COPTRZ gives out free Mavic Enterprise Dual and pilot training

British drone provider COPTRZ has handed out a free DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual to the Holme Valley Mountain Rescue Team to advance its operations. The company is also giving out free online drone training for emergency services teams across the country.

Earlier this year, COPTRZ opened up its free online drone training program to provide money-bound agencies with a free and fast way of getting pilots and drones into the sky.

COPTRZ also decided to give away a DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual drone to one lucky emergency services team, which happens to be a mountain rescue team located in Holme Valley, which will use the drone to aid in search and rescue efforts.

Ben Sheard, drone officer at Holme Valley Mountain Rescue said:

“I would like to see us using the Mavic Dual for moorland searches, getting the height advantage will be affective there as often as a person on foot you can by stood 10 meters from someone but not be able to see them because of the marsh. When putting the drone up, especially with the thermal camera, you can pick them out very quickly. I’m hoping we can use it for that, and also de-risking areas we search on foot.”

Sheard added that there had been many times when he and his team have had to perform a rescue in a risky area, such as a quarry or steep edge. Having the drone will mean no one will have to be placed in a dangerous area to assess the situation.

“Another application might be during water searches, often with missing people, we search areas such as reservoirs and rivers. If we want to search the edge of a reservoir, we have to put a water team in with wet suits to search the area manually. Using the drone could be an option for this type of search too.”

Over the last few years, funding for many of these rescue agencies has been reduced, forcing them to spend the budget on the essentials, making it almost impossible to purchase new equipment like a drone without a donation or external funding. These rescue teams also consist mostly of volunteers that go out at a moment’s notice and put their lives at risk. The drones will allow them to stay a little safer from now on.

Photo: COPTRZ