Hobby Inspires Opportunity for Top Gun Tim

Adventure sports enthusiast, Tim Hass, took up the hobby of freestyle drone flying with the thought of one day filming his exploits on his long-board skateboard or his BMX dirt bike.  Little did he know that one day his hobby would help progress his career; especially after a bit of a rocky start.

Reminiscing Tim reflects that “I learnt through a lot of trial and error in my backyard, with a significant amount damage from crashes into trees and the ground while trying to perform stunts such as flips and rolls, followed by the required repairs/replacement of the parts that I had broken. This set me up with some good basics of how to correctly fly a drone and to quickly adapt to bigger, more sophisticated and stable drones, as I already had a reasonable understanding of how piloting worked”

Late last year Tim was supported by JFP to secure a Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) – Remote Pilot license and an Aeronautical Radio Operator Certificate.  This involved completing both theory and practical sessions with a Registered Training Organisation. In addition, just like every other JFP pilot, Tim underwent internal training under the watchful eye of our experienced Chief Pilot Andrew Miller. To date Andrew has been responsible for over 1,000 drone missions flown by JFP.

Andrew recently spent time with Tim on-site to go through JFP’s extensive processes for undertaking Remotely Piloted Aircraft missions. This included going through mission checklists, outlining how we communicate with nearby aircraft and the public about our intentions when flying and confirming best practice for programming flight-paths for an aerial survey. The emphasis was on missions completing the Survey flights accurately, safely and legally. Importantly, time was also spent training on the use of PIX4D software to process the data captured so that it can be transformed into useful Project information.

On completing the training Andrew Miller stated that ‘Tim is a bit of a natural when it comes to piloting, thanks to his earlier experimentation with hobby drones. He was quickly able to pilot our professional drones confidently and calmly’. He was happy for Tim to be his wingman anytime.

Like all JFP CASA license Pilots, Tim is also a Site surveyor, so he knows what he needs to capture data-wise on-site and can now do so either on land or in the air. He joins 5 other Top Guns as part of JFP’s expanding ‘air force’.

Tim’s Manager, Andrew Morcom, JFP’s Sunshine Coast Manager – Surveying, has already got Tim flying his DJI Inspire 2 Quadcopter to monitor major bulk earthworks operations on the Pelican Waters Master Planned Community development. He is excited about using Tim’s skills on more construction sites and locations, particularly those that are difficult or unsafe to access via traditional survey methods.

Tim is enjoying the fact that his hobby led to something more for his career. He is also happy to keep his freestyle drone flying just to something he does on the weekend, along with Adventure Sports, when, in true Top Gun style, he feels the need…the need for speed.