Hiring a Drone Pilot
Differences Between Hiring a Drone Pilot and a Drone Service Company
So you’re looking for a drone pilot? How do you choose the right one to work with? Are you really looking for a pilot or do you really need a Drone Service Company? The answer is: it all depends. It depends on answers to questions like what are you trying to achieve? Do you know all the possibilities to determine the best fit solution? Does the pilot? Do you have tight deadlines or limited schedule availability? Do you need high precision or high-quality output? Is the job site a sensitive area causing concern about legal liability as far as accidents, local and federal laws and regulatory compliance?
Is Your Job Low Important and/or Low Risk?
If all you need is someone to take a few aerial photos of your home, and they can do it on weekends or any time for that matter, then most drone pilots can fulfill your need. But what if you need more than that? The vast majority of drone pilots advertising services are doing it as a hobby/side-job outside their normal 8 to 5 job. They may be an expert and piloting their drone but they are not usually experts in other skill areas typically needed to produce high-quality and/or accurate/precise work. No one person can be the expert in everything. Do they have video production skills that produce something that of high-quality that reflects your brand well? Can they guarantee accuracy and precision for technical work products? Do they even answer the phone when you call them during weekday business hours?
Beware of the Drone Pilot Referral Farms
There are a number of websites on the Internet that promise to connect you with multiple drone pilots in your area. The problem with these sites is that their number one goal is to make money, through pilot listing fees or job commissions, not to carefully qualify each pilot. So these sites focus on volume, not quality. The reliability and availability of most pilots on these sites vary greatly, even with the same pilot over time. The competition for work is fierce, which means these pilots are willing to claim anything necessary to get your business. In all cases, if you consider hiring a pilot from one of these Pilot Directories ask for proof of (a) their FAA 107 authorization, (b) their commercial pilot insurance policy, (c) proof your location is not in FAA airspace that requires FAA authorization, or, proof they have the authorization to fly there.
So the question remains, are you looking for a Drone Pilot, or a Drone Service company? As a Drone Service company we have dedicated staff members for different areas of expertise including piloting, mapping, photograph and video editing, 3D modeling, and other technical skills necessary to produce the highest quality product no matter what the application.
