Drones are revolutionizing the industrial sector. Asset owners and project managers are recognizing the value of drone services in construction, renewable energy, bridge inspections, and more.
But many don’t know where to start when it comes to how to hire a drone pilot. It’s not as simple as just buying a drone. You need someone with the right license and experience for your project.
There are a lot of drone services out there. And they offer varying levels of skill, equipment, and data. To ensure you get the deliverables and quality you need, you need to avoid making the following 5 mistakes:
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1. Not Confirming They Have a Drone License
The first thing you need to do is verify a drone pilot’s license. Since 2016, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued commercial drone licenses to anyone who passes a knowledge test. The test requires knowing all Part 107 rules for flying small unmanned aircraft systems, which include operating within visual line of sight (VLOS) and yielding right of way.
If a pilot doesn’t have their FAA license, they are operating their drone illegally and both they and you could incur steep fines for hiring them.
FAA PART 107 LICENSE
The best thing to do is always ask for a copy of the pilot’s FAA commercial license to be sure they have one. Then you can keep it for your records as well.
2. Hiring Inexperienced Pilots
Just because someone has their FAA license, however, doesn’t necessarily mean they have the right experience. Before you hire a licensed drone pilot, you should take a look at their sample work. They should have a vast portfolio of photos and videos to show you. If not, you may want to hire someone more experienced.
Check out their reviews and ratings to make sure past clients were happy with their work. You can even compare multiple drone pilots to ensure you get the one with the most experience with your project type.
Once you narrow down a prospect, ask them these questions:
- How long have you been in the business? The number of years a drone pilot has been working in the industry will give you a good first impression of how qualified they are.
- Do you have experience with this type of project? Make sure they have the right skill set for the specific job.
- Have you ever crashed your drone before? Most pilots have crashed their drone at some point, even if it was only while practice flying. If a drone pilot says they’ve never crashed, they’re probably lying or this is one of their first jobs.
- What are your standard operating procedures? It’s vital that your drone pilot has automated workflows and a plan for when things go wrong, like backup equipment.
- Do you perform a risk assessment before each flight? A risk assessment will help ensure everyone stays safe during the drone flight. Every professional drone pilot should perform a risk assessment to determine whether a flight should take place or be canceled.
- Do you know the local airspace regulations and flight restrictions? Some areas fall into controlled airspace, where special authorization or waivers are required to fly drones. A drone pilot should have extensive knowledge of flying within restricted airspace.
If your drone pilot can answer all these questions satisfactorily, you can rest assured that you’re talking with an experienced professional.
“Ask the pilot what airspace they are flying in if you don’t know already, and be aware that flying near airports requires special permission from the FAA. They should be able to show you that they have received the proper authority to do so, if necessary.”
- Austin at Global Air Media
3. Not Asking for Proof of Insurance
In worst case scenarios, a drone could crash into another building, expensive equipment, or even humans. So you’ll need to make sure that your drone pilot is covered with the necessary liability and hull insurance in case anything goes wrong.
Liability insurance provides protection against claims of damage or injury, while hull insurance covers damage to the drone itself. For some high risk projects, you may even need extra coverage. Remember, one mistake could destroy or damage your asset. So it’s very important that the drone pilot is insured.
Whatever you do, request a copy of the pilot’s insurance policy so you can have proof. That way, you can review the policy to see what exactly is covered and know that you won’t be held responsible for any issues down the road.
What's included in the PDF...
The key elements to look for in a professional drone pilot.
How to avoid government fines and personal liability.
What a drone license is, and how to confirm a pilot has one.
4. Hiring the Lowest Bidder
Though hiring the lowest bidder may seem like a good deal at first, it rarely has the lowest long-term cost. By hiring a low budget drone pilot, you risk hiring someone who will use cheap equipment or cut corners.
Once you factor in the costs from repairs and adjustments to a poorly done job, it’s cheaper to hire someone who charges more. After all, the price usually reflects the quality.
Your done pilot should have high-quality gear, including the right cameras, lenses, and sensors for your project. Make sure they have the right crew and software resources as well.
A drone pilot who offers low-priced services may still be looking to put experience under their belt. But if you don’t want to be their guinea-pig, it’s better to go with a more expensive drone service.
5. Not Confirming the Deliverables You’ll be Getting
Finally, you need to confirm the deliverables you expect to receive. Paying for something that isn’t exactly what you wanted is incredibly frustrating. So be sure to request a detailed contract that outlines exactly what the deliverables will be and in what format you will get them.
You want to know what drones and software will be used, what types of images you will get (thermal, RGB, cloud point etc.), and what the reports will look like. That way, there won’t be any unpleasant surprises when the project is over.
Also be sure to specify in what format you would like to receive the digital files. For example, do you want them shared with you over the cloud on Google Drive or Dropbox? Or do you want them to be issued to you on a USB drive or hard drive? Either way, make sure it’s clear what you expect.
Hire a Trustworthy Drone Services Company
If you follow the above steps, you’ll be off to a good start with finding the right drone service for your next project. And to learn more, you can check out our free guide to hiring a drone pilot. It goes into more detail on all of the things we covered in this article.
Here at The Drone Life, our FAA licensed pilots have years of experience in industries ranging from construction to solar. If you have a project in mind, feel free to schedule a free consultation with one of our drone experts today.
