The term drone is widely used to describe unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), Basically a “drone” is a flying robot that can fly autonomously with software controlled flight plans or from a remote control device. Other names for drones often include: Multirotor, Quadcopter.

With GPS position hold (like in your Sat-Nav) standard on most consumer drones these days, multirotors are becoming a lot easier to fly than days gone by. The learning curve for lightweight drones is around two weeks for someone to feel confident flying and filming, This would obviously depend on if the Pilot has previous experience with model aircrafts.

First time drone pilots should practise in large open fields, keeping the drone in the right orientation and at a safe height. That being said with better technology coming out every year, drones are begginning to become smarter and thus much easier to fly. As a general rule of thumb, Ready-To-Fly drones are generally aimed towards everyone, be they beginner or advanced.

Anyone flying a consumer drone for recreational purposes does not actually need a license, as long as the drone is under 2kg in weight and the operator follows the standard laws of operation set by DGCA. These laws can be found on Digitalsky Platform: https://digitalsky.dgca.gov.in

Flight time will differ depending on the drone you have. The most recent drones offer a flight time of upto 35-40 mins. However under practical conditions due to air resistance and other factors, the practical flight time is about 25-30 mins per battery.

FPV stands for First Person View, Basically FPV means you see what your drone is seeing, by having a video downlink from the camera on the drone transmitting the signal to your FPV Goggles. Unlike standard conventional drones where the live feed is transmitted to your Mobile Phone, FPV Drones transmit Live Feed into their dedicated FPV Goggles which provide a much immersive flying experience.

Anything shot from the air, whether it be video or photos can be called aerial photography. In the past the most common Aerial photography was done in helicopters, now with powerful battery powered multi-rotors on the market, aerial photography is more accessible than ever before.

This depends on the range of your drone, Most consumer drones Eg The Mavic Series have an altitude limit of 500 Meters from the point of take-off however the Mini Series has an Altitude restriction of 120 meters in India due to DGCA compliances.

When moving on to Enterprise Series drones like DJI Matrice 350 and DJI M30T, they have a maximum altitude capabilities upto 7000 meters.

In terms of how far all these drones can go, recent DJI Drones use the Ocusync 4.0 protocol for video and radio transmissions which provide a reliable and safe operating range of 10km and beyond under ideal operating conditions.

Take off weight means the total weight the drone can take off with including the weight of itself. So for example a drone that weighs 5 kg and has a take off weight of 10kg will be able to lift a 5 kg payload.