Frequently asked questions

We decided to share some of our most commonly asked questions to give you a better idea about Altitude Aerial Photography Ltd and the aerial drone services we offer. If by chance your question is not covered below please contact us and we will do our best to help you.

How high can you fly?

By law, drones must not be flown higher than 400ft, however our permit allows us to fly up to 600ft with planning, or up to 50ft above tall obstacles, such as buildings, even if they are taller still.

How far can you fly?

By law, drones must not be flown further than 500m from the pilot, and/or, beyond visual line of sight. If more is needed, we can get the pilot to follow the drone if it is safe to do so.

How fast can you fly?

This depends on which drone we use, but our highly stabilised drones get their best shots below 50mph, where as our FPV drones are both aerobatic and capable of over 100mph.

Where can you fly?

Our permit allows us to fly anywhere in the United Kingdom, and we are also very capable of flying indoors as well. We are only really limited to not committing trespass to take off.

Can you fly in cities?

Absolutely, in fact some of our best shots have been taken in central London. It takes a little extra planning, but our advanced 5m OSC permit certainly makes things easier.

Can you fly at night?

Certainly, day or night, we can fly 24 hours of the day, 7 days a week. Our only requirement for night flying is that we can scope the area in daylight first to complete our risk assessment.

Can you fly in rain?

Some of our drones are water resistant, but water will get on the lens, so we prefer to be flexible and work with you to reschedule for a day when the weather conditions are better.

Can you fly in wind?

You will get the best drone footage when the wind is below 15mph, though most of our drones are fine up to 23mph. Above that we will be flexible to reschedule for a better day.

Can you fly at events?

By law, drones must not be flown within 50m horizontally from assemblies of people and never directly over a crowd, but our advanced permit allows us to reduce this to as little as 30m.

Are you insured?

By law, anyone operating a drone for commercial gain must have insurance that complies with EC785/2004. We hold such insurance and more, with cover up to £10m for public liability.

Are you licensed?

Absolutely, in fact our OSC permit is one of the most advanced permissions granted by the CAA for drone operations in the UK, and is a reflection of our experience and high standards.

What cameras?

We have a wide range of cameras in house to suit most projects, from a GoPro to our Canon C300mk3, but we can also hire in equipment if there is something specific you want us to use.