Who's Hiring Freelance 107 pilots?
- Thread starter D.J. Province
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Most larger companies are now doing this "In-House". Larger organizations are sending their employees to get trained and then licensed as opposed to contracting it out.
With so many people going after the same jobs it's best to find/create a niche market and get REALLY GOOD at that niche.
With so many people going after the same jobs it's best to find/create a niche market and get REALLY GOOD at that niche.
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you right about it... this could be a great part time for a small community to inspect the roof or buildings, but it will not work in businesses or large organizations.
I just got an offer for roof Inspections for a large national insurance company but they want to pay pennies on the dollar for that type of work.
You'll learn in this industry with the massive influx of "licensed operators" if you don't find and exploit a Niche you're going to be left working for pennies. In this business you can almost bank on "A Niche will make you RICH" but you've got to do it and do it GREAT! If you don't someone else will walk in and take your dinner ticket away in 1.5 milliseconds.
You'll learn in this industry with the massive influx of "licensed operators" if you don't find and exploit a Niche you're going to be left working for pennies. In this business you can almost bank on "A Niche will make you RICH" but you've got to do it and do it GREAT! If you don't someone else will walk in and take your dinner ticket away in 1.5 milliseconds.
I find that hard to believe. The demand is there and growing daily and there aren't too too many real pilots. I just want to fly and get paid. If a large company can outsource they will. They won't want the liability of creating a new division with new procedures if an outside specialized company can provide the same or better product for equal or less. It takes a whole lot more than having someone trained to get the results. Post processing missions alone is a full time job...Someone needs to step up and put something together for us pilots....
Actually they do and are.
Many, many companies are going in house as it is a much cheaper option. Even down to the fire and police departments training their own......
My sister works for huge insurance company. Last year they implemented a whole new division specifically for UAV operations.
It even trickles down to the local contractor using a UAV for his own inspection.
You gotta bring something a lil special to the table, cause let's face it, anyone, and I mean anyone can go drop 500 bucks on a P3S and go get the same picture you have.
like I said its much more than just flying the bird. Scheduling, mission, post processing not mentioning licensing and COA/COW's. Flying the mission is the easiest part. Doesn't make sense. Companies will outsource. Either now or later. Theyre not doing it now because no one has put together a feasible platform. Hell pure scale-ability alone would be a cost savings from trying to do it in house. Wish I had a few million bucks to put it together...
When I sai
Not trying to take the wind out of your sales, but I'm using real world examples. Your speculating. Not to say your idea won't work, I'm currently contracted with 4 or 5 of them at the moment, I'm simply stating that companies large and small are in fact bringing it in house.
When I said implemented a whole new division, did you think it's solely focused on flying?
Not trying to take the wind out of your sales, but I'm using real world examples. Your speculating. Not to say your idea won't work, I'm currently contracted with 4 or 5 of them at the moment, I'm simply stating that companies large and small are in fact bringing it in house.
There in lies the problem. There isn't anyone doing for "us pilots". You're completely missing the "trend" in the industry and with the massive influx of "operators" if you don't offer something above and beyond the other 25 people in your immediate area then you are just like them.
Companies are learning (the hard way I might add) that if you do it in-house you control every aspect and you can control the final product. So many "licensed" operators over promise and under deliver. You can try companies that can handle this (there are SEVERAL but you'll have to do your own searching for them) and get you jobs but they are hampered because price is critical and they also have to make $$. By the time the pilot gets paid there's not much skin left to go around.
You're preaching to the choir here. I know what it takes to provide the "total package". I do it each and every day both on a commercial and on a Public Safety side. It's a lot more expensive to create an entire "UAS Division" but once it's up and running it's much better than outsourcing it. Once we have our Public Safety UAS Division established we can "Self Certify" our in-house pilots and cut out a lot of the red tape along the way.
If you think no company has put together this "Package Deal" then you need to dig just a pinch deeper. Many of us have done work for those companies already and found out the hard way that's not how you make any appreciable money in this industry.
Well said Helihover. Same here. I've done jobs for several of those big companies and still use them to fill in the "slow times" but they don't pay squat and sometimes they expect you to spend 1/2 day for $70. I understand they have to pay for processing equipment, editing people, marketing, and sales people so when the job only paid a few hundred to begin with when you're at the bottom of the food chain you get crumbs.
Here's an example... last year I was hired by a national production crew to shoot video for a TV show. They needed someone with experience in the film industry, a pilot's license, a Section 333 Exemption, and needed $1M in insurance. No one could meet all those qualifications so the job was mine for the taking. We made great money and produced some amazing footage off the coast of NC. What was funny is they had 4 members on the production crew who had their own UAS and were eager to add this to their portfolio but they weren't willing to go the Section 333 route. I still keep in touch with them and all 4 of them are now flying in-house under Part 107 regs. They created an instant in-house UAS Division.
Flying a consumer drone for money is about like mowing lawns. Unless you have an "angle", you are not much different than every 15 year old kid with a Phantom. Everyone thinks that anyone can successfully pilot a drone, and they are mostly correct. With 107, a pilots license, 333, experience, etc. doesn't mean much anymore.
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