Chase Flynn | UAV Coach

Hi @JustinT, Welcome to the UAV Coach Community Forum! @Alan Perlman offers some great advice and there are also some great bonus lectures in the Drone Pilot Ground School course that you might find helpful in getting a drone business started. I think one of the most important things to figure out is what area of the drone industry interest you the most? It could be photography/cinematography, mapping, agriculture, inspections, and the list continues to go on. I knew from the start that I really enjoy the photography and filmmaking side of the industry and that is the direction I am going to direct my business to over time. Once you figure that out, you will want to figure out your name, slogan, branding, etc. It is important that you choose a name that is unique and something that people will remember. For example, I live in Michigan and did not want a generic name like 'Michigan Drone Services' or something like that. There are two issues with a generic location based name: 1.) People might think that you will only do work in that state. 2.) There are many names that sound just like the other and it will be difficult to differentiate yourself from the competition. For example, I named my business 'Galactic Droneography' with the slogan "Out of this world Droneography." I have had quite a few people that have told me they loved the name, logo, and overall branding theme. Like @Alan Perlman said, building a service business is difficult, so it's important to stand out and have a name and a service that people will remember. Once you have all that figured out, purchase a drone that will be suitable for your intended application and practice flying until you are comfortable with the drone and its various features/flight modes. Once you are comfortable with the drone, get out there and build up a portfolio, that way you have something to show a potential client. Building a website is apart of this step because you need to have an online presence. A potential client is more likely to look you up online before ever sending an email or picking up the phone to contact you. There are many website building websites that make it relatively simple to build a great website. I personally used wix and have been very happy with the website. Now I did not use one of their templates, I built it out how I wanted it to look. However, there are some really good templates on the website if you do not want to design your own. Here is my website as an example: https://www.galacticdroneography.com Another thing I cannot stress enough, is to have all of the systems you think you need operational before you ever send out that first email or make that first phone call. Have an email for business, website, online payment system (I use Square), invoice system, a business phone or phone app that makes a different phone number but it is routed to your own phone, legal contracts, etc. I like to research potential clients that I would like to work with. For example, my fist commercial job was in October at a place place known as the Scripps Mansion. I saw the house and knew I wanted to have that house in my portfolio. I sent a friendly email introducing myself, what I do, and more importantly, what I could do for them. They ended up hiring me for the job and they were thrilled with the results. Most of the time you will need to educate the client on what you do and why they need your services. It can be very challenging, but also very rewarding when you send those photos and video over to your client. One thing I forgot to mention is the importance of knowing how to edit photos and videos. Being able to edit a picture or video and bringing it to life shows your client that you know what you are doing. It drives me crazy when I see someone trying to sell an unedited photo with a DJI watermark on the corner of the photo. It just looks really unprofessional. Flying the drone is only one part of it, being able to capture a stunning image or video and telling a story is the difficult part that is often over looked. Practice, Practice, Practice, is my best advice. Even if you take a basic picture that may not be that great, edit it anyways and learn. Sometimes I look at some of my early edits and I would never post them now haha. You get better with each flight, email, phone call, edit, etc. Sorry for the long post and I hope this helps. In all honestly, this response just begins to scratch the surface of getting a drone business up and running. It's a learning experience and I am just getting started. Good luck and feel free to ask me any questions! - Chase

Hi @Tony Blanchard, Welcome to the UAV Coach Community Forum! I bet there is some incredible scenery in Zimbabwe that any drone pilot would love to capture. Drone laws can be hard to keep track of, especially with how quickly the industry has continued to evolve. Let's hope that one day all countries will be less restrictive with drones! Best, - Chase

Hi @360Remodels, Welcome to the UAV Coach Community Forum! Even though I would not consider a Mavic Mini for most commercial operations, it would be the better choice of the drones you listed. The Mavic Mini is packed with a ton of features for the money and a camera that should be decent for your application. If you want to get an idea of some other drones that would be great for this application click here. I hope this helps! - Chase

@Av8Chuck, Thanks for bringing this topic to the forum, it is an interesting discussion. I also agree that the Skydio 2 is not a game changer but it defiantly brings something fresh and exciting to what's currently on the market. The advanced obstacle avoidance on the Skydio 2 is the real game changer and it will be great for filmmaking applications, but I think inspections and other difficult work environment applications would be great for this drone. DJI drones have great obstacle avoidance systems, but sometimes I find their system to be too sensitive. There have been times where I just turned it off because the obstacle avoidance prevented me from getting a cool shot of flying through trees or really low to the ground. I was really interested in possibly purchasing a Skydio 2 because the price is so reasonable for what you get. However, the biggest downfall with the drone in my opinion is the 12 MP camera. I have a Phantom 4 Pro now and if I was to buy a new drone, I would want the camera resolution to be an upgrade. However, I think Skydio is on the right track and it will be exciting to see what the company does next. Best, - Chase

Hi @Tom Peden, Welcome to the UAV Coach Community Forum and thanks for listing this drone! Could you please provide some pictures with the listing? Thanks! - Chase

@Tyson?

