With consumer drones coming down in cost and the technology gap between basic and professional-grade equipment narrowing daily, savvy business people are exploring the potential of DIY-piloting. Here are five good reasons why you should consider hiring a professional (or getting some professional drone training yourself) instead of joining that crowd:
1. IT’S ILLEGAL TO FLY A COMMERCIAL DRONE WITHOUT A LICENSE
Flying a camera or other applicable payload hundreds of feet into the air at speeds that can rival most automobiles comes with an obvious element of risk. In fact, commercial drone operation involves substantial exposure to a number of legal hurdles that an operator must be mindful of.
First, the FAA has established guidelines via 14CFR, Part 107, that prohibit anyone without a remote pilot certificate from advancing a business or enterprise while flying a UAS.
Coming from a government agency that has plenty of ambiguity associated with its three-letter acronym, this is definitive. It also means that playing loosely with the rules in the event of a mishap can present some major legal issues for the operator and those associated with them.
2. MISHAPS MEAN BIG TROUBLE
Guess who’s liable if an operator’s drone crashes into a property, or worse, a person, and does considerable harm in the process.
Each circumstance is different, but rest assured, no one wants to be a part of the almost certain investigation that’s set to occur if that happens. The FAA has levied fines to illegal operators in the past, and there’s no reason to poke the proverbial bear that runs the National Airspace System.
A small business owner considering hiring a drone pilot can’t afford the headache, and risk, associated with a drone crash on their property.
3. KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL MATTER
If your pilot can’t read this, then he or she shouldn’t be flying commercially on your behalf, period.
In addition, there is a noticeable difference, even to the untrained eye, between smooth, silky footage and amateur video. Hiring a drone professional to ensure your business is showcased in the best light possible is a must.
4. “GUYS WITH DRONES” ARE A DIME-A-DOZEN
Potential clients beware — there are a lot of pretenders out there.
A whopping 23,000 commercial pilots were licensed within the first three months of the FAA’s rollout for UAS certification. Considering that incredible figure, it’s worth noting that over 500,000 drones were registered in the United States by the end of that same period.
Based on those numbers, it’s hard to believe that less than 5% of registered drone operators are operating their drones for-profit.
Beware of the imposters. Ask to see their license, registration and proof of insurance.
There may be some Section 333 operators who still hold granted petitions from the FAA, but those are being phased out with Part 107 taking its place.
5. LONG-TERM COSTS LEAD TO DIMINISHING RETURNS
It may seem easy for real estate agent who wants to take the occasional photograph or video to buy a drone, obtain a Part 107 license and start snapping away.
But anyone who’s serious about flying drones professionally is going to need numerous accessories and tools to do professional-grade work.
For example, DJI’s Phantom 4 Pro, hands down the best consumer-grade flying camera on the market, retails for $1,499.99. Included in that price are a remote, one battery, styrofoam carrying case, charger and two sets of propellers.
Extra batteries, an iPad, software for photo editing, a computer fast enough to handle the demand on your CPU and a legitimate carrying case are all going to add up and begin to eat into the return on initial investment.
The a la carte services offered by drone professionals can be just what your company needs to get the job done right the first time.
Michael Jones is an FAA-licensed commercial UAS operator and chief pilot of California Aerial Media based in San Diego, California. With 20-plus flight hours in single-engine manned aircraft and hundreds more logged in UAS, aviation is one of his true passions. In addition, he is an award-winning author whose work has been featured on sites such as Yahoo!, MapQuest, About.com and Vox Media among many other publications.
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