Chicagoland Aerial Receives FAA Approval for Aerial Drone Operations
The folks at Legend Creative Group/Chicagoland Aerial couldn’t be happier as they are one of the few select organizations that have received the Section 333 Exemption certificate from the FAA for commercial use of drones!
Owner/pilot Dave Voitik says he is ecstatic “This is an exciting thing for us, and also is great for the entire drone/UAS community. It proves the FAA is willing to work with us and that they realize that for the U.S. to be competitive with the rest of the world, we need realistic regulation/legislation that accommodates growth in these hi-tech sectors of our economy.”
Voitik is assuming that his previous flight training for full-scale planes was critical in the FAA approval. “The exemption has very specific guidelines that outline the safe operation of the drone,” says Voitik. “All of their conditions for the drone operations are pretty logical and practices we have already been adhering to in the past, such as the 400 ft. maximum altitude and operating the craft within L.O.S. (Line of sight).” ”
We engage in a myriad of procedures, precautions and flight protocols to ensure the safety of any people in the area, the full-scale aircraft in the sky and the property we fly over. We realize that we are the ambassadors for the entire UAS community as a whole and the pioneers that will help shape the industry and also the general public’s perception of drones…..we take this responsibility very seriously.” Voitik states.
Legend Creative Group’s aerial division Chicagoland Aerial is now positioned to become a leading provider of aerial video and photography in the Midwest. “We are approved for operations that include aerial photography and video for television, public events, cinematography, news gathering, real estate, architecture, land surveying, engineering inspections and other professional activities” says Voitik. The provision also allows them to perform search and rescue operations.
“We also utilize drone footage for corporate videos, where the aerial video is combined with standard hand-held (ground-based) video, which when combined, provides for a really nice mix of footage…and tells the best story”
Legend Creative operates several “drone” UAVs, but their primary craft can capture video in 4K UHD – which is slowly, but inevitably becoming the standard for video capture. ”
It will take a while before the advantages of 4K video are fully realized in regard to creating the content and also for broadcasting and viewing.” says Voitik. “However, 4K footage also allows for some nice options in the editing suite, allowing you to crop-in on and/or stabilize the footage as needed.
The Legend team is excited to get more involved with TV, movies and news gathering. In the meantime, they have numerous shoots in the cue at golf courses, automobile events, construction sites and for real estate clients.