Planning on being a commercial drone pilot ?

[Jagerbomb52]

You might want to look this over.

https://dronedj.com/2018/05/21/comm...s-90-of-revenue-due-to-increased-competition/

 

[gwhuntoon]

Yeah, the same thing happened to commercial full size heli and plane pilots. Why rent a full size heli/plane and pilot when a drone and pilot will do, then the drone industry turned in on itself and continues to feed. Supply and Demand. This is basically why I haven't considered quitting my day job for a Part 107 yet. Technology always seems to drive these changes good or bad. Remember the video rental business? How about making a long distance call, using a pay phone, mailing a letter, reading a newspaper, buying from a store, VHS tapes? This is just more of the same.

 

[FlushVision]

What is killing it for us commercial operators in the U.K. is mainly caused by unlicensed (hobby) flyers doing paid jobs that are vastly undercutting the legal operators. I'm sure there must be some of then that have been found out and prosecuted but I personally know of no-one who had been brought to book. As far as I know, the CAA doesn't actively try to track down these operators saying that it's the job of the police...but the police are already hard pressed due to government cut-backs on funding.

How can I compete with a hobby pilot operating without commercial insurance or other business overheads who is willing to chuck his aircraft up in the air for a swift £10 in his back pocket?