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All that single shot orthomosaic tells the farmer is where the in-field variablility is on that day, but not what causes it. And unless you are calibrating for reflectance, you won’t be able to confidently compare orthos between two dates. Unless you are a trained agronomist, and/or have scientific training in crop sciences, geography, remote sensing or related - or can partner up as a data collector for an outfit that can do the required analysis - your service (and value to the grower) stops after data collection, since you’re not qualified to provide Rxs (what multitude of soil and other factors are creating that in-field variability? You certainly can’t tell from a single orthomosaic captured on one day and the farmers know that). There are many agronomic service companies that could benefit from quality reflectance maps, but your role would be a service provider to them, not directly to the grower.

I can only speak about my experience on the Canadian prairies. It is very difficult to compete against the commercial aerial applicators. They have their own agronomist on staff. They have direct connection with the chemical companies. If the farmer hires their services they do the prescription for free. On a typical day they will cover 10,000 to 20.000 acres. An agronomist is expected to cover 5,000 to 6,000 acres per day. Unless you specialize in a high value crop or find a niche I found it very difficult to be competitive when the work is being done for them for free.

Yep! You'll get your hard card in the mail in 6-8 weeks. You're good to go in the meantime. Blue skies and safe flying out there

Hello Forrest and welcome to this forum - Richard, Northern California

Yes you can although you need to tell the test center that you are not a US citizen and of course your nationality. Apart from your nationality being printed on your remote pilot's certificate I don't see any real difference.

There are several facets to this issue. Starting with an understanding of the term "Public Commons". Both a city park, and the airspace above it are: Public Commons. Spaces designated for public use. While both are designated for public use, they have different governing bodies. And very different reasons for the way they are governed. 1. The map enclosed is the FAA drone map. This can be viewed at : https://faa.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=9c2e4406710048e19806ebf6a06754ad As you can see from the attached map, the airspace you mentioned is available for up to 200 feet AGL. Your complaint is the ground level approach. You want to use LAND to launch your UAV that is not governed by the FAA. So the flight would be legal, but the launch would not be... May want to talk to a neighbor who would understand your predicament. My input is this. This map also shows significant land away from congested areas to practice your craft. Be professional, and understand why governing bodies make the rules they do... I would expect to see more restriction of urban drone usage, in particular - for security reasons. I caught this online recently and expect that we will see an predictable upheaval in the industry at some point. This is a Washington Post Article on the Kalashnikov Exploding drone. -Note- I do not support this mindset. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2019/02/23/kalashnikov-assault-rifle-changed-world-now-theres-kalashnikov-kamikaze-drone/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.d84bbda5486d

Hello @Kate This link to the FAA website shows what is required by foreign UAV operators wanting to fly in this country. https://www.faa.gov/uas/resources/foreign_operators/ According to the above it looks like there is a bit more to it than just obtaining a Part 107 certificate.

Despite the San Francisco Bay area being the high-tech capital of the known universe it is extremely drone hostile here and almost everywhere in the immediate bay area is a banned place for one reason or another. I live across the street from an East Bay Regional Park on the San Francisco Bay and I was nicely warned by a park worker that if the East Bay Regional Park Police caught me they would fine me and there are "no drone" signs posted everywhere now. I had launched at the far, far corner of this park and I was flying over the bay/water which is not part of the EBRP. It's a real bummer because the views of San Francisco and the Bay Bridge are stunning from this park. Unfortunately California is an extremely litigious state, full of regulations, and I don't see that ever changing. Add to that all the "tree-huggers" here are going to give you resistance for disturbing birds or sea lions or whatever. I was harassed once by a "volunteer sea lion monitor" (he even gave me a business card!) who was concerned I was disturbing the sea lions that were sleeping...

I am East Bay droner and willing to help this cause when you have a plan for an organized effort.