$1600 for an ortho image.

[Parkerjh]

I posted a job on Droners for an ortho image of approximately 10 acres.
I requested no processing and just the raw images.
I included both an image of the site as well as the address to avoid any confusion whatsoever.

After just 30 minutes, I received 8 quotes: all for $175 and under and one for $1600.

Not sure if someone was trying to fleece me or if there was some sort of misunderstanding:

His reply:​

Just so you know requesting an Orthomosaic Image of your requested site would require roughly 150-300 photos and post-processing software to produce the actual ortho-image.

This can not be done without the use of higher-end aircraft capable of autonomous flight.

Typically these types of outputs range in the hundreds of dollars, if not over $1000.

I would be leary of any pilot who says they could do it for less.

You can read more about what it takes to produce such outputs on our website where we cover this in detail.

https://www.xxxxxxxxxxx

You can also find more info on the subject here: https://www.xxxxxxxx

Your location is also directly across the street from the Las Vegas International Airport requiring advanced coordination with the FAA and the Air Traffic Control Tower for KLAS. This itself can take several days or weeks to gain approval. With that said, the FAA would never allow you to fly over 100' AGL max most likely, and as such an orthoimage would be the only way your could the entire facility in a single image.

We would quote you (including the airspace authorization application and additional risk mitigation necessary to gain approval) at least $1600.00.

If you have any questions I'd be happy to help, as we specialize in this type of acquisition and gaining approval to fly in restricted airspace.

As it stands, this location is inside a no-fly zone (Zero-foot LAANC Grid). The pilot and yourself would be liable for fines if caught operating in this airspace without prior permission.


All the best,
xxx


MY RESPONSE:

Thanks for the response & all the more power to you if you can ever get those rates for a single ortho.

> At 200' with 75/75 overlap, this would be less than 100 images and I was doing the processing
> This area is in a 200' LAANC and instant approval - not sure what address you were looking at
> This can be done with a drone as simple as the Mavic Mini so no advanced drone needed
> For the size of this project, the processing could be done for a couple of dollars or possibly even free on Maps Made Easy
> Why in the world would the person ordering the project be held liable for fines? That's preposterous.

 

[Meta4]

$1600 sounds expensive, but he's probably a professional and not aiming for the cheap & cheerful end of the market.
His price might be acceptable to corporate clients if he wasquoting to provide the finished ortho too.
He can ask that but you don't have to accept his quote.

A few points on your response.

> At 200' with 75/75 overlap, this would be less than 100 images and I was doing the processing

At 2000 ft and 75/75 overlap, it would take approx 130 images

> This can be done with a drone as simple as the Mavic Mini so no advanced drone needed

You cannot fly a mapping mission with precise overlaps with any of the DJI minis.
I wouldn't like to try to flay a mapping mission for 10 acres without a dedicated mapping app to manage the image capture.
The required drone would be a Phantom 4 pro or Mavic 2 pro, so not particularly sophisticated, but more sophisticated than a Mini.

> For the size of this project, the processing could be done for a couple of dollars or possibly even free on Maps Made Easy

Professional orthophoto creation is not cheap.
The standard software to do this costs >$3000

 

[Parkerjh]

Oh, LOL, I am very aware that I don't need to accept the offer. I understand being professional and charging an appropriate amount and not looking for cheap output. I fly professionally and it is my business and I am acutely aware of charging appropriate rates. An average 747 Pilot with the major airlines makes almost $200/hour. This mapping job is 1 drone battery with less than 20 minutes of flight and does not warrant $1,600. Good grief.

My 10 acre comment was rounded up. It was 90 images with Pix4D.

I made it clear in the posting that I only needed the raw images and that I was doing the processing.

Mavic Mini runs fine with DroneLink but let's be honest here: The Mavic 2 Pro or Phantom 4 are hardly the super advanced technology that this guy inferred in his response. They are $1,000 drones more or less.

OK: the software costs > $3,000? So what? You are going to make over half of the investment back in one job? Please.

This guy flat out lied MANY times. He thought he was dealing with a layman. He thought I would buy all his BS about FAA coordination, risk mitigation, complexity of the job and it being in a "no-fly zone". It was MOSTLY nonsense.

Go to site. Apply for LAANC. Fly mission in 12 minutes. Send me the images. That is not a $1,600 job.

I hire all the time (100's of jobs per year) and am acutely aware when someone is blowing smoke up my a**. Feel free to quote whatever the heck you want but please don't LIE several times when justifying your rates. It is offensive. The threatening me with fines was the chef's kiss of the whole interaction.

 

[BigAl07]

Oh, LOL, I am very aware that I don't need to accept the offer. I understand being professional and charging an appropriate amount and not looking for cheap output. I fly professionally and it is my business and I am acutely aware of charging appropriate rates. An average 747 Pilot with the major airlines makes almost $200/hour. This mapping job is 1 drone battery with less than 20 minutes of flight and does not warrant $1,600. Good grief.

My 10 acre comment was rounded up. It was 90 images with Pix4D.

I made it clear in the posting that I only needed the raw images and that I was doing the processing.

Mavic Mini runs fine with DroneLink but let's be honest here: The Mavic 2 Pro or Phantom 4 are hardly the super advanced technology that this guy inferred in his response. They are $1,000 drones more or less.