Hi @Tony Blanchard, Our 'Drone Laws' Directory contains the drone laws for all states within the United States and we also have a page for every country. For example, here is our 'Drone Laws' page for Zimbabwe: https://uavcoach.com/drone-laws-in-zimbabwe/ If you have any additional information to send, please feel free to send it to chase@uavcoach.com Thanks! - Chase

Hi @JHAL, Welcome to the UAV Coach Community Forum and we are happy to hear that you have been enjoying the UAV Coach resources! There are a lot of opportunities in the drone industry. To help get you started, feel free to check out our 'UAV/Drone Jobs' Guide. I hope this helps! - Chase

Hi @Eugene Pepe, Welcome to the UAV Coach Community Forum! Our Part 107 course over at Drone Pilot Ground School does not come with the Part 107 certification. The certification can only be obtained by passing the Part 107 exam at an FAA testing center. To learn more about the certification process click here. @Alan Perlman, Could you answer the question about writing a letter with the amount of course hours? I hope this helps! - Chase

Hello everyone, I hope that you all had a great week and had the chance to get out and fly your drone! Back in October, I had my first commercial job for a company called Guest House, Inc. which is in Lake Orion, Michigan at the former estate of William E Scripps. The Scripps Mansion and the surrounding property has a rich history and it was an incredible opportunity to be allowed access to this property. Before William Scripps built the Mansion, he used the property as a farm known as Wildwood Farm. The farm was founded in 1916 and by 1920 it was world famous as a stockbreeding enterprise. The Scripps family was very wealthy because Williams father James E. Scripps was the founder of the Detroit News. William would go on to create the countries first commercial radio station, Detroit WWJ. The familes media company is still around to this day and is known as The E.W. Scripps Company. In 1926, William Scripps decided to build what would become the Scripps Mansion. The mansion is a massive 28,000 square feet with 67 rooms. It was used as the families summer home as their main residence was another mansion located in Detroit. The family spared no expense building it spending $2.8 million and hiring renowned landscape architect Bryant Fleming to design the landscape which is still in excellent shape almost 100 years later. Large fountains, stone walls and stairs, and detailed stone sculptures still remain on the property. The original property was over 3,800 acres but most of it was sold off when William Scripps passed away in 1952. Today, the mansion and surrounding Guest House campus sit on 100 acres. William was also an avid pilot who was close friends with Amelia Earhart and she had him build her a glider that she flew at his property. The runway where she flew is actually still there today in the Bald Mountain Recreation Area, which just happens to be on our '5 Best Places to Fly a Drone in Detroit' guide. You can hear the AMA club airplanes flying around even though its miles away from the mansion. There is so much history at this location and it was an honor to have the opportunity to walk around this incredible property. There have even been some movies filmed here, anyways just wanted to share some history and some of the pictures I took for Guest House. Enjoy!

Hi @jdatooth, Welcome to the UAV Coach Community Forum! I am sorry to hear about your experience at Curtis Hixon Park. Extensive research goes into every location that we choose for our 'Where to Fly' pages and we were unable to locate any regulations against drones at this particular location. Unfortunately, I have heard stories from people about going to a park and were told by a security guard that drones were banned. Only to find out later from the parks administration office that drones are allowed. Sometimes people are misinformed or do not like drones and have their own agenda. Next time this happens anywhere you fly, I recommend that you ask them for a written copy of the regulations just to validate that the regulations are actually in place. Thanks for bringing this to our attention, safe flying out there! - Chase

Hi @Edly, Welcome to the UAV Coach Community Forum! Based on my interpretation of the laws, you would not need any prior permission/permit to bring your drone into the UK. It looks like permission is only required when a commercial operation will be conducted. Here are the drone laws for the UK: https://uavcoach.com/drone-laws-in-united-kingdom/ and for Greece: https://uavcoach.com/drone-laws-in-greece/ I hope this helps, have a safe trip! - Chase

Hi @Adam G, I am going to echo what @Av8Chuck said. Hospital heliports are not controlled airspace, therefore you do not need permission from the hospital to fly there (you would need FAA authorization if the heliport happens to be within controlled airspace). Just to be clear, the FAA has sole jurisdiction over the National Airspace System and the overall operation of drones. The hospital has no legal authority to grant or deny your drone from flying in that region of airspace. Now they could ask that you not stand on their property and fly, which they have the right to do. The FAA authorized your operation, meaning they believed that your operation can be completed safely without a high risk of error based on numerous factors. As always, remain vigilant when flying and always yield to manned aircraft operations. I hope this helps! - Chase

