Hiring an FPV Drone Pilot in Dubai: What to Look For (and Who You're Hiring)

Anyone can buy a drone. Very few people can be cleared to fly one over a crowd, inside a hotel lobby, or beside an aircraft — and fewer still can make the footage cut against a cinema camera.

If you're hiring an FPV pilot in the UAE, here's what actually separates them.

The checklist

1. Licensing and registration. The pilot and the aircraft should be registered and approved to operate commercially in the UAE, and able to show it. Does they have an aerial filming company or registered under one? only UAE residents with valid commercial license plus a an serial filming registered business are able to apply for permits through the DCAA, GCAA, MOD, DFTC portals.
2. Insurance. Third-party liability, with certificates that can be issued in the client's and venue's names on request.
3. Permit capability. Ask who handles the DCAA, GCAA, MOD and the local filming commission. If the answer is “you need to get the permits”, then you are hiring a hobbyist.
4. Safety record and process. Written risk assessments, spotters, abort procedures, pre-flight checks. A serious operator has these on paper before you ask.
5. The reel, read critically. Are the shots continuous, or short clips cut fast to hide instability? Are the footage look intended and the composition on point? or looks like an exploration session? Does the FPV footage match the format of the ground camera, or does it look like a pure action cam?
   
6. The right aircraft for your job. One drone means one type of shot. Ask what they own: Freestyle FPV Drone, Cinelifter, Cinewhoop, tiny whoop, cinema drone. Ask which drones they use and you can Youtube it and get a reference of what it can do or ask him to send you examples of work he's done with the aircraft.

Who you're hiring here

I'm Alaaeldin Elsherbiny — known in the market as Aladdin FPV — an aerial director of photography and FPV drone pilot based in Dubai, and the founder of Open Gate Films.

I fly the full range: DJI Inspire 3 and Mavic 4 Pro for cinema aerial work, custom cinelifters carrying RED Komodo / Sony Cameras for FPV hero sequences, and Cinewhoops and tiny drones for indoor and close-proximity filming. I handle projects end to end — pre-production, permits, flying, and post — for brands, hospitality groups, agencies, event producers and broadcasters across the UAE and internationally.

The work that's hardest to replicate isn't the flying. It's the clearance: airspace assessment, DCAA and GCAA approvals, MOD clearance, DFTC filming permits, ATC coordination and NOTAMs, including operations most operators are refused.

Where to see the work

• Instagram: @aladdin.fpv
• LinkedIn: Alaaeldin Elsherbiny
• IMDb: credits
• Studio reels: Open Gate Films showreels