Flying for business

Roadking · Oct 14, 2016

I'm not sure if this is the correct area for this topic so admin please feel free to move if necessary. Maybe it should be a new category or even a whole new forum.

Now that some have received their part 107, it might be nice to share business experiences and practices.

Some topics may include:

How is your business set up? LLC, sole proprietor, Corporations?
Do you use a contract, or just "shoot and get paid"?
Do you participate in all aerial work (real estate, home inspections, utility's) or just a market niche?
How do you charge? Flat fee, hourly.
How long is a typical shoot?
How far will you travel?

Many businesses have professional communication forums and this is a fast growing and up and coming industry so open dialogue and best practice sharing is not only helpful for new comers but also good for those with experience to ensure the we maintain a professional posture with the public.

Your thoughts?

RJ_Make · Oct 14, 2016

I'm interested in this also.

jlazz447 · Oct 14, 2016

interested...

MAD Models · Oct 14, 2016

Good idea, I'm interested

lalvar40 · Oct 14, 2016

interested

skyzalimit · Oct 14, 2016

I'm interested.

Sent from my XT1254 using PhantomPilots mobile app

Roadking · Oct 14, 2016

How is your business set up? LLC, sole proprietor, Corporations? I'll probably go the LLC route. Protects you personally and makes tax returns easy. Just add a schedule C.
Do you use a contract, or just "shoot and get paid"? I'll probably have a short basic contract just to look professional but it would be basically worthless unless I get a high dollar job. You have full control on what you deliver and even if I get stiffed it wouldn't be the end of the world.
Do you participate in all aerial work (real estate, home inspections, utility's) or just a market niche? All work is accepted unless a specific client keeps me too busy.
How do you charge? Flat fee, hourly. .? Not sure but I'd always add the $10-15 for insurance.
How long is a typical shoot? I'd guess 1-2 hours.
How far will you travel? Up to 50 miles.

Just my initial thoughts.

Mfoster82 · Oct 14, 2016

I charge differently based off the clients request. Using mostly the verifly app as my insurance while I work it helps supporting my fees when I state I am legally certified by the FAA and I carry a one million dollar policy (verifly makes this possible for $10/hr as needed.) There are other policies in place if you need them at affordable rates but verifly is an instant proof to show the client on the spot. Real estate I charge no less than $450/hr and that includes short videos that they can use as facebook promotions for the listing. I charge $1000/day for any structural engineering jobs. These jobs I write up a contract as they are usually more extensive. I charge local county and city police/fire a flat $100/job as just contracted as needed. Farms are tricky but pay very well. First there's just taking full shots of their land and house so they can frame it over the fireplace. Then there's application of saving them thousands of dollars by using the drone deploy app (app also good for engineering for the 3D rendering.) Farmers call me for repeat business almost more than realtors do. They want to keep checking crops and dry spots etc. The cost of replanting...watering..etc is a killer to a farms profits. Hiring a drone to retrieve data of crops already planted is something they don't think twice about.Drone deploy will earn you a lot of money if in a farming community. Hope some of this helps.

Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots

Roadking · Oct 15, 2016

Thanks Mfoster82. Very good info and much appreciated by us just starting out.

RJ_Make · Oct 15, 2016

Mfoster82. Do you provide other video presentations (non aerial video or stills) or solely aerial work?

Mfoster82 · Oct 15, 2016

@RJ_Make I have a few higher end cameras but haven't done anything professional with them. Every time I think a shot looks great I see someone else make the same thing look much better. So much to learn and keep learning in all this. I could always get more help with adobe lightroom/express. The reason I have stuck with aerial photography is the industry is absolutely booming with the need. Growing at 200% you'd be crazy to not try to profit from a truly fun hobby into a paying job. I love this forum for all the help it provides but you have to have a passion for aviation to make the most of it. I'll help however I can but there are so many drone vets on here that I am constantly learning from myself. If you're wanting to do this for a career or just side money my advice is get comfortable with the sUAS. Get hours on it around different situations so you feel good behind the sticks even when problems arise. People...weather..birds..all kinds of crazy stuff happens while flying. Then get legal if you are wanting to do this outside of just hobby use. Study and study hard because the 107 isn't a walk in the park. Get creative and do things different than how other guys are taking shots. There's so much opportunity out there right now not just real estate. I can easily make 4-5x more in half a day having fun flying for profit than I do at my job. You guys have good questions don't be afraid to ask.

Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots

RC Madman · Oct 16, 2016

Good info there. Interested as well. What waivers would be a good idea to have or are likely to be needed to run a UAV based business aside from the 107?

Roadking · Oct 17, 2016

RC Madman said:
Good info there. Interested as well. What waivers would be a good idea to have or are likely to be needed to run a UAV based business aside from the 107?

I may be wrong, but I'd think it is unlikely that any waivers would be needed, at least not very often. The Part 107 rules leave plenty of room to get most jobs done. Maybe if you had to fly at night, go beyond LOS, or deviate from some other regulation, and you'd have to demonstrate that the flight could be completed safely.
Perhaps a more experienced pilot could shed additional light.

RC Madman · Oct 17, 2016

Thanks for the info. I live in a agriculture area and I am looking into the need in the area for drone services. I know it is not as simple as getting your 107 and flying a P4 around the farmers field so I am researching what others are doing and the equipment needed to startup.

Roadking · Oct 17, 2016

RC Madman said:
Thanks for the info. I live in a agriculture area and I am looking into the need in the area for drone services. I know it is not as simple as getting your 107 and flying a P4 around the farmers field so I am researching what others are doing and the equipment needed to startup.

Go onto Skyvector.com and put in the code for a nearby airport. That will get you close to where you want to fly. Look at the airspace in the sera and it should give you a pretty good idea of how often you may need ATC permission to fly.

RC Madman · Oct 17, 2016

Thanks. Nice site. I am outside the Greater Kankakee Airport. They have some traffic but nothing like up north at Midway and O'Hare. My area does not fall within the 5 mile radius. About 2.5 miles outside of it.

Enrico Schaefer · Oct 18, 2016

We are recommending that you learn how to navigate the FAA waiver portal, as well as learn to obtain airspace authorizations. You can click the link below for free training. The sooner you learn how to use the portal and obtain the waivers and authorizations you need, the better. We have already reverse engineered the daylight operations waiver and have a training video specifically on that one. Because more waivers are granted, we will reverse engineer those and provide free training for each. Good luck!

Enrico Schaefer
UAV Attorney
www.dronelaw.pro

Free Part 107 Waiver and Airspace Training Videos. https://www.dronelaw.pro/suas-service-agreement/