Drone Savvy

In a nutshell, Drone Etiquette is the art of using consideration and good manners so you are able to successfully fly your mission without offending or pissing anyone off.

There are going to be many times when a customer will ask you to fly a mission in places they don’t fully control.

Let’s look at a real life example:

A commercial real estate agent asks you to get ground and aerial video and images of a strip mall at a really busy intersection in a smallish town…the kind where the local first responders can keep a close eye on things and the locals don’t mind calling in what they perceive as a nuisance. You also don’t want to cause and accident or have someone call in and interrupt some really good shots. What to do?

SAFETY FIRST! Hi Vis Vest with FAA Remote Pilot info, cone off an area to fly from and keep bystanders away from harm. If you are flying long shots, get in and out quickly and if you are doing close-ups, introduce yourself to the managers, give them a little rundown of your operation, and answer any questions they may have.

After scouting the location, depending on where it is, you can go to the local precinct, introduce yourself, let them know where and for how long you will be shooting in case they got a call about a person flying a drone around a busy intersection. This way they would be forewarned and could reassure the caller as well as knowing ahead of time a professional operator was doing a job and it wouldn’t cause extra work for them. Some people are worried about bringing attention to themselves with law enforcement however if you are professional, have your credentials and paperwork in order, they are your best advocates.

In general, when you get a job, good rule of thumb is to find out if there is a contact you can reach out to ahead of time who can pave the way for you…when permissions are in place and people can see a professional is at work, they can relax and so can you. If not, see if there is someone you can reach out to when you get there and Voila!, the job will get done and you will have a satisfied customer.

A little bit of drone etiquette goes a Lonnng Way!

Drone on!

Kerry – Part 107 Remote Pilot since September 2016

What to Ask When Hiring a Drone Pilot

When you are ready to hire a commercial drone operator for your aerial images, here are some very important questions to ask them. It not only establishes the fact that you have done some homework but also provides you insight as to the experience and professionalism of the person you are hiring.

These points are important as aerial footage is a service in an industry that hasn’t been around very long. Due to the cost savings, accessibility to previously unaccessible footage without great effort and cost, I have found that people appreciate a good starting point when looking to use a new cost effective, safer and time saving tool for their industry:

Questions to ask when making a call to prospective commercial drone operators:

~ Do you have a Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate?

~ How long have you been flying a drone?

~ Are your drones FAA registered?

~ Do you have drone liability insurance? (Most commercial operators carry a standard $1 million dollars liability insurance)

~ Do you have the necessary waivers or authorizations required to fly in the airspace where my job is located?

~ Do you have a back-up drone of the same quality or better?

~ What is the turn-around time for my project?

~ Do you have some sample work like my project that you can share?

In hopes that the questions posted above give you a good start to hiring a competent, knowledgable and legal drone operator, please let us know if you have questions or want a quote for a job!