Hello from Hereford

[8 Ball Air]

Good Morning All,
Phantom 4 Pro owner / operator.
Hoping to to start a new career in the UAV sector in 2019, please feel free to look me up on LinkdIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/msheridan8ballair/
Regards
Michael

 

[dirkclod]

Welcome to the forum.
I hope you will find our site helpful and look forward to any input , photo's/video's you might post .
Don't be shy and ask anything if you can't find it by searching .

 

[rangioran]

Good Morning All,
Phantom 4 Pro owner / operator.
Hoping to to start a new career in the UAV sector in 2019, please feel free to look me up on LinkdIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/msheridan8ballair/
Regards
Michael

Hi Michael and welcome!

Impressive LinkedIn resume, are you qualified to train PfCo courses?

 

[8 Ball Air]

Hi Michael and welcome!

Impressive LinkedIn resume, are you qualified to train PfCo courses?

Hi Ranigoran,

Thanks for checking out my resume, I'm hoping some potential employers will also think so .

I've got to submit my Ops Manual for CAA approval before I go 'live' but I'm not in a position to commit full time 'til I'm out of the Service.

As for training, I've approached a couple of PfCo NQE's with a view to offering my services as an instructor. It's something I'd be interested in pursuing.

 

[8 Ball Air]

Welcome to the forum.
I hope you will find our site helpful and look forward to any input , photo's/video's you might post .
Don't be shy and ask anything if you can't find it by searching .

Hi Dirkclod,

Thanks for the welcome and I will try and add my 'tuppence' worth to the forum

 

[thecordman]

Good Morning All,
Phantom 4 Pro owner / operator.
Hoping to to start a new career in the UAV sector in 2019, please feel free to look me up on LinkdIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/msheridan8ballair/
Regards
Michael

Hi,

Have you researched the local opportunities in your area?

 

[8 Ball Air]

Hi,

Have you researched the local opportunities in your area?

Hi TCM,

Early days yet, but it is something I'll will be looking into. I've been networking with a couple of other local drone pilots, one who has been active for a couple of years in the local area with 'limited' success. I'm hoping that in the near future, the three of use will be able to work together under Rich's PfCO with more success. Rich has done some research into agricultural applications (pretty big around Hereford), it's a case of getting the local farmers to part with some cash for the service that they could potentially do themselves. Though, I was out doing some training at a local farm a month or two ago when they where crop spraying by quad bike. Definitely something a drone could (should be) doing.

At the moment I'm focusing on building a 'network' with the sector, to be honest initially I'm looking at working for for one of the established drone firms for a couple of reasons:

a) At the moment the drone market is pretty 'swamped' with 'one man and his drone' operators. I think that's a major limiting factor to scope to what you can achieve.

b) Available resources. I recently went to the UK Commercial Drone Expo in London to get a feel for how the sector is developing. There seem to be at least one or two very well established operators who have the resources to take on big projects that are beyond the scope of operators in a). The initial cost, working on a '2 is 1' system for drones (i.e. a minimum of 2 drone systems to ensure redundancy) is not something I'm willing to get into without at least a couple of years sector experience to back it up. 50-100K (£) in set up cost I think is not unrealistic.

I will certainly be continuing to explore niche markets and using my existing network to generate leads, a good friend of mine is CEO of a small mining operation, I'm trying to convince him of the benefits of UAVs and that I'm the man for the job! ;-)

 

[thecordman]

Hi, mining could be a fantastic opportunity. Can I make a suggestion. Phone drone software companies and ask them to give you lots of information and processes for using drones for the mining industry. Then present your friends with a proposal that he can't refuse. One that will save him money and improve Health & Safety. You have to approach it as a business.

The sure thing is that once one mining company starts to save money and increase profits by using a drone the rest will follow.

You need to make your offer so good that he would be mad to refuse it! If not someone else will.

Drones for Mining: the Beginner’s Guide

 

[thecordman]

You could also research how the machinery companies are using drones. For example, I have heard of a software that can record the volume of piles of rock. So let's say the site has lots of rock or material piles drones could measure them and update a central database. So the CEO can see stock volumes live on his computer whilst working anywhere in the world.

 

[8 Ball Air]

TCM,

Thanks for the info. I think research is the key, both on the platform and the supporting software. I was interested to see a couple of companies that do drone leasing or hire. If that could be factored into the tender it's certainly a way of getting some of the hardware required without a massive capital outlay.

 

[RodPad]

@8 Ball Air ,

Like the avatar!,
Its Real and Simple, (Real Simple)

Add a propeller on the top, or make the camera lens of the Phantom look the 8 ball.

The Point, I like it!

Oh,

BTW

Welcome to the Forum!

Rod

 

[8 Ball Air]

Hi Rod,

Nice to be on the forum and thank you for your comments.

The '8 Ball' is a 'nod' to one of the units I was with in the military, I was hoping that those 'in the know', would know ;-).

I was looking for a distinct and 'clean' logo, so thank you for the endorsement.

Regards

Michael

 

[thecordman]

TCM,

Thanks for the info. I think research is the key, both on the platform and the supporting software. I was interested to see a couple of companies that do drone leasing or hire. If that could be factored into the tender it's certainly a way of getting some of the hardware required without a massive capital outlay.

Hi, hiring can a great way to go. In some scenarios you could outsource the work to someone else. Need to be careful though. But lets for example your friends wants to hire you, you could outsource the work to someone else. Depends what your long term plans are. If you make 10% out of the deal its a way to get experience and just act as a middle man. That could help get you capital to buy a drone.

To save money you can also get a refurbed drone from a DJI approved dealer as they still come with a full DJO warranty.

Or if you can convince your friend that the drone can save him money he could invest in your business. So you work for his company but also complete jobs other not mining businesses.