Air Traffic Control (ATC)
A misnomer in most circumstances – in most of the airspace that helicopters fly there is no “Control” as such. There is almost always an ATC service available on the radio to provide a variety of information including weather. However, near major airfields there are zones where ATC do have control over all flights and a responsibility to maintain separation between the different aircraft in that zone.
Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) The CAA is the regulatory authority for all flights within the UK, and for UK registered aircraft abroad. A team of Flight Operations Inspectors regularly check on the conduct of UK operators who hold an Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC), their paperwork, qualifications and so on.
Air Operators Certificate (AOC) This is a certificate issued to operators who have satisfied the CAA that they are safe to conduct Commercial Air Transport flights. Essentially, carrying people in exchange for money.
Filming Permissions & Exemptions Most reputable helicopter operators will have in place a standing authorisation to carry out filming and photography at lower altitudes and closer to objects than is normally permitted. Before shooting it is essential to check that these permissions are in place.
Heights
Whilst most helicopters in open areas of the country will travel at between 500ft and 2000ft the exemption mentioned above will permit a helicopter for filming purposes to approach to 60metres (200ft) away from a vehicle, obstacle, person or structure. In towns or ‘congested areas’ this limit, normally 1000ft, will be reduced to 750ft for twin-engined helicopters...or lower in very special circumstances.
The London Zone To fly anywhere over London you need a twin engine aircraft. Easy enough to operate within, with some provisos about notice, and some locations are more sensitive than others. No one should plan to spend more than two hours at a time on over-London sorties due to the high workload for the pilot, air traffic controllers and cameraman. A comprehensive and detailed shot list needs to be provided to the helicopter operator well in advance so that plans can be made and approved
Filming Competence The fact that a helicopter operator holds an AOC, merely means that he meets a basic standard of safety for the carriage of passengers for remuneration. It does NOT imply competence at filming work. A more useful guide to filming capabilities is to look at the specific pilot’s CV and aircraft, to discuss your requirements with him and to see whether his past experience is useful to your particular needs.
Insurance All aircraft have to be insured for third party liabilities – this can vary between £1m and £100m. It is good practice for a customer when embarking on a filming flight to ensure that their own company is named as additional insured. You should consult your brokers about this.
Health and Safety A culture of safety has been embedded within aviation for many years. The CAA is the only arbiter of safety practice within aviation companies and no safety practice within aviation is irrelevant, inapplicable to you or otherwise to be disregarded. By the same token, the recent practice of asking for a separate ‘risk-assessment’ for every job is effectively meaningless within the aviation context. If the rules applied by the operating company at the behest of the CAA are adhered to aviation is very, very safe. If they are not it can be very, very dangerous.
