drone especially outdoors then this sort of training is highly recommended. See http://www.uavcs.co.uk/flight-training/drone-proficiency-2/. In the same way that you wouldn't let your child out on a bike without stabilisers or other support then you should be equally cautionary when flying a drone for the first time.
The other issue I often get asked about is the issue of drones and aircraft....
Even a small drone can do quite a bit of damage to an aircraft – with the collision speed of the aircraft (potentially 546–575 mph) and drone. Anything that damages the airframe potentially puts the aircraft at risk.
THIS is what can happen with a bird strike in a jet engine - let alone if an aircraft gets a drone through one of its engines... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgspIiTFWIk
Plus apart from the obvious dangers of getting metal and plastic in a jet engine – any ideas why drones and aircraft REALLY don’t mix? Lithium / Lithium Potassium batteries! They burn quickly, extremely hot and for a long period and can be unstable at the best of times. So getting one of these in some critical part of the airframe or jet engines puts the aircraft in serious jeopardy. Similarly there are strict rules on the transport of lithium-based batteries onboard aircraft. For more information see https://www.caa.co.uk/Passengers/Before-you-fly/Baggage/Items-that-are-allowed-in-baggage/
Check out this video to see what happens when a Lithium battery ignites https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EseOhC8n7ro. These sorts of batteries are particlarly unstable when over-charged or damaged ie dropped or punctured so should be handled with care and following the relevant guidelines for use.
In summary drones need to be handled with care no matter who your are, experienced or otherwise for a simple guide on how to safely fly your drone visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6uU1LTdI8M
Or refer to this simple guide: http://dronesafe.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Dronecode.pdf
Happy (and Safe) flying.....
