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Companies to Help with Waivers, Authorizations, etc.?

clintsito

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I'm new to the world of drones but I'm quickly realizing that obtaining the proper permits/etc. is waaayyyy more complicated than I thought. Are there any companies that you can hire to help get the permits for you? I just want to make some side cash with a drone, not become an expert in drone law!!! :D
 
Even though not asked for here are my .02
You will WANT and NEED to know the law. So okay they get you a license and you don't know the law and go off and fly. Are you in restricted airspace, are you going to fly over people, are you going to fly at a 1,000 feet or are you going to get sued and fined. You want to know the law !!

Ok off my soapbox now

Fly safe
 
To answer your question yes there are companies who offer "Services" to help you get authorizations and waivers. Depending on the actual one you're seeking it may or may not be worth the effort and expense to get 3rd party help.
 
To answer your question yes there are companies who offer "Services" to help you get authorizations and waivers. Depending on the actual one you're seeking it may or may not be worth the effort and expense to get 3rd party help.
In addition to Alan's input above, if this is your first waiver then it might be advantageous to contract someone to write the request to get you through the process. You will then be able to use that as a guide to do follow on requests. However, you need to learn how to request your own authorizations. That is something you will do frequently on a day to day basis. It is not hard to figure out and you will save a lot of money by doing it yourself.
 
I'm new to the world of drones but I'm quickly realizing that obtaining the proper permits/etc. is waaayyyy more complicated than I thought. Are there any companies that you can hire to help get the permits for you? I just want to make some side cash with a drone, not become an expert in drone law!!! :D
Daytime waivers are easy to write. Airspace authorizations are extremely easy to get (and getting easier every day) ; doubt too many will be paying for that. The rest are complex and require major dollar investments. There may be a market for waiver writers but I doubt it.
 
@clintsito
I am also new to the commercial side of the drone world. I did my first flight authorization request via DroneZone, since the airport isn't in the LAANC program. Yes, I had some apprehension if I was doing it correctly, if it was going to get approved, etc. but thankfully the FAA was great to work with - even received phone call from them. This was an authorization, not a waiver, and was a simple process.

So far, I haven't had a necessity to request a waiver, but when the time comes I will take the plunge and do it myself. If it gets denied, then I will consider that a learning experience. Also, in addition to gaining the knowledge, as stated in previous posts, it will save you money.
 
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I guess I'm old fashioned. If I get denied or approved for what I've submitted, then that's on me. But to get either (especially a denial) because of someone else laying out my game plan for me...yeah not so much. I saw something in the news the other day that sums up how I feel about it: “It's our responsibility to take ourselves where we want to be.” I'd rather be wrong because I'm wrong, than wrong because someone else did or said something on my behalf. Just my thoughts.
 
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Commercial 107 Ops:
I've written several; all approved. About to resubmit for same airspace due to expiration but will be adding additional UAS.
Hopefully LAANC will mature to the point of handling the bulk of the waivable sections this year (most everything except BVLOS).

Some thoughts on your question, and some responses. There are folks who will help you draft up your waiver (operation or airspace). Some are lawyers, and some are active commercial UAS operators and trainers. You should not be blind to the process, nor taken by surprise by what the waiver language is if someone else is drafting for you. If you utilize the right folks, they will have regular check points with you to share what has been written (iterative process!). Whomever you hire will also need to understand from YOU how your intended operation will take place so they can cover the appropriate criteria, methods, personnel, procedures, etc.. Waivers and COA's are almost all about making your safety case; how you're going to safely operate in the airspace based on what you want waived, or parameters of your COA.

Like Mavic Mac said above, you will want to know the laws, and rules. Any other approach will not enable you to reach your objective. This includes any state or municipal rules & laws. Local jurisdictions don't own the airspace, but can limit or eliminate your launch/recovery options.

Last couple things I'd like to share about waivers/authorization requests is
  • do not add anything to your waiver or airspace request that you do not intend to actually do.
  • don't be over prescriptive (ex: "I will have a white 3 second flashing anti-collision strobe on top, and a 5 second blue strobe underneath")
  • Research the available FAA documentation regarding the overall waiver process as well as detailed instructions for each part that is waivable.
If you'd like, send me a message and I can share a couple of companies/contacts who can help you draft & submit.
 

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