Hello CDP members. I just started a new aerial videography company here in Colorado Springs, CO. I am available for services throughout the entire state and have already completed my Part 107. Since I am fairly new to the industry, I would love to hear what type of services everyone offers, and what seems to be reasonable costs to charge customers.
BTW, I decided to go the Yuneec route, which makes me "unique" around town, as much of the area seems to lean towards DJI, but I have found the stability and durability of the Typhoon H to be well worth it.
I considered the Typhoon too which seems like a very cool bird, but my first aircraft was the X-Star a year ago about when I got my Part 107 license. I am moving to the Grand Valley on the west side of Colorado this year so my wife can breathe dry air and not get asthmatic reactions. The terrain in Colorado is much more interesting than the flat plains and gentle hills covered with blankets of trees where I live, and the industry here does not seem very active yet (western Missouri).
I base my flights, at 50 dollars for 30 minutes for each battery flight life, including five minutes pre-flight prep, so an hour, or two flights, would cost 100 dollars for my clients. Travel would be extra, plus the 10 dollar per hour insurance by Verifly, and other incidental costs that might arise. I leave any post-flight video/photo editing out of the bid, because most drone flight buyers that I have encountered seem to only want to know the cost of raw imagery. I have been a digital or traditional artist all my life so my flights are creative/artistic if nothing else. I would not mind getting some paying jobs in the future, though I had a few very close bids that I almost won since I received my pilot's license last spring, and a couple clients requested my services when I could not provide them. So, the jobs will come, and just getting the first few experiences will start the ball rolling. I see bigger operations that charge a lot more, but they often have a lot of employees and more aircraft and a lot of experience under their belts, so I feel to compete I need to at least try to be competitive price-wise at least. I started small with something basic and affordable like the Ultra HD 30fps X-Star that has been very reliable and fun to fly, with a very good customer support that can help me out quickly. If I ever get into the situation where my services are in high demand I might consider charging more and buying bigger drones...who knows?
I am so glad there is now a forum just for 107 pilots. I get tired of reading about who can fly farthest beyond VLOS, or highest into the cloud cover, etc...LOL...anyway, happy flying, and if you get out to the West look me up! deltabluebirds.com
