Hello from Minnesota

[krusen]

Hello everyone,
Thanks for creating great content. There are not a lot of places to find some of the information that is stored here.

I started flying toy helis around the house several years ago. When I wanted to move the hobby outside and possibly train for a better UAV, I bought a Syma X5C. I justified the purchase of a Mavic Pro a year ago to complement work as a designer of disc golf courses. I've greatly enjoyed the Mavic and have developed some skills at editing video and stills.
Here is my youtube channel
Kruse Altitude

I was recently laid of from a product design engineering position at a well known power sports manufacturer. With some severance coming in I decided to look into starting a drone service business. I have been commuting an hour each direction for nearly the last decade. There are few product design positions close to where I live. I know starting a small business is a lot of work, but I'm tired of being gone from home for 60+ hours a week and hoping this business might lend some balance (for instance I can work after the kids are asleep).

I have read a couple excellent threads on here giving a dose of the grim reality for independent operators. Despite that I am planning to give it a try while keeping an eye out for a salaried position. My wife is also an engineer, and makes a good salary. We are both miserly with money so I have more than enough savings to fund the start up costs. I have my 107 license and am on the cusp of getting insurance and a more serious drone.

I live about an hour west of Minneapolis and am planning to target agriculture. I grew up on a farm nearby and know many farmers. I have spoken with crop consultants and agronomists nearby. The consensus is that the ROI is not there in soybeans and corn, but there may be a chance with sugar beets, edible beans, orchards, vineyards...higher dollar density stuff.

I'm planning on buying an Inspire 2 standard combo. My thought is that in the cold climate, battery warmers will help extend the useful season of flying and the higher resistance to wind will also help to get more days in. Also, the inspire is capable of flying with most of the multispectral sensors where the phantom is not. In sensors I'm leaning towards the RedEdge-M. I have been advised not to buy it before I have a job lined up, but I'm not sure how to get business without having the equipment. Nevertheless I'm planning to buy the Inspire soon to get used to it, and follow up with a sensor after networking and thinking about it more.

Any advice on my thoughts here? Thanks.

 

[R.Perry]

Well good for you, and welcome to the forum. I fly an Inspire 2 and love it, I actually work for Multivista doing construction mapping, panos, progressions and elevations. I live in the heart of California agricultural area. I have talked to a few farmers and most just don't seem interested. I was a crop duster for several years so I did get to know a few farmers. I've also been in business for myself for several years and getting started isn't easy in any business. I wish you the best of luck.

 

[dirkclod]

Welcome to our site krusen .

 

[LuvMyTJ]

Hello,
It is a pleasure to welcome you to the CommercialDronePilots forum.
I hope that you will be able to use the forum to further your safety knowledge, for the exchange of innovative ideas and as a resource for current developments in the commercial drone field.
Enjoy!

 

[Florida Drone Supply]

Welcome, have you looked at any of the other options for industrial work offered by DJI? The M200 series might be another option if cinematography is not your main goal. Longer flight time, improved payload capacity may be of benefit to you. Happy flying!!

 

[BigAl07]

Hello and welcome to the Commercial Drone Pilots forum. We are glad to have you on board. I'm confident you'll find lots of helpful and enlightening information throughout this forum.

If you haven't already done so, consider adding your LOCATION to your forum profile to help us know where you are when you post suggestions or ask for assistance. It helps a lot more than you might think especially because this is an international forum with members from all parts of the world. Here's a direct link to yours:

https://commercialdronepilots.com/account/personal-details


My first concern in what you mentioned is making sure the Inspire-2 can accept the sensors you'll need/want to do the type of work you're embarking on. I can't say one way or the other but go into this knowing the I-2 doesn't accept some of the current offerings out there that are outside of the Cinematography industry. It's a GREAT aircraft but it's built more along the lines of Cinematography and not so much inspection etc. It costs more to buy it, to operate it, and to maintain it than some other options available (Inspire-1). Keep all of those factors in mind and also make sure the sensor payload you'll need in your specific field of work are compatible with the I-2.

As stated above look into the M200 line up. It's a true workhorse with lots of features that might help you do a better job down the road.

For the record you don't "need" battery warmers if you incorporate the proper battery routines into your SOP. We fly our Phantoms and Inspire 1 V2 in very cold weather and have done so for many years.

Allen

 

[krusen]

I appreciate the warm welcome and the feedback

Yes I have looked into the M200/210. Truthfully, I'm not 100% sure on the decision about the Inspire 2 so I'm glad you guys questioned it.
Yes I understand that the I2 is pretty limited to what an be attached (AFAIK only X4S, X5S, and X7) and that is unfortunate. I have confirmed it will hold the multispectral cameras from Sentera and MicaSense...not sure about Slantrange.

Here's my thoughts on the different systems.

