Chase Flynn | UAV Coach

Are you a drone pilot who is passionate about Aerial Mapping? Our friends over at Hivemapper have asked us to share a unique contest opportunity with our UAV Coach Community! Here are the details: Hivemapper is pleased to announce it’s first mapping contest! We’re giving away over $5,000 in prizes to users for uploading their aerial video and building a 3D map. Here’s how it works: 1.) Collect aerial video using a drone like the DJI Phantom (or any other aircraft you can get your hands on.) 2.) Create a free account at Hivemapper.com and upload your videos. Submit your map by April 30, 2020 for a chance to win! 3.) Hivemapper will automatically turn your video into a 3D map. Additional video collections in the area will continue to build and grow your map. To review all of the prizes, rules, and additional information, click here.

Hi @Bill Anstett, Welcome to the UAV Coach Community Forum and congratulations on becoming Part 107 certified! Inspections via drone is becoming an increasingly popular and in-demand application. If you would like to learn more about the Mavic 2 Zoom and compare it to other drones, feel free to check out our 'Top Professional Drones' and 'Top Camera Drones' guide. Feel free to ask us any questions! - Chase

Hi @riopolic, Welcome to the UAV Coach Community Forum! Please let us know if you have any questions and best of luck with your first flight! Best, - Chase

Hi @Curt Eckert, Welcome to the UAV Coach Community Forum! It can be difficult to say that one sector of the industry is more lucrative than the other because the industry is still young and it is always developing at a rapid pace. However, we do have some resources that might help guide you in the direction that you are looking for. There is an abundance of opportunity in the drone space: filmmaking, inspections, and real estate are some good opportunities just to name a few. Here some resources: Industry Report/Projection for 2020. https://uavcoach.com/drone-pilot-salary/ To get started, I suggest taking a look at our 'UAV/Drone Jobs' guide which goes over the different types of jobs and applications out there. It is pretty thorough, have a look and find out what applications interest you the most, this will be a great starting point. It is always best to stick to one or two applications instead of trying to offer ten different services. The Skydio 2 is a great drone because of its intelligent autonomous features, but it does not have the sensors required for thermography, if that is the direction you want to go. As for the Autel drones, their new EVO II Dual drone has both a visual and thermal sensor. The pricing has not been released as you must contact Autel for that information. Wishing you the best of luck with your new career and please let us know if you have any questions! Best, - Chase

Hi @Evolve Flight Services, This is a great photo, I have had some close encounters with birds myself which is always a bit concerning haha. The one time I had a Bald Eagle circling the job site I was on, luckily I had just landed the drone. Thanks for sharing! Best, - Chase

Hi @Fireguy32, Welcome to the UAV Coach Community Forum! This is a great photo, thanks for sharing! Best, - Chase

@Andrew 124C41, Yes, the Phantom 4 Pro is now back in production, which is great news for those of us who like the Phantom line of drones. Here is the link to the DJI Store: https://store.dji.com/product/phantom-4-pro-v2?vid=43151?from=dap_unique&pbc=IN4xQqec&pm=custom Best, Chase

Hi @Digger, No Problem! I have shared some resources below that you may find helpful. Inspection: https://uavcoach.com/imging-drone-roofing-software/ https://uavcoach.com/precisionanalytics-energy/ Mapping: https://www.dronepilotgroundschool.com/drone-mapping-software/ https://uavcoach.com/uav-photogrammetry-software/ I hope this helps and feel free to ask any questions! - Chase

Hi @Andrew 124C41, Welcome to the UAV Coach Community Forum! I own a Phantom 4 Pro + Obsidian and have for the last couple of years. It has been a great drone and I would highly recommend it. It is a little larger than the Mavic series, but it handles heavy winds quite well. I have always liked the design of the Phantom, that is not to say that the Mavic series is not any good. The Mavic series is great as well, the Inspire is incredible, but I would not recommend it for recreational use due to its high cost and size. I have never had an issue with the pro display and it is really nice because you do not have to worry about keeping your phone charged and having extra cables. However, you can order the Phantom 4 Pro with just the normal remote controller and use your phone and it is also cheaper. Another option that is an American made drone is the Skydio 2. It features advanced flight features and in many cases can fly on its own without a lot of effort on the pilots end. It does record in a lower resolution than the newer Mavic and Phantom drones, but I think it is still worth the time to check it out. https://www.skydio.com Feel free to check out some of the pictures I have taken with my Phantom over in our 'Aerial Photography' thread: https://community.uavcoach.com/topic/7086-the-scripps-mansion/ https://community.uavcoach.com/topic/6720-spring-to-summer/ https://community.uavcoach.com/topic/6647-pettibone-creek-powerhouse/ https://community.uavcoach.com/topic/5752-some-of-my-favorite-photographs/ I hope this helps and if you have any questions, feel free to ask! - Chase

