Flying for business..

[Joseph Corrado]

I fly commercially. My experience has been a good one. Firstly, you need your FAA certification. Then you'll need to insure the jobs. I use Verifly. It's worked out great so far, but I haven't needed to test it! You should have a back up though. Until I had one, I tended to only fly on days I was getting paid to so as not to take any chances. I shoot for a variety of clients. Real Estate is the bulk but there are construction companies and roofing companies to events for municipalities.

 

[FlushVision]

I fly commercially. My experience has been a good one. Firstly, you need your FAA certification. Then you'll need to insure the jobs. I use Verifly. It's worked out great so far, but I haven't needed to test it! You should have a back up though. Until I had one, I tended to only fly on days I was getting paid to so as not to take any chances. I shoot for a variety of clients. Real Estate is the bulk but there are construction companies and roofing companies to events for municipalities.

I agree about the need for a back-up. The very last thing you need as a professional hoping to maintain a good reputation is turning up at a job and your aircraft won't fly for some reason and you have to call the gig off. I have two operational aircraft registered for commercial use ( I have a third but that's just a fun thing) and whenever I go to do a job no matter which one I'm using I always have the other tucked away in the boot (trunk) of my car as a back-up. In the UK to fly commercially you are required to have commercial insurance by law: If you don't have the insurance then your PfCO is invalidated.

 

[James (Randy) Smith]

Use your hobby and practice flying to generate the foundation of your portfolio and show reels. They do not become a commercial activity until they are used to sell your business. If they are not published (meaning made public) until after obtaining a license they remain a hobby activity until publishing. So shoot those places and subjects that will serve more than one purpose every time you go out.

what constitutes publishing?
I bought my drone to take photos and flying vids of the golf course I run. I imagine they will get posted to my blog site or even our web page! I will only be doing it for the fun though.

 

[R12NDS]

what constitutes publishing?
I bought my drone to take photos and flying vids of the golf course I run. I imagine they will get posted to my blog site or even our web page! I will only be doing it for the fun though.

That sounds like a commercial activity im afraid!

 

[FlushVision]

what constitutes publishing?
I bought my drone to take photos and flying vids of the golf course I run. I imagine they will get posted to my blog site or even our web page! I will only be doing it for the fun though.

If your web page is used in any way to promote your golf course then your photos will be commercial in nature irrespective of whether they were taken for fun.

 

[James (Randy) Smith]

If your web page is used in any way to promote your golf course then your photos will be commercial in nature irrespective of whether they were taken for fun.

How about if I only posted them on my own blog site or facebook site? they would be done for fun and only to show friends.
While I would love to do this for hire down the road, I don't see it happening in 2017.

 

[R12NDS]

How about if I only posted them on my own blog site or facebook site? they would be done for fun and only to show friends.
While I would love to do this for hire down the road, I don't see it happening in 2017.

I think the ultimate question is whether your business benefits in any way. Showing them on facebook to your friends - is this really any different from sharing DSLR images of you playing on the course? Unlikely. Also, you have control of the grounds so should be ok. If you post on a business related blog, you may well become exposed to some 'benefit'. Im no expert, just trying to understand the law and its application myself.

 

[FlushVision]

How about if I only posted them on my own blog site or facebook site? they would be done for fun and only to show friends.
While I would love to do this for hire down the road, I don't see it happening in 2017.

What R12NDS said.
If your personal blog or facebook page is unrelated to your golf course business and are personal to you...you don't use them to promote your golf business, then any pictures taken with your aircraft will be deemed as recreational and of no business value, so not commercial in nature.

 

[James (Randy) Smith]

What R12NDS said.
If your personal blog or facebook page is unrelated to your golf course business and are personal to you...you don't use them to promote your golf business, then any pictures taken with your aircraft will be deemed as recreational and of no business value, so not commercial in nature.

Thanks, I'll have to make sure of that then.

 

[Photo]

Thanks, I'll have to make sure of that then.