Phantom 4Pro:
Pros:
-Cost. Can almost buy 3 for the cost of one similarly equipped I2.
-Very good camera for a smaller drone.
-Capable for real estate, golf courses, mapping.
Cons:
-Cannot take as much wind as the following drones.
-May not seem "professional". I'm thinking that this may be important since a lot of farmers have their own phantoms.
-Unable to swap to a different camera besides side mounting a single lens from Sentera or swapping out for NDVI conversion.
-Not as good for cold weather (BigAl07 your feedback is noted here. I've flown the Mavic a bit under 32 degrees, but it makes me a bit nervous.)

Inspire 1:
Pros:
- Versatile. Can carry several cameras including zoom and thermal cameras.
- Cost...at least in comparison to the next two
- Looks "professional"
Cons:
-Existing cameras are probably great, but are a bit behind the X versions. One thing I was hoping to offer were farm pictures that are blown up to larger sizes to hang on a wall and I'd like to get a high MP count for this purpose.
-Obsolete. At some point would have to keep an old device just to run DJI Go. Batteries will eventually get hard to find. Will the XT still be available when I want to finally buy it?
-Battery life... If I want to get into ag, this is a big one.

Inspire 2
Pros:
- Looks "professional".
- Can operate in higher winds and lower temps than previous listed drones.
- Payload is higher. Can carry multispectral cameras.

Cons:
-Cost in comparison to the previous drones on the list.
-Lack of versatility. Cannot mount Zenmuse thermal or zoom cameras.

M200
Pros:
-"Looks professional"
-Versatile. Can carry almost any zenmuse camera...I believe even the older ones.
- Robustness. Can operate in wind, cold, and with light rain or snow.
- Flight time. With TB55 can operate ~10 minutes longer than I2.
- Highest payload of these listed.

Cons:
- Cost. Can almost buy 2 I2's for the cost of one M200.
- Cinematography capabilities. Legs are in the way, and no Spotlight Pro mode.

So I guess the reason I'm avoiding the M200 is because of the extra cost. I'm not sure what my niche is yet and not sure what I may end up doing. I'm thinking I could save the $2300 for later. I may want a M210 or M210RTK instead, but I don't know yet. My thought process is that if this ends up not working out, an Inspire would be a lot more fun for hobby use than an M200. For instance I could get video of kids tubing behind a boat, etc. The creative side of this is where my passion is, but I'm skeptical that I'll be able to get decent paying work in this area if that's where I focus.

Something I had not considered until you guys questioned me is that if I buy an M200 and later want the capabilities of a 210, that I would then have redundancy in a versatile drone. If I started with an I2, and bought an M210, I'd have redundancy for advertising, mapping and agriculture, but not for high level inspection purposes.

What do you think?

 

[krusen]

I forgot to mention the possibility that if the ag application works out, I may be looking to get a fixed wing instead of another quadcopter.

My perception that inspection contracts are difficult to get since these types of companies (power, construction, insurance) are tending to set up UAV teams within.

 

[ToddL]

Hello everyone,
Thanks for creating great content. There are not a lot of places to find some of the information that is stored here.

I started flying toy helis around the house several years ago. When I wanted to move the hobby outside and possibly train for a better UAV, I bought a Syma X5C. I justified the purchase of a Mavic Pro a year ago to complement work as a designer of disc golf courses. I've greatly enjoyed the Mavic and have developed some skills at editing video and stills.
Here is my youtube channel
Kruse Altitude

I was recently laid of from a product design engineering position at a well known power sports manufacturer. With some severance coming in I decided to look into starting a drone service business. I have been commuting an hour each direction for nearly the last decade. There are few product design positions close to where I live. I know starting a small business is a lot of work, but I'm tired of being gone from home for 60+ hours a week and hoping this business might lend some balance (for instance I can work after the kids are asleep).

I have read a couple excellent threads on here giving a dose of the grim reality for independent operators. Despite that I am planning to give it a try while keeping an eye out for a salaried position. My wife is also an engineer, and makes a good salary. We are both miserly with money so I have more than enough savings to fund the start up costs. I have my 107 license and am on the cusp of getting insurance and a more serious drone.

I live about an hour west of Minneapolis and am planning to target agriculture. I grew up on a farm nearby and know many farmers. I have spoken with crop consultants and agronomists nearby. The consensus is that the ROI is not there in soybeans and corn, but there may be a chance with sugar beets, edible beans, orchards, vineyards...higher dollar density stuff.

I'm planning on buying an Inspire 2 standard combo. My thought is that in the cold climate, battery warmers will help extend the useful season of flying and the higher resistance to wind will also help to get more days in. Also, the inspire is capable of flying with most of the multispectral sensors where the phantom is not. In sensors I'm leaning towards the RedEdge-M. I have been advised not to buy it before I have a job lined up, but I'm not sure how to get business without having the equipment. Nevertheless I'm planning to buy the Inspire soon to get used to it, and follow up with a sensor after networking and thinking about it more.

Any advice on my thoughts here? Thanks.