How to Choose The right Drone Service Provider

Finding the right drone service provider can be difficult. Anyone can buy a drone and call themselves a pilot. There are things you can look for to narrow your search and find the perfect pilot. here's how.

Look at What You Need

And it matters whether you need aerial cinematography for a marketing campaign, photographs of a high-end property, or imaging to document a construction site. I’ve spent more than a decade flying drones for construction, real estate, aerial photography, and cinematography throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, much of it in the restricted airspace around Washington, DC.

Based on this experience, here’s what you should look for when hiring a drone service provider.

Verify their Qualifications

Start by asking who will actually fly your project and what qualifications they have. For commercial drone flight in the U.S., the pilot must have an FAA Remote Pilot Certificate, often called a “Part 107 certification” or “drone license.” But, that’s only the start. A license says they’re legal, but it doesn’t tell you their experience with drones in your line of work.

Before hiring someone, ask them these questions:

• Who will be the responsible pilot and do they have an FAA Remote Pilot Certificate?

• How much experience do they have with this type of assignment?

• Have they completed similar projects in this area?

• Are they familiar with restricted airspace and how to get the necessary flight authorizations?

• Do they have insurance?

  
  

You’re hiring the person’s judgment and experience as much as their ability to operate a drone.

Look for Experience That Matches Your Project

One of the most important things to evaluate is experience with the kind of work you need. An aerial cinematography assignment around a building with clear surroundings is very different from a flight over an active construction site. Swinging cranes, moving vehicles, and electronic interference can create safety concerns and disrupt a mission; things a scenic pilot may not understand.

In the same respect, experience collecting construction imagery doesn’t automatically tell you whether someone can capture the visuals you need for a high-end marketing campaign.

Understanding Airspace

I often get emails from companies that already have drone pilots on staff, but they don’t know how to get the authorizations they need to fly a particular Washington, D.C.-Area assignment. Sometimes, a company calls because they’re near an airport or a building they think might be on a “Critical facilities” list. Many times, it’s the big one: The Washington, D.C. “Flight-Restricted Zone”: the most restricted airspace in the country. Here, tight procedures and strict regulations keep most pilots grounded near the nation's capitol.

My experience as a manned aircraft pilot allows me to communicate effectively with aviation officials and TSA personnel to efficiently gain access to highly-regulated areas such as these. Make sure your pilot understands the quirks or your particular airspace to complete your mission successfully and legally.

Beyond the Shot List

Customers normally have an idea of what they want. But lots of times they think in generic terms and vague concepts. They don't often know what images. angles and moves can help best convey their message. This is where an experienced drone pilot shines. They look beyond the shot list to understand the mission’s needs; using their expertise to translate this into angles, moves, and perspectives that enhance and add to the customer’s vision. They know the drones, cameras and techniques (FPV or traditional, for instance) to capture the best shots in the most efficient manner possible.

The aim shouldn’t be to just get more footage. It should be to find useful material that the customer might not know to ask for. A good drone operator can evaluate the assignment, work through the necessary authorization process, and plan the mission around the images and data their client needs.

Insurance & “Professionalism”

The drone company or pilot you hire MUST have liability insurance and be able to provide proof of coverage before any agreement is made. You can be held liable if they don't in the end. The need for more than a “standard” amount of coverage can also lead to increased project rates. All this should be discussed before the contract is signed so it can be spelled out and documented.

Communication during your first conversations should also be part of your decision on who to hire. Does the prospective company or pilot they ask about your objectives? Are they familiar with the location and airspace? Can they explain their relevant experience and discuss potential limitations clearly? Do they understand your terms and “lingo” of your trade required to complete the job safely and effectively?

A professional provider should ask and answer questions freely and help the customer understand what the assignment involves, not just quote a price from their “rate sheet”.

The Bottom Line

Finding the right drone pilot means more than hiring someone who owns a drone or has an impressive video reel. Use these tips to find one with the experience, qualifications, and judgment to complete your particular project safely, legally, and effectively. If you do, you’ll see the difference immediately and keep benefitting from their knowledge and experience in the long run.

If you need aerial photography, cinematography, or construction imaging in the Washington, DC or the surrounding Mid-Atlantic region, contact me to discuss your project needs.

Mike Sobola is an EMMY Award-winning Drone Pilot with Mid-Atlantic Drones.  He has logged more than 3000 hours as Pilot-in-Command of a drone, many of those coming from flying active construction sites. His book "How to Make Money With A Drone" is available on Amazon. Mid-Atlantic Drones specializes in Drone flights throughout the Washington, D.C. Airspace and the D.C. Flight-Restricted Zone.