Hi @Johannes, Drone laws in other countries can be a very complex subject because the industry is evolving rapidly and regulations vary from country to country. I am not aware of any other country that requires a permit to share aerial photos and videos. Therefore, I cannot provide another example at this time. I suggest looking into the permit process to see if this is something you want to pursue. I hope this helps! - Chase

Hi @ajdrone777, Welcome to the UAV Coach Community Forum and congratulations on becoming Part 107 certified! There are so many opportunities in the drone industry that it can be difficult to choose which route to go. To help get you started, feel free to check out our 'UAV/Drone Jobs' guide. I hope this helps! - Chase

Hi @cbigelow257, Welcome to the UAV Coach Community Forum! Feel free to ask any us any questions you may have. Best, - Chase

Hi @petarv, Welcome to the UAV Coach Community Forum! It is great to hear that you are enjoying your drone. Feel free to ask us any questions. Best, - Chase

Hi @TheMightySaltCity, Welcome to the UAV Coach Community Forum! The Mavic series is great and the smart controller looks awesome. Are you going to be flying for fun or are you looking to get into the commercial applications? Best, - Chase

Hi @Jayb8s, I wanted to provide you with you an update on my research on this topic. I was unable to find any official regulation that prevents unmanned aircraft from operating around the Waterview Loft at Port Detroit. In reviewing the sectional chart for that area, I also determined that there is no restricted zones listed within that region. It can be confusing to understand drone regulations because cities and states try pass drone regulations that in most cases preempt federal law. The Federal Aviation Administration has full jurisdiction of the National Airspace System within the United States. There is nothing stopping the Detroit Port Authority from asking you to not takeoff or land on their property which they have the right to do. However, they do not have any authority over the airspace surrounding their owned/managed properties. I would just recommend to always fly safe and follow the regulations. That section of airspace is relatively complex as it borders Canada and the Metro Detroit area has lots of airports and air traffic. If you have any additional questions please let me know! - Chase

Hi @Jimslaton, Welcome to the UAV Coach Community Forum and congratulations on your purchase of a Spark! I fly a Phantom 4 Pro which is much larger than a spark and I still have a hard time seeing it sometimes when it is 300-400 feet up. I would recommend using a Lume Cube anti-collision light. They are very bright and should help increase the visibility of the drone even during the day. You can look here to see if this would be a good solution for you. I hope this helps! - Chase

Hi @Scott Anderson, Welcome to the UAV Coach Community Forum! It is great to hear that you are looking to integrate a drone into your real estate appraisal business. If you are interested in comparing drone models, feel free to check out our 'Top Professional Drones' guide. I hope this helps! - Chase

Hi @BillyG, Welcome to the UAV Coach Community Forum! Syma makes some great drones that are fun to fly, please let us know how you like the W1. If you have any questions feel free to ask, we are always here to help! Best, - Chase

Hi @BenF, Welcome to the UAV Coach Community Forum! How are you liking the DJI Mavic 2 Zoom so far? Sounds like you are in a great area for some great drone footage. Feel free to post any of your drone videos in our Filmmaking/Cinematography thread. Best, - Chase

Hi @BJH, Welcome to the UAV Coach Community Forum! When we create a 'Where to Fly' page we conduct an extensive amount of research regarding the state, local, and federal regulations and we were unable to find any regulations banning drones from city and county parks for this particular page. It is important to note that if there are any local laws regarding the use of unmanned aircraft, they are preempted by both Pennsylvania state law and federal law. Here is the official legislation on the power of a city, county, township, etc. in regards to unmanned aircraft operations in Pennsylvania: § 305. Local regulation of unmanned aircraft prohibited. (a) Preemption.--The provisions of 18 Pa.C.S. § 3505 (relating to unlawful use of unmanned aircraft) shall preempt and supersede any ordinance, resolution, rule or other enactment of a municipality regulating the ownership or operation of unmanned aircraft. As of the effective date of this section, a municipality shall not regulate the ownership or operation of unmanned aircraft unless expressly authorized by statute. (b) Municipal use.--Nothing under 18 Pa.C.S. § 3505 shall prohibit a municipality from using unmanned aircraft within the boundaries of the municipality for municipal purposes and regulating that use. (c) Definition.--As used in this section, the term "municipality" shall include a county, city, borough, incorporated town or township or home rule, optional plan or optional charter municipality, any other general purpose unit of government established by the General Assembly, a municipal authority and any entity formed pursuant to Ch. 23 Subch. A (relating to intergovernmental cooperation). (Oct. 12, 2018, P.L.516, No.78, eff. 90 days) 2018 Amendment. Act 78 added section 305. I hope this helps clarify any confusion about operating a drone in Pittsburgh and please feel free to ask any questions! Best, - Chase

Hi @jvalois, Welcome to the UAV Coach Community Forum and congratulations on your purchase of the Mavic Mini! The latest information our team has researched on drone laws in the UAE, can be found here. I hope this helps! - Chase