Don't forget to make yourself visible. It's the most important for your business. It's in swedish and says... "Rent a photographer" and www.blf.se is "The swedish picture suppliers organisation"

 

[FlushVision]

Hi again, if you really want "ROI" and business from your drone you have to invest! Last year I produced a post card 14x14cm, high qujality, and sent it to 300 potential drone customers/clients. I had previously tried with mail = no succes at all! This year I have sent almost the same card to another 250 potential drone customers/clients. Last year I got 25 new customers from this campaign and this year it looks like a very good "drone photo year" too as a result of my marketing effort, The total cost (spent time excluded) is about 1,2 Euro / card. The text is in swedish but nevermind you understand thr concept anyway. As I said before realize how important it is to have a back-up RTF drone!!! If not, all your investments and reputation might be gone.. Good Luck from SwedenView attachment 5791

Hi Photo.
This post gave me an idea. I'd never thought of using post cards for marketing relying mainly on business cards, emails, and my web site. Like you, though, I haven't had much joy from emailing potential customers.

So, with your post in mind, I've just ordered a batch of post cards to be printed and when they arrive (expected 4th May) I'll start posting them out to potential clients.

Thanks for the idea.

 

[Photo]

Hi Photo.
This post gave me an idea. I'd never thought of using post cards for marketing relying mainly on business cards, emails, and my web site. Like you, though, I haven't had much joy from emailing potential customers.

So, with your post in mind, I've just ordered a batch of post cards to be printed and when they arrive (expected 4th May) I'll start posting them out to potential clients.

Thanks for the idea.

Great Flush Vision! Good Luck!

 

[PatR]

what constitutes publishing?
I bought my drone to take photos and flying vids of the golf course I run. I imagine they will get posted to my blog site or even our web page! I will only be doing it for the fun though.

Publishing essentially means making your imagery available for public view. The FAA defines a commercial activity as one where the individual involved receives any kind of consideration from their activity. If you have a business that can benefit from your blog, or receive any kind of consideration from your blog, posting your" hobby" videos there may cause people to view your blog. You would be receiving consideration and therefore involved in a commercial activity.

Those "hobbyists" that post their videos on YouTube and receive revenue from YouTube for hit counts/spot advertising can be prosecuted by the FAA if they are not certificated commercial operators. Some have received written warnings from the FAA.

 

[FLvA]

Tuna - great question and feedback. Finalizing my business plan and studying up for test. Have a backlog of properties to shoot for a real estate photographer friend of mine. She has clients she shoots the insides of the homes for but needs someone to shoot aerials..I also envision providing construction monitoring services and hope to be able to grow to provide accurate aerial mapping capabilities to download in to my AGTEK three dimensional modeling software.

 

[Richk]

I have a gentleman in my area that owns a ski area. He picked up a cheap Phantom thinking he could do a similar thing. We checked with the FAA and he was told that because he was part owner in the business any photos he took of the bussiness and posted on the web would be commercial and the fine would be around $10,000. At that point it's far cheaper to get your 107 just to be on the safe side, but the downside of that is that you are now commercial whenever you fly and you must follow those regs

 

[Ty Pilot]

I have a gentleman in my area that owns a ski area. He picked up a cheap Phantom thinking he could do a similar thing. We checked with the FAA and he was told that because he was part owner in the business any photos he took of the bussiness and posted on the web would be commercial and the fine would be around $10,000. At that point it's far cheaper to get your 107 just to be on the safe side, but the downside of that is that you are now commercial whenever you fly and you must follow those regs

Actually the FAA looks at UAV operations on a flight by flight basis. If you are a 107 or 333 holder, you may fly as a hobbyist but must stay within the rules framework for hobby use during that entire flight and likewise if you are flying under part 107 then you must stay within the part 107 rules for the duration of that flight and same goes for 333 holders.

Pat

 

[FlushVision]

Actually the FAA looks at UAV operations on a flight by flight basis. If you are a 107 or 333 holder, you may fly as a hobbyist but must stay within the rules framework for hobby use during that entire flight and likewise if you are flying under part 107 then you must stay within the part 107 rules for the duration of that flight and same goes for 333 holders.

Pat

Similar in the U.K. If the flight is not commercial in nature, then it is deemed as recreational under hobby rules. Also worth noting that (as far as I know...certainly it is the case for my commercial insurance) commercial insurance won't cover you for a hobby flight, so if you want insurance to cover your hobby flight you need separate insurance for that (U.K.)

 

[Ty Pilot]

Good to know FlushVision. I am putting together a commercial operation as a side business and have only glanced at insurance options as yet.

Pat