Hi @Emmett Long, Welcome to the UAV Coach Community Forum! All drones that weigh more than 0.55 lbs must be registered regardless of if they will be used for either recreational or commercial operations. The DJI Mavic Pro would need to be registered, which is a very simply process and the registration can be completed on the FAA DroneZone website. It is important to know that drones can not be flown over people in the United States, but you can still capture great footage without being directly over people. To learn more about U.S. drone laws, I suggest looking at our U.S.A 'Drone Laws' page. As long as the footage recorded with the drone does not make any money (Commercial Operation) then you would fly as a hobbyist or recreational user which does not require any certification. The Remote ID regulations that you are referring to do have operational limitations on hobbyist users but those regulations have not been passed. The FAA posted the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking which allows the public to comment on the proposed rule making for Remote ID. The comment period has ended at this time. So personally I would not be concerned with that at this point in time. To learn more about Remote ID, you can check out our article on that topic here. I hope this helps and feel free to ask us any questions! - Chase

Hi @Digger, Is there any drone applications that particularly interest you? Photography, filmmaking, inspections , etc? Feel free to ask any questions and I will do my best to provide you with some of our resources! Best, - Chase

Hi @Evolve Flight Services, I completely understand, there are many different directions you can go with this and that can make the decision process complicated. I have my own aerial photography business and I try and stay within the area of aerial photography and videography, instead of offering 10 services and stretching myself too thin. The key is to pick something you enjoy and are good at and stick with it. I see many other businesses who do mapping, inspections, photography, videography, etc. Offering various services in my opinion complicates things and makes it harder to master one of those applications. To get a better idea of different drone applications, feel free to check out our 'UAV/Drone Jobs' guide. Having a business plan is a great idea and in reality it does not need to be overly complex. Often people only see business plans as a necessity for investors, but most drone businesses even the most successful ones start out small without investments. If this is the case, a business plan can still be a good document that acts as a road map for your business and it is something that is great to have to reflect back on to see where your company is at years down the road. There are lots of great articles and guides on creating a business plan online. As for marketing, conduct research on your competitors to get an understanding of what they are doing. Maybe they are very successful and there is something you can learn from them. Do they rely on social media marketing, google ads, word-of-mouth, etc? Building a spreadsheet with contact information for potential clients can also be a good way to reach out to companies and see how you can solve a problem they may have with your aerial services. Social media marketing is a great way to get started and get a feel for digital marketing. Some companies are using Google ads as well but be careful as those ads can be tricky to manage and it can be easy to throw lots of money at those types of advertising campaigns. Sometimes cold emails and calls are very effective and do not require too much time or effort. My first commercial job was through a cold email that I had sent introducing myself, my services, and a link to my website. I also have received interest from a construction company who is looking for aerial photographers to take pictures of their finished projects. This was also through a cold email, a lot of this is trial and error. I am still very much learning as I go and it is a very interesting industry to be apart of. I am in the same situation as you and may others right now, who are holding off on marketing because of the COVID-19 spread. Although I would like to be advertising and trying to obtain clients for the spring/summer season right now, I am focusing my efforts on updating my website, client strategy building, social media/content planning etc. Having all of these misc tasks done when this is hopefully over will allow me more time to focus on advertising and reaching out to potential clients. Feel free to also check out our 'Make the Most of Quarantine: 3 Ways to Become a Better Drone Pilot Over the Next Month' article for more ideas. I hope this helps and feel free to ask any questions! - Chase

Hi @Digger, Welcome to the UAV Coach Community Forum and congratulations on becoming Part 107 certified! Are you planning to start a business or work for a company with your new certification? Best, - Chase

Hi @NevadaWolf, Welcome to the UAV Coach Community Forum and congratulations on becoming Part 107 certified! The Skydio 2 is a pretty sweet drone, are you planning on offering any drone services now that you are commercially certified? Best, - Chase

Hi @Amogh Sahai, Welcome to the UAV Coach Community Forum and congratulations on becoming Part 107 certified! In order to register a drone in the U.S. it must be registered with a U.S. address. I hope this helps! - Chase