I passed my test in 2017, so I am a sUAV pilot! I thought I would pass along my experience if you are interested. \u00a0I will say, I think it is a good idea that people have to go through this whole process, and in fact, I would almost suggest a hobbyist have to go though it as well, given the consequences of someone doing something stupid with another plane in the sky….but that is for another day. \u00a0I did learn a lot and have a good appreciation for why there is a need for this process.<\/p>\n
Studying.<\/strong> \u00a0I started to read some different documents (like the Pilots Handbook), but could barely keep myself awake. \u00a0So I finally broke down and bought access to a video tutorial site. \u00a0I used these guys. \u00a0http:\/\/remotepilot101.com<\/a> \u00a0Jason does a great job going through the material and emphasizing what is important and what is likely to be on the test. \u00a0It is $149 and well worth it because you will need to retake the test every 2 years and your initial purchase covers you for future years. After each section there are sample questions, that look very similar to the real test questions. There is a final exam at the end as well. \u00a0Here is my drone tutorial<\/a> I created. \u00a0But to get the full effect you need to buy the video course and then you can understand\u00a0what these are all about.<\/p>\n This is all I did<\/em>.<\/strong> \u00a0I would suggest reading at least the summary to the Part 107 rules & regulations. \u00a0There are a few questions about eligibility. \u00a0 Here are some helpful resources:<\/p>\n Taking the test.<\/strong> \u00a0You need to go to an official testing station to take the computer test.<\/p>\n Getting the Remote Pilot License.<\/strong> \u00a0Register and then go through the process here\u00a0iacra.faa.gov<\/a>. Note – you need the Knowledge Test ID and this is not available until 48 hours after your test…I guess someone needs to put in a punch card or something into the old government computers…<\/p>\n I finalized my application at\u00a0iacra.faa.gov<\/a>. \u00a0The process was a little clunky, but it found my test and you digitally sign the documents. So, I believe at this point I am an official Drone Pilot! \u00a0Not that I will be doing a lot, but given I run the company I thought it would be good to have the knowledge and capability…and hey, I have to admit, it is fun (except when there is a fly away…which I did experience playing around at Weatherby Lake). \u00a0Remember the return to home button.<\/strong><\/p>\n After a few days you can log back in and print off your temporary certificate!<\/strong> \u00a0You do not need to wait to fly to get yours in the mail.<\/p>\n One last thing I thought was funny. \u00a0One of the test questions involved my home town in Iowa – Onawa. \u00a0Population 3000. \u00a0What are the odds of that??? \u00a0I thought it was destiny that I should become a Drone Pilot, aka DronebyCone.<\/p>\n Getting a Drone.<\/strong> In the Seattle area, we have 4 different drones.\u00a0 Two DJI\u00a0Phantom 3 Advanced<\/a>\u00a0and two DJI\u00a0Mavic Pros<\/a>.\u00a0 Based on my experience, the Mavic is easier to use and there is less risk of it losing connection and having the drone go crazy.\u00a0 DJI is to come out with an update to the Mavic soon (as of April 2018), so I may get one of those.\u00a0 DJI, Amazon or eBay are good sources to buy.\u00a0 If you buy the drone other than from the DJI website, you can still buy the DJI Care, which is crash protection but you need to activate it BEFORE you ever fly. Check our their service options here<\/a>.\u00a0 I am not sure you really need 4K video since most computers are NOT 4K and 60% of users are on mobile anyway.\u00a0 But the Mavic does shoot in 4K video and good photo size.<\/p>\n Insurance.<\/strong> \u00a0To work with FloorPlanOnline, you need insurance. I would imagine the larger brokerages will require some kind of coverage as well. \u00a0I am investigating options, including a possibility to have an overall umbrella policy to cover all activities within our network. I was told this group www.modelaircraft.org<\/a>\u00a0comes with $2.5 million of liability insurance, but when you look at the details<\/a>, it DOES NOT cover business pursuits<\/strong>. \u00a0So investigating other options. \u00a0I found an app called Verifly<\/a> where you can buy insurance on demand for $10-$25 for 1 hour within 1\/2 mile radius of your flight (price varies based on where you are and the risk to them). \u00a0So this might be a good option starting out. \u00a0I have read some other posts that insurance can run $800 to $1000 per year and one of our providers mentioned a renewal bill for $1500! \u00a0So, price accordingly! \u00a0Your break even on number of jobs at $10 each for insurance is 120 or so…<\/p>\n Preflight Checklist.<\/strong> \u00a0As I am helping out as the PIC before our Seattle provider Christine gets certified, my first job was to be today. \u00a0Well, like a good certified PIC, I first checked the airspace, and low and behold, the area I was going to shoot in is a class D space that is controlled from the ground to 2500 feet! \u00a0So, I had to refresh myself on the process AND get approval from the Renton ATC. \u00a0 Note…the new process is you have to submit an airspace authorization through the FAA’s website. \u00a0There is a small UAV button on the main page that takes you to this form https:\/\/www.faa.gov\/uas\/request_waiver\/<\/a> \u00a0you have to fill out IF you need airspace authorization. So I thought I would just include this in a checklist that could be used every time. See my Checklist.<\/a> \u00a0Feel free to print it out or request a copy.<\/p>\n If the first item comes back you will be in a class G, then you can stop and go shoot after checking the Notams\/weather, but otherwise, you need to get clearance. \u00a0It turns out a lot of high priced property (like all of Mercer Island, WA) is included in Class D airspace in the Seattle area as you can see. \u00a0The dashed blue line means Class D airspace and the [25] means it is from the surface to 2500 feet. So to fly in these areas you must get clearance to be legal. \u00a0It is a good idea to go to Skyvector<\/a> and just look around the areas you normally will serve to get a feel for what kind of airspace you will be dealing with. \u00a0If we do a lot of Mercer Island stuff, it will become a pain in the butt fast having to call every time…and the 90 days in advance thing does not fly with real estate, so warn your clients of the possibility of reshoots! \u00a0But hey…we are being legal and I know I do not look good in an orange jump suit.<\/p>\n That is about it. I think there is lots of opportunity to provide some cool aerial images, videos and even expand the services of what we do and who we work with. \u00a0So get going, start studying and get your remote pilot license!<\/p>\n How to sell it.\u00a0 We are rolling out a new order from that can merchandise anything you might want to sell.\u00a0 We are experimenting in Seattle with some custom videos.\u00a0 You can see some examples of the videos on our Vimeo channel:\u00a0https:\/\/vimeo.com\/floorplanonline<\/a>\u00a0 If you want to provide this kind of content we can leverage our production group, and when the new order from comes to your market, it will be part of the order flow. Contact us for questions there.<\/p>\n Cheers,<\/p>\n Kris Cone<\/p>\n Drone Pilot, FloorPlanOnline jack of all trades.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Drone Photography<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n With the changes to the FAA rules, it is now much more cost effective to become an FAA certified small UAV pilot. \u00a0This post details my experience of becoming an official sUAV certified pilot.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":16281,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","wpai_generated_summary":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"wpai_meta_description":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1162,1266,1179],"tags":[1263,1264,1265],"class_list":["post-16280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-listing-tools","category-service-provider","category-technology-tools","tag-aerial","tag-drone","tag-remote-pilot"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n
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