Volunteer Drone Services--Are there enough pilots out there?

[dave canada]

here in the badlands of NM hell yes i,ll be glad to help

 

[Milo187]

Most volunteer positions wouldn’t insure your equipment, its a donation on your part.

Obviously which is why It’s unlikely I would hang $1000 worth of equipment out there unless I was making money or fully insured because it is my money maker and can’t afford the loss.

 

[AMann]

Obviously which is why It’s unlikely I would hang $1000 worth of equipment out there unless I was making money or fully insured because it is my money maker and can’t afford the loss.

Sorry its that way for you, I have a day job too.

 

[Milo187]

If I was independently wealthy I would but I need to be realistic and I do have a day job. I’m not saying I wouldn’t because I have a will but it has to be for the right situation and potential for more business as a result.

 

[AMann]

If I was independently wealthy I would but I need to be realistic and I do have a day job. I’m not saying I wouldn’t because I have a will but it has to be for the right situation and potential for more business as a result.

I don’t make enough as a part-time teacher either, and my wife works by contracts and not between them, we just really experience a lot of personal rewards and have fun together doing the pro bono stuff.

But it also has to do with the recipient- are they a worthy cause? Else we wouldn’t do it either.

 

[dsmith76]

One of the downsides to our great drone technology, it makes it cheap and easy to get a potentially dangerous machine flying around the sky. This unfortunately masks the complexity of operating a drone safely, a whole different discussion. Having an inexperienced volunteer flying a drone around a rescue operation, fire, flood etc. Can be a serious hazard, not just to those brave professional soles performing the rescue but also the victims. A drone over 250grams is not a toy.

I think we need to keep in mind that volunteers can also be experienced volunteers.

 

[dsmith76]

Or doing it for science/social philanthropy? E.g., I’ve made free maps for a university archaeological research project, and also helped them search for rock art and sites in inaccessible areas with my drone.

My family is also volunteering our time over Labor Day weekend to help with a archaeological study for the National Park Service. This includes our professional experience, as my wife is a professional archaeologist and I’ve worked as a archaeological field technician, and the use of our photography and pole and drone aerial photography (with my own equipment).

Had not thought of that type of volunteer service. Thanks so much for your inputs.

 

[AMann]

Had not thought of that type of volunteer service. Thanks so much for your inputs.

Try this link:

VolunteerMatch - Where Volunteering Begins

to find opportunities- the Civil Air Patrol may be one you are interested in if you like flying (don’t have to be a pilot) and helping people, or also try your local county or state park, or a nearby National Park, BLM or National Forest.

 

[AnzacJack]

Yes, I'd be interested in this type of flying, and I'm Part 107. Droning just for the sake of droning becomes a tad boring at times, so having a mission with a purpose is appealing. I used to do Angel Flights when I had a bit more time. This involve transporting patients to a hospital, typically for cancer treatments, in my aircraft. These patients often didn't have the financial means to arrange for paid transport, or were otherwise unable to avail themselves of "standard" transportation.
Legally, I can do this type of flying without having a commercial license, so I'm scratching my head a bit on why flying a drone for purely volunteer reasons would require a Part 107. If it's quid pro quo (Clarice) then I get it, but if it's just out of the goodness of my heart, then I wonder.
If anyone knows of sites where I can sign up to "get on the list," I'd happily do that!

I have also worked with angel flight. The big thing is that no one is profiting from this flight, whereas if you where droning for someone that would use footage/pic etc for a business, it equates to someone making a $ from the operation.

 

[Paul WIngfield]

I am interested in finding out if either Part 107 UAS or hobby pilots would be willing to volunteer their drone services to consumers, and perhaps small businesses. The background for this question is that, anecdotally, there seems to be a lot of drone enthusiasts that have trouble finding safe, legal places to fly, and would even volunteer their services if it gave them a great opportunity to use their drone for a useful purpose, without payment. Please reply to this post by giving feedback on whether or not you would be willing to use/fly your drone as a volunteer. Assume that all you had to do is provided raw photos or unedited video footage. Although the types of services offered would evolve, assume that a consumer simply wanted aerial photos of their home, vacation property, boat, RV, or other recreational equipment, etc. for their own personal reasons: share on social media, vanity, bragging rights, or selling their home or property. Realtors would obviously be interested in free photos, but let's exclude them from this question.

There are obviously plenty of legal and regulatory questions, but please ignore those for now. Assume your volunteer services would comply with all relevant laws and regulations.

Would you volunteer? If so, how often or how many times?

Thanks for the feedback.

