Four More Essential Tips When Travelling Across Dubai With Your Drone
From seasoned travellers to Instagram personalities who make their living sharing their lives with their loyal followers, capturing truly original image can prove elusive– unless, of course, you have a drone, dexterity, expertise and creative vision.
As any erudite drone video production service in Dubai, like Sky Vision will tell you, the city-state is a rich in contrasting visual aesthetics. Ultra-chic urban landscapes are complemented by sublime desert dunes which extend as far as the eye can see. Dubai offers much for drones to capture.
Photographers and videographers willing to traverse the city-state will likely discover images that don’t just pique but hold the attention of even the most cynical and jaded of viewers. Bespoke images that tell far more than a thousand words can be discovered, if you’re prepared to do your homework.
We’ve previously written a blog outlining our top tips for anyone navigating Dubai with their drone in tow, though we believe the topic deserves further coverage. Interested in learning more pertinent information about travelling across one of the most contrasting places on earth and capturing aerial photography in Dubai? Keep reading below.
Location Scouting
Whether you’re lugging around expansive drone cases or have a portable drone that fits nicely into a backpack, you don’t want to carry it around for longer than necessary. Location scouting is integral to a successful shoot. After all, pilots, including those employed by a drone service in Dubai, hardly want to arrive, and then promptly pack-up and depart for lack of aerial photographic opportunities.
There is a way to negate this problem. Use Google Maps. Seasoned drone pilots routinely rely on Google Maps to view satellite images of prospective locations. Examining urban or desert landscapes with the ability to rotate the image around its axis and zoom on individual quadrants is a great way to gauge location potential.
Additionally, scouting a location is a great way to see if locations are drone friendly. Identifying a spot to launch from and land on will save you much time and trouble. Though it’s not always clear ahead of time, thorough research could save you from turning up and then promptly leaving should it be unsuitable, or illegal to fly drones.
Drone Portability
If you’re looking to buy a new drone or are someone who’s lucky enough to be able to afford multiple drones for capturing aerial photography in Dubai, transporting the right drone to your scouted location is paramount. How much luggage are you already bringing? What is the easiest drone to travel with? How much space do you have?
Thankfully, as drone technology evolves, so too does portability. Equipped with HD-cameras, the consumer market is dominated with portable drones that offer superior flying capabilities and are ideal for aerial photography in Dubai. The Mavic Pro is, arguably, the benchmark by which all portable drones are measured, however the Mavic Air is equally capable of capturing sublime 4K videos and images.
Weighing less than two pounds, both the Mavic Pro and Air can be easily transported and then carried to a location. The drone controller is equally lightweight, diminutive, and easy to carry. Whether you’ve got a hike on your hands to get to a scouted location or not, you’ll find that a portable drone will provide you very little hassle.
An Arline’s Watt Hour Limit
Travelling into Dubai with your drone? If so, there’s something to remember, namely the airline’s watt-hour limit. The number of batteries that you take onto a plane isn’t as significant as their watt-hours (Wh).
According to Emirate Airlines, all lithium batteries must have a watt-hour rating exceeding 100 watt-hours, with a lithium content that doesn’t exceed two grams to be safely transported into and from Dubai. A maximum of two spare batteries can be transported in carry-on baggage only. All batteries must be individually protected to protect short circuit.
In a more general sense, for safety reasons drones cannot be checked-in as hand luggage and must be checked-in upon departure. Should you be travelling with a drone, you’ll be asked to secure the lithium batteries within the drone or remove them and place them securely in your hand-luggage.
This regulation applies for passengers connecting to flights from another airline that accepts drones as cabin baggage. If you’re unsure of the regulations when transporting drones to and from Dubai, it’s always wise to check specific airline guidelines.
Don’t Forget Extra Batteries
When skyward, even the most advanced drones currently available on the market have a battery life that shouldn’t be forgotten. Neglecting to fully-charge batteries can drastically inhibit the potential for any individual or professional drone service in Dubai to capture intended images and videos.
The DJI Mavic Pro can roughly remain airborne for around 27 minutes per battery when fully-charged. When the battery has been drained, it takes around an hour to charge. Even if you have a portable charger, environmental conditions can change as the batteries are charging. This can result in you having to abandon the shoot. Extra batteries are essential to avoid losing flight time.
When travelling with your drone, it’s a wise decision to pack a battery invertor. This allows you to charge drone batteries inside your vehicle. Perfect to keeping your drones fully-charged, a battery invertor is one piece of equipment that you shouldn’t be without when travelling with drones and so glad that you have should you find your drone’s batteries drained.
So, there you have it, some more simple tips for traveling with drones. Thinking of heading out with your done for a spot of aerial photography? Make sure that you’ve got all the bases covered beforehand and you’ll enjoy a hassle-free shoot.