Recent content by Midsky8778

Welcome and good luck! Are there particular drone systems you had in mind when thinking of more “modern” ops? Which area of inspection were you planning on entering? Thermal-Exteriors/Facades-Cell Phone-Utility (or “T&D” in power line related work)-Bridges and Roadways “Infrastructure”? And do...

Don’t anyone forget the ***10%***! PrecisionHawk/Droners.io takes off the top no matter the bid! Rock bottom prices skimmed even further. Thumbtack does similar work, though kinda apples to oranges there… I’ve gotten into the habit of charging clients an extra fee when they hire me through one...

@skiptv I agree and share this viewpoint but am curious as to how you went about using materials from Dronebase jobs in a portfolio or solicitation? I personally stopped taking most jobs from them because their standard agreement with pilots states it’s purely “work for hire” content, a nifty...

Got it myself, I’m hoping it has to do with impending government spending - would like to see more funding to expand FAA staffing. Manual authorizations shouldn’t take as long as they do in an industry that’s generally so advanced.

I wonder if those who paid to get involved will be offered a refund…

The ITC cert is widely recognized and is what I'm working towards myself. As for hardware - remaining within the 10-15k budget you mentioned, you're looking at an Inspire 1 with Zenmuse XT setup, most likely preowned. This should be less than 10k, though its an older setup and you'll have no RGB...

Welcome to the forum and the profession - you certainly have a head start with manned aviation experience. Unfortunately from where I see things, independent operators don’t have many opportunities for real success. Most commercial clients are starting their own drone programs where they can...

I don’t release my credentials to anyone except legitimate authorities as required. As a side note, there is a procedure for removing/withholding your personal information from the federal airman’s registry, which is a legitimate and easy process I recommend for all part 107 holders. See for...

@HammerMissions it seems you’re geared towards the operational side of things, what type of post processing services do you offer if any? “3D modeling” and “mapping” are listed as products on your website - what are the outputs of these, and are they easily accessed/shared with an end client?

Reading these always gives me a mix of emotions, all intense and mostly negative. The race to the bottom is real, and hurts real people like those of us trying to incorporate aerial work into their independent operations. Droners.io, DroneVideos.com, and other brokers have assured it’s a...

Good luck with your exam - how do you intend to use your certificate? And what industries/markets are you working in up there?

In many states you can find state-run RTK networks that are accessible to the public for free or a small fee (much less than private RTK network subscriptions). As long as you have minimum 3G cell service and access to such an RTK network, the workflow is pretty simple and accurate. I can say...

XT2 is definitely a top choice, but top price as well given the matching Matrice requirement. The only remaining mid level choice then is an XT, and the idea of hanging such a high value payload from any aging Inspire 1 makes me more nervous the more I consider it.

Speaking of RTK, where does that fit into mapping for construction? This discussion has me thinking orthos are valued mostly for their “overview” value, but wouldn’t connecting to an RTK network for increased accuracy be helpful in marketing the service? Being able to tell prospects that they...

Half a year later, has anyone had enough experience with the M2EA to definitively say it’s comparable to an XT workflow? How are the software tools compared to FLIR? Any input is appreciated!