Sounds like it's working for you, not sure that there are enough commercially interesting properties in my are to make it work for me. But as an aside, don't forget that once you start making $$ as a pilot, you're in business and dear old Uncle Sam is going to want his cut! Since in arrangements like with DroneBase, to are an independent contractor, you are responsible for the employer's portion of FICA as well as all the other taxes you usually pay. And there may be additional state or local taxes that come into play. In my state, in total almost $.40 of every dollar I make goes to taxes! No, you are unlikely to get 'caught' if you don't report the income, but you can bet that DB will be reporting that they paid you (deducting it reduces their taxes), so there will be a record of it somewhere. The same goes for other income such as from local realtors and other types of jobs. On the flip side, as a business, expenses such as mileage, license fees, even the cost of your bird and supplies can be deducted. I personally 'bill' and buy everything through my LLC. Even my birds are registered to it.
