Standards, drone safety, and professionalism

Special CAA approvals, UK-wide coverage, impeccable safety records, perfect customer satisfaction, and, most importantly: a lot of fun.

Special OSC approvals from the Civil Aviation Authority

The CAA (Civil Aviation Authority), who are responsible for granting drone pilots permission to operate commercially, occasionally recognise drone operators in the UK who have particularly impressive safety records and professional workflows, and give them special permissions via an OSC — Operating Safety Case.

We’re one of only around 100 OSC holders in Britain. Our 2022 OSC took us six months to acquire! Being able to fly higher-quality cameras on larger drones in more environments is a huge win for our clients, especially for events and property surveys.

Examples of these special approvals include:

  • Taking off and landing 10 metres away from people: 20 metres closer than the standard 30 metres. Ideal for busy areas and events.

  • Flying within 20 metres of uninvolved people: a huge 30 metres closer than the standard 50 metres. Great for congested spaces like town centres.

  • Using an FPV drone under our OSC: it’s rare for first-person view drones to be covered by additional permissions. Our DJI FPV is included in our OSC.

  • Flying to heights of 750ft (230 metres): a lot higher than the usual 400ft (120 metres).

UK-wide coverage, in all environments

We’re qualified to operate drones commercially all over Britain, and have done so in pretty much every situation imaginable!

We’ve flown above, in, or around beaches, the sea, caves, construction sites, towering buildings, festivals, churches, sports stadiums, historic boats, the River Thames, bustling ports, quiet harbours, schools, golf courses, weddings, racetracks, designer stores, breweries, and countless other places.

We’ll chase race cars around coastal circuits, hand-launch drones from boats, and follow football stars into ocean fortresses. All safely, legally, and with a renowned eye for a good shot!

Serious about safety every step of the way

Our flawless safety record has earned us special CAA permissions, allowing us to fly further, higher, and closer than other drone companies, in more places, circumstances, and conditions. It always gives our clients — especially the ones who are unfamiliar with drones! — a lot more peace of mind.

We include at least two hours of project and flight planning in the contract for every job, risk-assessing each flight and providing an information pack for every client. Our logs have a detailed history of flights, training, equipment maintenance, and battery condition.

Our wide range of equipment also upholds our robust safety standards. Zenmuse X9 lenses and full frame camera allow us to shoot from further away, when needed. Our team stays connected via long-range comms headsets. We have multiple realtime displays for pilots, observers, and camera ops, and even one for our clients to watch!

We’re also adept at briefing everyone in each location about our plans and procedures, often making the presentations as fun and memorable as possible.

Insured to over £10million

Solent Sky Services holds fully-comprehensive insurance cover for all of our equipment and every member of staff, plus public liability insurance of £10million.

Some projects have required us to request additional insurance cover. Our insurers — who know us for our professionalism! — are flexible, and help us secure these larger indemnities.

When we flew inside the Burberry HQ in Regent Street, we temporarily upped our insurance cover to £10million–£20million.