As a 107 holder, would you accept this drone job contract?

[AMann]

​

Description: Night time video and photos of parking lot lights. Commercial lighting upgrade. Before and after video and photos of parking lot lighting project. First set (before video/pics) must be done before 10/31 Second set (after video/pics) completed in December 2019 Service: Other Budget: $600.00 Specific Date: Not Specified Pilots Need: One Job Type: One Off

​

Here’s the sectional for the job location. There’s a few issues related to the job, besides it being 2 miles south of French Valley Airport:

​

I know what I would do, what do you think? (I am bidding on it, but I’ll post what I am proposing to them after some had a chance to discuss it here).

 

[BigAl07]

Absolutely I WOULD so long as I could do it SAFELY and LEGALLY and make a good profit doing it!!

Before I bid on it I'd need to know the "shoot list" they are looking for and how much editing they will require. The price sounds decent but if they need a lot of editing etc your $$$ per hour can go down significantly.

 

[AMann]

Absolutely I WOULD so long as I could do it SAFELY and LEGALLY and make a good profit doing it!!

Before I bid on it I'd need to know the "shoot list" they are looking for and how much editing they will require. The price sounds decent but if they need a lot of editing etc your $$$ per hour can go down significantly.

What about 107.29?

 

[BigAl07]

What about 107.29?

Of course. That's part of the "legally" portion of my reply.

 

[AMann]

And they want it shot by 10/31! I’m proposing it to them using my 30ft pole camera. Watching this job though, it is only 1/2 hour away from me.

 

[BigAl07]

And they want it shot by 10/31! I’m proposing it to them using my 30ft pole camera. Watching this job though, it is only 1/2 hour away from me.

If you don't have ~107.29 apply for it (today) and worse case find someone with it and pay them a "Fee" to utilize it for this shoot. Just don't give them any of the details until you have a signed contract both ways.

 

[AMann]

If you don't have ~107.29 apply for it (today) and worse case find someone with it and pay them a "Fee" to utilize it for this shoot. Just don't give them any of the details until you have a signed contract both ways.

Have those waivers gotten any easier to fill out? I posted some examples of some applications here Nighttime Waiver samples (107.29 - US only) before and they were writing nightmares! But you are right- having a 107.29 waiver could make one a lot more competitive and profitable in the business.

 

[BigAl07]

Have those waivers gotten any easier to fill out? I posted some examples of some applications here before and they were writing nightmares! But you are right- having a 107.29 waiver could make one a lot more competitive and profitable in the business.

Honestly they aren't any easier to write but they are getting approved quicker and more regularly.

Even if you don't get it for "this" project I think it's a very wise decision for any legit operation to have it in your portfolio going forward.

 

[AMann]

Ok, what the heck? I put it off before but I will try it - I will post how the waiver app goes and how the bid goes too. I figure I will just use those examples I posted and tweak them a bit instead of reinventing the wheel. Thanks for the pep talk!

 

[hansinla]

That is a low ball offer for a two day shoot.
Shoot it at the end of twilight to keep some definition in the sky, otherwise it's just a dark hole with artificial lights.

 

[AMann]

That is a low ball offer for a two day shoot.
Shoot it at the end of twilight to keep some definition in the sky, otherwise it's just a dark hole with artificial lights.

yeah, it will probably go to the lowest bidder without a waiver too.

 

[bktodd80]

Definitely get a Statement of Work sent with the proposal response as to exactly what you will provide. This one screams scope creep and "you didn't do exactly how we wanted you to do it, so we won't pay you as much." I've been writing and winning government/enterprise contracts for years and the devil is in the details.

 

[Mavic Mac]

@AMann - I never applied for a waiver, and it sounds like you may have, but I came across this - don't know if it helps.

This is a representative sample of an approved waiver application

 

[spamgnome]

Thinking outside the box...what happens from a legal perspective if you tether the drone to the ground?

 

[TampaTC]

Thinking outside the box...what happens from a legal perspective if you tether the drone to the ground?

Tethering still requires all the FAA requirements. Daylight waiver ECT.

 

[BigAl07]

And they want it shot by 10/31! I’m proposing it to them using my 30ft pole camera. Watching this job though, it is only 1/2 hour away from me.

Will 30' get the type of data they are looking for?

We've done this for a parking area and sports complex. Their lights were on poles over 50' high. They wanted fairly high alt pics so they could see the dark areas before and the light coverage improvement after.

That is a low ball offer for a two day shoot.
Shoot it at the end of twilight to keep some definition in the sky, otherwise it's just a dark hole with artificial lights.

I'm not sure they are looking for "Aesthetic" shots but gathering DATA for BEFORE & AFTER of the project unless I missed something.

Thinking outside the box...what happens from a legal perspective if you tether the drone to the ground?

It's still under Part 107 regulations.

 

[TampaTC]

Definitely get a Statement of Work sent with the proposal response as to exactly what you will provide. This one screams scope creep and "you didn't do exactly how we wanted you to do it, so we won't pay you as much." I've been writing and winning government/enterprise contracts for years and the devil is in the details.

You said exactly what I was thinking. I have shot lighting evaluation photography may years ago. I was up front and told the client I can make the photos have adequate lighting by keeping the shutter open longer. I showed them 5 different shots with just the shutter speed difference. They regrouped and had me shoot each shot 3 times at 3 different speeds. I did get a 10% increase in pay for the shoot for added service.
I would also rent a manlift (like a 40 foot boom lift) that's how I would do my Aerials LOL. Some shots I just went to the roof of a building.

 

[AMann]

Thinking outside the box...what happens from a legal perspective if you tether the drone to the ground?

Go figure, a camera on a 30-foot pole is ok, but not a camera with propellers on a power cable/tether!

 

[AMann]

You said exactly what I was thinking. I have shot lighting evaluation photography may years ago. I was up front and told the client I can make the photos have adequate lighting by keeping the shutter open longer. I showed them 5 different shots with just the shutter speed difference. They regrouped and had me shoot each shot 3 times at 3 different speeds. I did get a 10% increase in pay for the shoot for added service.
I would also rent a manlift (like a 40 foot boom lift) that's how I would do my Aerials LOL. Some shots I just went to the roof of a building.

For their budget, a manlift would be too much. I cant imagine why they dont do the pics themselves since they are putting lights in and must have a man lift on site, except for maybe they want pics from high up showing the entire lot. Anyways, I am also proposing using a 30-ft pole camera (I use for real estate and other photography) but that may be too low as mentioned above.

 

[spamgnome]

1. Rent a plane and instructor for an hour. (should be < $150)
2. Get a really good zoom lens
3. take the aerials from the plane...you can legally fly 500' AGL