Advise on getting into light Commercial work.

[thinglenn40]

Hello All,

Hopefully this question has not been asked too many times! I'm looking to supplement my drone addiction by possibly getting into some commercial work.
First of all I live right outside of Atlanta Ga and having been flying drones for around 5 years. My first drone was a Walkera QR X350 that was a beast to fly! I now have a Mavic and a 4 pro.

I need advice on what kind of insurance I would have to carry other than PAP for commercial work.
What opportunities are out there for commercial work? I know there is Real Estate. What about inspection work? Cell towers, power lines etc?

I have been looking at the inspire 2 but that is a substantial investment. Would a 4 pro for those types of jobs?
I would like to establish an income stream before investing in an inspire 2.

I would appreciate any advice from folks that are already in the industry.

Oh and I am studying right now to take my part 107 exam.

Glenn

 

[Dr. Ifly Drones]

It has been asked a lot but, I'm assuming you've already searched the forum. To that end here are a few of my personal musings.
1) Commercialization is hard. On a part-time basis, even harder.
2) Insurance can be had many ways and all you really need is liability and how much $ depends on many factors like local business laws, state min commercial coverage, etc...
3) Unless you're a well established photographer/videographer people aren't going to take you seriously with your start into UAVs. Five years ago everyone thought that having a camera UAV and being able to pilot it was going to be a lock for making money. Not a chance. Now almost everyone knows a kid with a Phantom... And, everyone believes they can take great pictures.
4) Unless you have a hook into high dollar RE it's a dried up turd hunt. I get frequent calls from agents who expect a day of flying and another of post editing to cost less than $200 (see above; kid with Phantom).
5) There is work out there but, you have to be creative in finding it. There is a fairly large unmet need in the public but, I won't share. It's my bread and butter and I think I want it to stay the thing that most haven't thought of.

My suggestion: get your 107. Then contemplate the rest of this equation.

 

[thinglenn40]

Thanks for the information and advice. My photography/Videography skills are not as good as I want them to be. I am getting more into the editing portion.
I'm looking at this as more as a supplement to my hobby. Not a great business plan I know.
I know no one wants to give out their trade secrets but any other applications out there? I have been in construction product sales for over 30 years. I know there are some construction applications.

 

[JakeB826]

107 is your first priority, get that done as soon as you reasonably can. The general standard for liability insurance is 1 million but can go in either direction depending on your application. There is an insurance thread on here, I use Joe Ernster (AviationBroker) and highly recommend him. Prepare for some sticker shock but prices are starting to come down. P4A or P4P will get you many miles in light commercial, camera is excellent for site mapping/progress and good enough for most basic inspection work (Inspire 1/2 with x5 and x5s with add on zoom lenses for more detailed stuff but that is a whole 'nother ballgame). P4A and extra batteries is my personal vote to start with. You'll know when its time to go Inspire/Matrice.

Your construction sales experience should serve you very well as, in my humble opinion, that is one of the major elements to getting traction with this stuff. Real estate is a bust unless you are already hooked up on the very high end. Drive yourself bonkers reading every article/forum/blog related to this stuff and educate yourself as much as you can before you jump in. Best of luck, if the claims of some of the bigshots hold true it is about to get interesting.

Just my .02

 

[Florida Drone Supply]

Hello All,

Hopefully this question has not been asked too many times! I'm looking to supplement my drone addiction by possibly getting into some commercial work.
First of all I live right outside of Atlanta Ga and having been flying drones for around 5 years. My first drone was a Walkera QR X350 that was a beast to fly! I now have a Mavic and a 4 pro.

I need advice on what kind of insurance I would have to carry other than PAP for commercial work.
What opportunities are out there for commercial work? I know there is Real Estate. What about inspection work? Cell towers, power lines etc?

I have been looking at the inspire 2 but that is a substantial investment. Would a 4 pro for those types of jobs?
I would like to establish an income stream before investing in an inspire 2.

I would appreciate any advice from folks that are already in the industry.

Oh and I am studying right now to take my part 107 exam.

Glenn

Hi Glenn, your Phantom 4Pro will do well for many commercial opportunities. Search UAV insurance and you will come up with lots of choices. Typically minimum requirements are 1-2 million liability and whatever hull insurance you are comfortable with. Some policies for what I mentioned are usually around $900-$1500 depending on hull insurance, prices seem to be coming down.

Your FAA 107 certificate is critical as well as flight time, for the most part if you can log your recreational and commercial flight time they are accepted as total time for UAV operation. We have a Pilot Network going and are offering training for qualified candidates. Feel free to register here, we have had our first class and are into our second class happening this week. Once registered you will get regular updates, let us know if we can help you.

Pilot Network Registration

 

[thinglenn40]

Thanks for the information. I plan on taking the 107 test the first of the year. I will be doing more homework before I jump into this. I plan on gathering information from my customers in construction regarding applications and potential with drone work.

 

[Eyeup Aerial Solutions]

Bear in mind there is a much lower cost option between the P4P and I2. The I1 is still an amazingly reliable and well-proven machine. They are still available from DJI and sencond user there are lots. Buy from another commercial pilot who is upgrading. The I2 is overkill for inspection and survey, it is more a cinematic rig. The M200 is also worth considering instead of the I2 for your target market.