Isle of Man CAA Drone Guideline

A fast pace one-hour hands-on session lets you handle the controls, see the essential safety workflow, and grasp the key Isle of Man rules—perfect for first-time flyers or a gift experience.

What you'll learn:

Isle of Man Rules Snapshot

✓ Key height and distance limits

✓ Visual line-of-sight requirement

✓ Awareness of no-fly zones and sensitive sites

✓ How safety-map apps highlight restricted airspace

Safety & Pre-Flight Walk-Through

Visual inspection, battery health, GPS lock.

Drone & Controller Overview

A close look at sensors, propellers, camera, gimbal, and the controller’s key functions: left/right stick actions and the RTH button.

Instructor Demo Flight

Watch a precise take-off, steady hover, slow pan, and gentle movements. We highlight obstacle sensing and maintaining visual line of sight.

Guided Student Practice (30 minutes)

Your turn on the sticks. Under instructor supervision you will:

✓ Take off smoothly

✓ Hold a stable hover

✓ Move forward/back and sideways

✓ Yaw in place

✓ Return to the take-off point and land with accuracy

A short RTH test completes the exercise.

Wrap-Up & Next Steps 

Open Q&A, practice tips, and guidance on progressing to the 2-hour Starter or half-day Complete course for deeper skills.

Ideal for first-time flyers, hobbyists, or anyone considering a CAA qualification. Hands-on flying, safety checks, camera & controller setup, and core regulatory guidance—all in one focused session.

What you'll learn:

Simulator Practice & Orientation

Get familiar with stick inputs before real flight: yaw, pitch, roll, throttle, and safe controller posture. Quick reps build confidence.

Safety Checklist Walkthrough

We step through a repeatable pre-flight workflow using our UAV Flight Safety Reference Card—airframe, batteries, weather/airspace, GPS lock, RTH height, sensor status, and control test.

Basic Camera & Remote Control Settings

See how ISO, shutter speed, white balance, and frame rate affect your image. We also cover controller switches, fail-safes, and setting altitude/distance limits.

Guided Take-Off & Hovering

With instructor support, perform a safe take-off, hold a stable hover, and verify control response before moving out.

Flying Practice (1 hour)

Work through core manoeuvres: ascend/descend, forward/back, lateral moves, controlled yaw, combining inputs, precision landings, emergency stop, and RTH demonstration.

CAA / IoM Registration & Responsibilities

Understand Flyer ID vs Operator ID, where they apply (UK / IoM alignment), and what your responsibilities are as a new pilot.

Q&A, Review & Next Steps

We recap the safety workflow, recommend practice drills and flight-planning apps, and outline progression paths (Beginner Course, A2 CofC, GVC).

Ideal for serious beginners, aspiring hobbyists and future certified pilots, this half-day course builds advanced flight skills, robust safety habits, professional-level camera craft and a clear path toward A2 CofC or GVC certification.

What you'll learn:

Legal Requirements & Registration

✓ Isle of Man registration essentials and how they differ from UK rules

✓ UK Flyer ID / Operator ID explained, with live registration help for UK residents

A concise demo of Drone Assist shows how to check airspace in seconds; you’ll take away a hand-out listing other planning apps for later reference.

Simulator Practice & Orientation

Hands-on orientation with front/back, yaw, pitch and roll, plus safe controller posture. A one-minute figure-of-eight “stick warm-up” on the simulator helps embed smooth inputs before real flight.

Safety Procedures & UAV Pre-Flight Check

We walk through the full UAV Safety Reference Card—Before Power-On, After Power-On and Post-Flight—adding quick prompts on battery temperature limits and firmware warnings, and answering any safety questions.

RC Setup & Navigation Settings

✓ Basic and advanced controller menus

✓ Cine / Sport / Tripod modes and when to use them

We configure Return-to-Home and altitude limits, obstacle avoidance, compass calibration, waypoints and cruise control so you can tailor the aircraft to any mission.

