Drone

I am having to train to use a drone for my work. There is an awful lot to learn both technically and from a legiislation point of view. This was my first hands on day. Initially (if in what is classed an open categoty) I must fly 150 metres from habitation and must not come within 50 horizontal metres of a person on the ground, providing the drone itself is at sub 50 metres in height. On top of all this the training notes leading towards a formal certificate emphasise, the perhaps obvious requirement. the meed to be constantly vigilent of the drone environment for unexpeted occupation of the same airspace.

Well here is that training kicking in early.
 
This is (who I was to learn was) A descending to the field a few paces from me. I landed immediately when I first spotted him because that is the safe thing to do.
A had been in the air for three hours from launching initially, off Carn Liath about 15-16 miles to the east. Assisted by thermals he had achieved a maximum altidute of 7500 feet (a Munro again higher than Ben Nevis). He was buzzing after such an exciting flight.

I asked if he had a ground based colleague tracking him, and in order to retrieve him from his ultimate landing point. He was part of a club but today he was absolutely solo. As he rolled his kit up it was obvious his rucksack was going to be enormous too. I offered him a lift back up he A86 to his day's starting point, the Creag Magaidh car park. He was pleased because the method for his ground base return had concerned him while in the air, I found the details of his adventure absolutely fascinating.
Upon arrival at the car park I asked which vehicle was his, imagining he belonged with one of the multitude of vans or  pickups so popular with outdoor sports people. He directed me to the smallest car in the place , a sparkling white, beautiful  small Japanese sports car. The boot was just large enough for a surveyor's lunch box. I couldn't see where the huge pack could go then he explained he lashes it to a rack on top of the boot lid. With other lift style considerations he pondered how long the sports car could stay in his life.

He was next planning, over the same weekend, a conventional day on a famous mountain in Sutherland.