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Delta | I am considering starting a small business using a drone to image, collect data, map, consult in MS. What legal obstacles do I need to be aware of? Cost of licensing? Anything id need go to know from a commercial standpoint since this will be a business?
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Des Moines, IA | There are two large hurdles if you want to fly UAS commercially.
1) Getting a Section 333 exemption. You need to file this with the FAA with all of the info on your UAS as well as your intended uses to get your exemption. This will allow you to fly the craft commercially.
2) Part of the 333 is having a licensed pilot at every commercial flight. This is usually the biggest hurdle for someone wanting to start a commercial drone business. |
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| Part 107 is supposed to be out in June of this year, outlining the requirements for flying UAS commercially. The 333 is a temporary solution, Part 107 is the permanent solution. *IF* it does go into place in June, your 333 wouldn't even be approved before that happens.
That being said, you need to turn in your 333 right now. Today. This will definitely be the hangup, and you don't want to wait until you're ready to apply for it. I think their approval time is at around 6-7 months now.
Other obstacles, just off the top of my head-
You need a licensed (at least sport) pilot
You need commercial insurance for any legitimate job. We weren't able to book any big gigs until we got this taken care of. Transport Risk Management is who we use, and I like them a lot.
You need backups for everything. Cameras, drones, batteries, etc.
You need to check the airspace around the areas that you're expecting most of your business. We get a lot of requests for fields within 5nm of an airport, and it's too much of a hassle right now to try to get permission to fly those.
Depending on what you're doing, you might need a lot of software. I know that there are only a handful of jobs where I could have gotten by using online services only.
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| One more thing - there is a company in MS that has been primarily focused on real estate photography, but we've been helping them get geared up for mapping. They're all current or prior service military and I think most of them are pilots. One of them is experienced in GIS. They are insured and have a 333 exemption. If you're interested in teaming up with them, I'm sure they'd be open to working with someone with a background in agriculture. If you guys can work something out, using their existing 333 and pilots could save you A LOT of headache.
Mods - please remove this if it violates the site TOS.
The company is Soaring Eagle Aerial Imaging, and the owner is Will Paden.
http://soaringeagleimaging.com/
Tell him you're willing to work with him if he promises to change the horrible background on his website. :)
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Eastern Shore of MD | Some more questions are how small of an operation are you looking to set up and what is your experience with UAS and this type of imagery? What type of platform are you looking to use (multi-copter or fixed wing) and what is your working capital or budget? I will admit, I wanted to do exactly what you are talking about but there is a LOT more to it than buying a drone and flying it. You may be much better equipped and more knowledgeable than me (not hard to do) - but I just thought I'd bring these issues up. |
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Commercial UAS in MS