Hands-On Flight Session (1.5 – 2 hrs)

Manual take-off, hover and full control checks precede core manoeuvres—square, circle and figure-eight patterns—at varying heights and directions. After practising emergency Return-to-Home, pause functions and real-time gimbal adjustments, you finish with a five-minute solo circuit to consolidate skills.

Pro Camera & Cinematic Techniques

This segment takes you from competent pilot to image-maker, focusing on the exposure tools and flight moves professionals use to achieve cinematic results.

✓ Auto vs manual exposure—how and when to switch

✓ Exposure triangle in practice: ISO, shutter speed and ND filters (e.g. ND16 in bright sun keeps shutter near 1/50 s for natural motion blur)

✓ Matching frame-rate and resolution to the project (25 fps for playback, 50 fps for smooth slow-mo)

A live demo shows how each setting affects image quality for mapping or cinematic work, then we layer in reveal shots, orbits and parallax passes for a polished, professional look.

Certification Guidance (A2 CofC / GVC)

We outline the training paths, provide a one-page checklist of study steps, explain the exam format and show how disciplined flight logging builds the portfolio you’ll need for assessment.

Final Wrap-Up & Takeaway Materials

Key learning points are reviewed and personalised feedback given. You leave with a UAV Safety Reference Card on a lanyard, a practice booklet, recommended apps and a roadmap to becoming a better pilot, cinematographer or aerial photographer.

By the end of the session you’ll have advanced flight confidence, pro-level camera control and a clear route to formal certification.

A focused, hands-on coaching session for pilots who already fly confidently and want to capture any style of footage at professional quality. You’ll master manual exposure, colour science, ND technique and shot-planning, then map those tools to professional cinematic moves.

What you'll learn:

Introduction & Objectives 

A quick overview of goals, a show-of-hands on drone models (DJI, Autel, etc.) and confirmation of the projects you shoot—promo, TV, mapping or social media.

Manual Exposure Masterclass 

✓ Build fluency with the exposure triangle—ISO, shutter speed and ND strength.

✓ Apply the 180-degree shutter rule (e.g. 1/50 s at 25 fps) for natural motion blur.

✓ Use waveform, zebra and histogram tools, including ETTR (Expose-to-the-Right) to protect highlights and maximise dynamic range.

ND Filters & Motion Control 

✓ Choose ND8, ND16, ND32 by light level; add an ND/PL combo to cut glare on water, glass or polished roofs.

✓ Quick-reference chart links EV, ND value and shutter speed so you can act fast on set.

Colour Profiles & Post Workflow 

✓ Select D-Log, D-Cinelike or HLG, set white balance and bit-depth.

✓ When available, unlock 10-bit or ProRes / H.265 recording for deeper colour and cleaner grades.

✓ Build a LUT pipeline—base LUT → exposure trim → creative grade—and keep clips traceable with a robust naming scheme.

Gimbal Precision & Camera Movement

Adjust pan/tilt speeds, smoothness and dead-band; practise micro-corrections with the wheel for seamless tilts and pans.

Shot Design & Sequencing 

✓ Match focal length (digital zoom vs. native wide) to story purpose.

✓ Layer foreground reveal, subject framing and rule-of-thirds for depth.

✓ Plan shot order: establishing → dynamic → detail → exit.

Signature Cinematic Patterns 

Demonstration with flight-sim playback (no live flying): orbit, parallax slide, pull-back reveal, rocket rise, dolly-in/out, top-down pivot, tracking shot and a hyper-lapse/timelapse setup via waypoints—when each move shines and how to set it up quickly.

Sequence Planning & On-Site Workflow mins)

Convert a storyboard into flight blocks, allocate battery packs per block, and schedule around golden hour. A quick look at sun-tracking apps shows how to predict shadow direction and colour temperature.

Wrap-Up & Resource Pack 

Open Q&A, personalised gear suggestions, and a digital hand-out: LUT starters, EV/ND chart, seven core cinematic moves, and a sun-angle planner link.

You’ll leave with a repeatable camera workflow, a toolkit of pro-level drone moves and reference materials to elevate every shoot—no extra flight time required.