We’ve decided to incorporate a drone (DJI Mini 3 pro) into the equipment we use to prepare the videos we share on the blog in our “Viewpoints” section. Yesterday, we finally got to see if we were able to make it fly without crashing it.
And, despite the fact that everything is harder than it seems when watching videos of experts, we were able to make it fly and even to film, so we decided to compile a video to show off our “baptism by fire” as drone pilots.
For our first flight, we decided to go to Mount Ilso/Eguen, in the Enkarterri. Atop this mountain, at 563 m (1847 ft) high, there is an old airfield that was used for fumigating the pine forests in this part of Biscay.
This mountain, apart from being easy to access, and for being an appropriate area to fly drones or RC planes in, also offers magnificent views and sunsets that simply take your breath away. So it’s easy to have fun there.
So we took advantage of the test footage we filmed with our maiden drone flight to prepare a short video for you, just over two minutes long.
In the future, we hope to share more videos with you from different places in our country in which aerial footage has a more prominent role. Of course, this all depends on our improving our ability as pilots and as cameramen.
However, we do have to admit there is a slight hitch in our plans. That would be the rather severe restrictions the AENA (Spanish Airports and Air Navigation) and the Government of Spain place on flying drones, with large swaths of land where flying drones is prohibited (or so limited that only professionals can make use of them).
Given the all or nothing (trending towards “nothing”) approach the Spanish administration takes, those of us who want to fly drones in Spain do not have it easy. This contrasts with the situation in France, which, despite also being rather restrictive, also has options where restricted areas simply have different flight level limits, meaning that drones can be flown, albeit in a limited fashion. In Spain, these areas are simply closed off.
Areas that are limited due to environment reasons by state or local authorities are also an obstacle, not so much due to the fact that permits are required (which we completely understand, as things must be done properly), nor in that said permits are easy or hard to get; rather, it’s a problem of even getting a reply at all. We’re going to try, and we’ll share with you our experiences as a drone pilot and as citizens trying to get a response from the government.
Last Updated on Dec 3, 2023 by About Basque Country