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Part 107 and team mode

Joined
Jan 4, 2017
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Location
Greenfield, WI
When flying in team mode does the photographer/videographer need to have a 107 certification?

I am studying/preparing for my Part 107 certificate with the thought of dabbling in real estate or ??? photography for the purpose of funding this hobby.

I mentioned this to a photographer I used to work with (I shot as 2nd camera for her on weddings) and she expressed an interest in joining me using the 2nd ST16 I have to control the camera.

But I don't think she would be interested in getting a Part 107 certificate in order to legally do this with me.

I did a tried doing a search on these forums but came up blank.
 
I'm 99.9% certain that only the drive operator needs the Part 107 cert, as the photographer/videographer has absolutely no control of the operation of the drone. What you're asking would be akin to asking if a passenger in a car needs to have a driver's license, or if passengers on a plane need to have a pilot's license.
 
There is only one PIC for any single UAV flight, so the answer is - No the photographer/videographer does not need to be a 107 as long as the PIC is.

However, IF the Photographer/videographer is 107 certified, then the pilot will not need to be as long as he/she is under the supervision of the 107. This is called 'The Person Manipulating The Controls'

Simply put, regardless of how many people are involved with any given commercial UAS flight (crew, visual observer, pilot, camera operator - whatever) there is one person who is soley responsible for the entire flight; and that is the Pilot In Command.
 
Thanks for the replies/answers.

While it does make sense about only the "pilot" needing certification/licensing, I wanted to be certain before I pursued this.

Ty Pilot: Thanks for the heads up on the supervision tip!
 
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Here in Belgium, if the camera-man is also an observer he needs to be named in the OPS-manual of the pilot. VLOS does apply to the PIC, but may also be a second person who is in continue contact with the PIC (Mobile phone, Walkie-Talkies ...)
Off course, if the camera-man only focuses on the camera (watching the screen of the second ST16S) he has no VLOS and moreover can not be an observer ...
An example : You want to take shots of a huge building, and you have a second camera-man / observer at your side. So long you have VLOS, the second observer (mentioned in your OPS) can take full control over the camera. Once the drone (followed by the camera-man / observer) is behind the building , so the PIC has no VLOS anymore, the observer may take over the VLOS and have continuous communication with the PIC. He is then not allowed to loose VLOS / may not watch the screen. Once the PIC has VLOS again, the observer may return to it's function as a camera-man.
 
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