Dave

Hi,
I live in London UK and already volunteer. I use my Mavic Air to scan parks in my area for lost dogs. However, the rules in the UK are so strict now that we can't actually search anywhere in towns and villages because we have a safety zone of 500ft (YES 500ft!).
The UK's CAA are he'll bent on wiping out hobby flying here.
At the moment they're expecting us to spend around $20 per year to register our drones just so we can fly them out in the fields, because we can't fly them near our homes, so I'm not sure that I'll even still be flying, this time next year.

 

[blubyyou]

I am interested in finding out if either Part 107 UAS or hobby pilots would be willing to volunteer their drone services to consumers, and perhaps small businesses. The background for this question is that, anecdotally, there seems to be a lot of drone enthusiasts that have trouble finding safe, legal places to fly, and would even volunteer their services if it gave them a great opportunity to use their drone for a useful purpose, without payment. Please reply to this post by giving feedback on whether or not you would be willing to use/fly your drone as a volunteer. Assume that all you had to do is provided raw photos or unedited video footage. Although the types of services offered would evolve, assume that a consumer simply wanted aerial photos of their home, vacation property, boat, RV, or other recreational equipment, etc. for their own personal reasons: share on social media, vanity, bragging rights, or selling their home or property. Realtors would obviously be interested in free photos, but let's exclude them from this question.

There are obviously plenty of legal and regulatory questions, but please ignore those for now. Assume your volunteer services would comply with all relevant laws and regulations.

Would you volunteer? If so, how often or how many times?

Thanks for the feedback.

Dave
[email protected]

I would volunteer as often as I had time. I LOVE to fly, fly well and shoot reasonably good video/stills. You are right about having NOWHERE to legally fly. I can't even start my motors in my own backyard!

 

[chrisstratton]

Sorry if I missed it, but would like to know how this might (or not) get around the DJI geofencing?

 

[BlueKale]

It’s worth noting that the Fair Labor Standards Act generally prohibits US businesses from accepting volunteer labor, with some exceptions made for non-profit businesses. A reasonable overview is at:

https://hrdailyadvisor.blr.com/2018/01/04/can-accept-volunteer-labor/

 

[dsmith76]

It’s worth noting that the Fair Labor Standards Act generally prohibits US businesses from accepting volunteer labor, with some exceptions made for non-profit businesses. A reasonable overview is at:
Can You Accept Volunteer Labor? - HR Daily Advisor

Thanks for the info. I’ll check it out.

 

[PunaPhantom]

I think it's a great idea.
Please also look into organising volunteer plumbers. electricians, mechanics, accountants, doctors etc to do stuff for me.

Best answer yet - I was going to chime in when I first read this.... but you all have said it so more eloquently with just the right touch of sarcasm... I am way too crude.

 

[irpnetgb]

Short answer - I'm in the UK and for emergency purposes I would be happy to donate my time and drone to help out for free.
Long answer - yes! (see what I did there!)

 

[marin849]

I have done it in the way you describe for friends and neighbours, mostly for fun and not commercial use. To provide "a service" in some kind of organized way to people you don't know is something else and is nothing I would do. It definetly requires the right paperwork and insurance etc.

In Sweden it is not allowed to fly missions for someone else without the correct paperwork (just as the US). But in these cases it was more or "I fly around a bit for fun while I'm visiting and oh I got some pictures of your house during the flight, do you want a copy? "-type of thing, so I don't see it as a problem that there might or might not have been a more or less defined purpose with the flight.

There is also a big difference between "I decide when I think its fun and I have time and want to"-flying and beeing expected to deliver a service.

 

[WithTheBirds]

You want to provide commercial services for free to people- great. You engage the contractors and pay their invoices.

 

[HighlandsVideo]

I have volunteered by flying services to my community and others and would gladly do so every opportunity I might have. A reason to exercise my skills and the abilities of my fleet is always welcome.

 

[RayKelly]

I am interested in finding out if either Part 107 UAS or hobby pilots would be willing to volunteer their drone services to consumers, and perhaps small businesses. The background for this question is that, anecdotally, there seems to be a lot of drone enthusiasts that have trouble finding safe, legal places to fly, and would even volunteer their services if it gave them a great opportunity to use their drone for a useful purpose, without payment. Please reply to this post by giving feedback on whether or not you would be willing to use/fly your drone as a volunteer. Assume that all you had to do is provided raw photos or unedited video footage. Although the types of services offered would evolve, assume that a consumer simply wanted aerial photos of their home, vacation property, boat, RV, or other recreational equipment, etc. for their own personal reasons: share on social media, vanity, bragging rights, or selling their home or property. Realtors would obviously be interested in free photos, but let's exclude them from this question.

There are obviously plenty of legal and regulatory questions, but please ignore those for now. Assume your volunteer services would comply with all relevant laws and regulations.

Would you volunteer? If so, how often or how many times?

Thanks for the feedback.

Dave

I would volunteer to assist Law Enforcement and for Search & Rescue. I would do it as needed if available.