OK: the software costs > $3,000? So what? You are going to make over half of the investment back in one job? Please.

This guy flat out lied MANY times. He thought he was dealing with a layman. He thought I would buy all his BS about FAA coordination, risk mitigation, complexity of the job and it being in a "no-fly zone". It was MOSTLY nonsense.

Go to site. Apply for LAANC. Fly mission in 12 minutes. Send me the images. That is not a $1,600 job.

I hire all the time (100's of jobs per year) and am acutely aware when someone is blowing smoke up my a**. Feel free to quote whatever the heck you want but please don't LIE several times when justifying your rates. It is offensive. The threatening me with fines was the chef's kiss of the whole interaction.

Ok let's cut this pie into smaller pieces...

A) If you're looking for high quality results you'll be using something more than a Mini etc. Most people doing this type of work aren't going to be using that level of aircraft for Professional Results.

B) What resolution of images are you looking for? 200' might not result in the final resolution that most of us are used to delivering.

C) If you're looking for a low budget project maybe note that in the original description or better yet state your budget $$ amount.

D) How much time have you wasted on this interaction? Why not just ignore it since it's out of your budget/scope and go on with your day just the same?

E) If you knowing hire a UAS operator to do something outside of the FAA Rules & Regulations you are liable and possibly even more so than the UAS operator. Take for instance if you hire someone without Part 107. The UAS operator would be on the hook for roughly $1,100 per violation and the hiring entity would be liable for $11,000 per violation. I could absolutely see the same happening for an Airspace Violation etc.

F) Without doing any research on the location etc, and if no Airspace Restrictions, I would estimate I would have submitted a bid to you for Image Capture Only of about $250. If processing etc I would submit a quote of $1,250+ depending on what deliverables were needed in addition to the actual Ortho (most of my clients want more than just a large picture).

It sounds to me like a true professional submitted a quote for a project that only wanted a weekend warrior result. Maybe he was trying to upsell or maybe the original description wasn't as clear as it should have been . . . .Only you and he know the real answer there.

 

[Parkerjh]

I was very clear what I needed, just image capture for a parking lot striping job. There was absolutely nothing illegal about the flight and it was in an area that you could get instantaneous 200' LAANC approval. He tried to insinuate that it would be a complicated and time-consuming process and he would have to charge me for that. He knew the exact location, latitude longitude and address. This was a blatant ploy to rip off his customer. There was nothing professional about it. I won't take time to respond to all your other points, because he already blew his credibility by lying six times.

 

[retiredNH]

I was very clear what I needed, just image capture for a parking lot striping job. There was absolutely nothing illegal about the flight and it was in an area that you could get instantaneous 200' LAANC approval. He tried to insinuate that it would be a complicated and time-consuming process and he would have to charge me for that. He knew the exact location, latitude longitude and address. This was a blatant ploy to rip off his customer. There was nothing professional about it. I won't take time to respond to all your other points, because he already blew his credibility by lying six times.

Good grief. Stop whining. You got a bid from a pro at a pro rate. That's not what you wanted, so just walk away. Why argue with that bidder?

Also note that a true pro will ALWAYS address liability issues (fines, for example) and have language to that effect.

 

[BigAl07]

I was very clear what I needed, just image capture for a parking lot striping job. There was absolutely nothing illegal about the flight and it was in an area that you could get instantaneous 200' LAANC approval. He tried to insinuate that it would be a complicated and time-consuming process and he would have to charge me for that. He knew the exact location, latitude longitude and address. This was a blatant ploy to rip off his customer. There was nothing professional about it. I won't take time to respond to all your other points, because he already blew his credibility by lying six times.

He replied in a very professional manner. All you had to do was pick the offer that fit your budget and discard the rest. It's really that simple. It was a BID job and he placed a BID.

 

[GFields]

I'm not sure why the OP. Is it to see if $1600 is a reasonable offer among the pilots of this forum? Was it just to vent?

Whatever the case, I think the OP question has been answered pretty well. If you don't like the bid, reject it and move on.
I usually look at the client's budget amount, but I bid according to my budget. I have to make money too. So, if my bid is higher than the budgeted amount and is rejected, it doesn't bother me at all.

 

[Kilrah]

Was it just to vent?

From what I see it was simply to point out how this bidder both ignored important parts of the job description and spewed BS to justify his rate/make himself look important.

Yeah that will happen. No big deal but it's probably frustrating to OP that someone who doesn't know better might fall for it and get ripped off/scared away of commissioning the job altogether.

 

[Parkerjh]

Its not a big deal at all. I enjoy talking about the business, rates and different types of jobs. It is my profession and barring a few people that free-lance for me locally when I am too busy and remote pilots I hire, I am a one man operation and nobody else to talk to about the business. I am not bitching and moaning and it is no skin off my back if a bid comes in super high. I just thought in this case, again, this "professional" lied about what it would take to get the job done and misrepresented the airspace. I post a lot on job boards when I need to find someone for one of my clients and on the types of places - the drone provider is dealing with a layman and can say whatever they want as most clients don't know how to read a sectional chart or know what LAANC is. I am sure a couple of people enjoyed the post and all I was looking to do was have some discourse about it. If it got bees in your bonnet - terribly sorry.

 

[GFields]

This thread has run its course!

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