Starting from scratch! Hello!

[Dronosaurus]

Hello everyone,

My day job is flying for a major airline, but now I seem to have a lot of extra time on my hands. I have my 107 certificate, an LLC where I do aviation consulting for business development, safety management systems, and flight ops training, and I'd like to add some drone photo/inspection services to my offerings as well.

I have zero experience with professional photography, and zero experience using drones, though I am a motivated and quick study.

I haven't yet purchased anything - currently caught in the analysis paralysis phase. But I have narrowed it down to the Mavic 2 Air and Mavic Pro 2. I will also need a new computer (currently use a 2014 Macbook) and probably photo software...but I'm getting ahead of myself. I'm looking at this as a marathon and not a sprint, but the amount of information out there is overwhelming, which is why I'm here.

Any guidance/wisdom/anecdotes/advice is much appreciated, and I hope to be able to return the favor someday.

Thanks for letting me join the community!
DS

 

[dirkclod]

Welcome to the forum.
I hope you will find our site helpful and look forward to any input , photo's/video's you might post .
Don't be shy and ask anything if you can't find it by searching .

 

[BigAl07]

Welcome to the forum

You might find some valuable resources over at:

Commercial Drone Pilots Forum

Commercial Drone, UAV, UAS Industry Discussions

commercialdronepilots.com

My suggestions:

A) Spend a lot of time learning photography and getting very good at flying the UAS in precise and safe manners. You want your final product to Stand Out from the crowd in every way possible.
B) Don' spend a lot of $$ on equipment up front if you don't have to. As your needs grow add to your equipment but you don't need the latest and greatest to make #$$.
C) Find a NICHE of the industry and become VERY GOOD at that niche and avoid "I can do this, this, this, this, this and if you can think of it I can try to do that too". Pick an area and exploit to become the Subject Matter Expert in that NICHE.

 

[zeusfl]

Welcome to the forum.
Here at Mavic Pilots you will find plenty help and answers for your questions. Don't hesitate asking.

 

[wjkrysak]

Welcome to the forum. You will find helpful advice and support here. We look forward to your participation and seeing your part of the world.

 

[pelagic_one]

Welcome to the forum! You’ve got a head start on many of the aspiring commercial UAS pilots here, since you’ve got the 107 cert, the aviation industry background, and a small business vehicle to get started.

I have learned that commercial organizations like Dronebase want their pilots flying M2P or Phantom 4 Pro (they haven’t certified Mavic Air 2 yet), but a MA2 would be great for you to perform inspections and photo services. The Commercial Drone Pilots forum will bring you lots of applicable advice.

Have fun with whatever you choose to fly!

 

[MA2 317]

Hello from the Hoosier Heartland Dronosaurus.

Welcome to the Forum.

 

[old man mavic]

welcome to the forum

 

[Thomas B]

Welcome to the forum from the deserts of Arizona! Enjoy.

 

[THE CYBORG]

Hi Dronosaurus Welcome to Mavic Pilots

 

[mrjohnc1]

Welcome!

 

[Drone Master]

Welcome to Mavic Pilots! Enjoy the forum!

 

[Dronosaurus]

Thanks for the warm welcomes!

 

[Flying Grandma]

Welcome from Texas, I’m crazy for my Air2, but that’s just me, and my first drone.

 

[Steel63]

Greetings from ? Florida choose a drone that's rite for you there are a lot of videos on utube . I love my ma2 I had a mav mini wich I sold that to is a great drone .choose wisely .

 

[Laborous]

Welcome to the forum from the beautiful woods of Maine!

 

[Chetk7677]

Welcome from Florida.

 

[Mavic Mac]

@Dronosaurus
Welcome to the forums - a lot of good info here. So, take a look around and hope you enjoy some of the fine photography and information posted by the members.

Also, if you haven't done so yet, consider getting the AirMap and KittyHawk apps. I also suggest this Visualize it: See FAA UAS Data on a Map

You may also want to check out the sister forum CommercialDronePilots and Russ Still's video on starting a drone business HERE

 

[Hauptmann]

Whatever you fly, you're welcome here!

 

[SpitFire]

Welcome to the Forum from Chicago the Windy City.
What ever you fly, learn to fly the drone first. Speaking for my self, I had to take classes to learn about drones, how they work. Sounds like you have a head start on that, also a quick learner. You can start by looking up info in Mavic Help and Mavic tips. Study the manuals carefully. Choosing the right drone for you, only you can decide that. Here is the reason to choose wisely.Take for instance the MM, its a great little drone. But the MM does not benefit from having Ocusync, which means its signal is more prone to interference from high WIFI areas. And, other interference, its primary role is to fly as a selfie camera, never designed to fly long distance. Now the Phantom 4 pro has a duel band Ocusync transmission system 2.4ghz/5ghz helps with more stable transmission.Other DJI drones as well. Also, has a very good on board camera.
And, check on line for a check list for your drone. No different then flying the big planes, I have six check list. 1. Pre flight check list (at base)
2. Preflight checklist (in field). 3. Takeoff procedure. 4. After takeoff procedure. 5. After landing check list. 6.Emergency procedure. > VERY IMPORTANT.
Keeping checking this forum daily, you can learn a lot from other pilots mistakes.
So, when you get your bird, keep the rotors pointing up, Fly Safe.