Does anybody make money using their Phantom?

[Devs]

Good Evening.

My name is Dave and I live in the UK. I have been watching the emerging popularity of personal drones for a while now but only recently had the opportunity to see a Phantom in the flesh and speak to a distributor face to face.

They truly are an amazing piece of kit and I immediately saw a whole host of business uses that could create income. Does anybody on here currently use their Phantom for commercial use and get paid for it and, if so, what is the market like?

I run a property company and immediately saw the potential for property shots that would make our listings stand out from the crowd. Add on to that surveys, roof surveys, personalised property shots as gifts etc etc the list goes on.

Also, are there any UK based users that use them commercially who could give me an idea of the minimum requirements regarding licensing and insurance ?

 

[FRS]

Good luck finding anyone from the US to openly talk about that subject. Its a big NO from the FAA here in America and not many mess with it. General rule of thumb is if you make any money from the deal its considered "commercial use" Definitely not a fun agency to piss off either. Check the laws in the UK but I could see it being very beneficial to your marketing team.

 

[Devs]

So your saying that in the US you are not allowed to use them commercially offering services for which you get paid ?

 

[volcomstone411]

same here. CAA require you to have a commercial pilots licence to make money from them. That's the same as you need to fly concorde or a 747. Weird but hey ho...

 

[OI Photography]

Good luck finding anyone from the US to openly talk about that subject. Its a big NO from the FAA here in America and not many mess with it. General rule of thumb is if you make any money from the deal its considered "commercial use" Definitely not a fun agency to piss off either. Check the laws in the UK but I could see it being very beneficial to your marketing team.

I make money with my Phantom, and my 550. And the rate is steadily increasing.

A great resource for current info on legal restrictions (or the lack thereof) in the US: http://dronelawjournal.com/

 

[Alib]

in the uk you need a CAA permissions to fly, to get insurance..

easiest way to get a permissions, is to do the BNUC-S course.. google it.. there is also another course i think.

 

[FRS]

OI Photography,
I am not saying it doesn't happen. Technically speaking the FAA can fine you for doing so.. doesn't mean they will win. I am all for it and hope people can continue to use it for commercial purposes. My point was most people won't openly talk about making money with the quads because it violates FAA policy (or so they say).

I could see the US following some other countries that require permits and serial numbers to be registered. Which would keep a few quads out of the idiots hands.

 

[not5150]

I did and I'm from California.... but the footage was taken in Bangkok Thailand

Lots of aerial clips of the recent political protests.. sold to news outlets for the standard stringer fee.

 

[OI Photography]

My point was most people won't openly talk about making money with the quads because it violates FAA policy (or so they say).

Agreed, and there are indeed people who are afraid to talk about it...or to even do it...thanks to the confusing info that's being broadcast everywhere.

 

[FRS]

Do you have a link to some of your shoots?

 

[OI Photography]

Do you have a link to some of your shoots?

Nope

I can get you some examples though. So far I've been able to keep busy enough just by word of mouth working with one agency here in town. I'll have a website up as soon as it's necessary and worth it...I've been sitting on the domain for months lol. Right now all my available time is booked up for the next 3 weeks already, but I do want to expand as much as I can.

 

[kydan]

I plan to make money soon on it. I just installed my FPV system. Now I need to get my tilt working correctly on the gimbal.

The FAA can't do anything. All they have are "guidelines". My state only has one law about drones and it is that law enforcement can't use them.

Just remember to pay your taxes on income earned.

 

[OI Photography]

Just remember to pay your taxes on income earned.

+1

There's also other ways you can use your Phantom's potential to your advantage, such as bartering. For example, if you happen to need some work done on your car, offer to take some nice aerial shots of the dealership in exchange for a discount (even up to 100%) on the parts and labor you need.

 

[FRS]

Agreed completely on the bartering. That was my plans and to keep my day job lol. I still want my 401k and benefits..

 

[Mcyz250]

I know someone here in Australia who uses them for arial shots on houses for their real estate business