Hello all
So its been months since my last post, i’m finding it hard to find the time to sit down and actually write a post.
So the winter has been horrendous as a drone operator. Partly due to the weather, which will always be an issue living in the UK, but mainly because of my approach to the industry last year.
Ive made some mistakes and i’m learning from them
First mistake i made; focusing on the wrong businesses.
I was luckily enough to work with all the golf courses in my area. This was great for my showreel and to earn some money, but once the business has aerial images of their course, they wont need them doing again, possibly for years.
I worked with about 8 of my local hotels, conference centres and health clubs, again, these companies dont require much repeat business.
Crystal Palace, Sunderland, Huddersfield, Sheffield Wednesday and United, Rotherham and even the FA at St Georges park requested our aerial services last year. It was a great marketing tool for them and did give them views that they hadn’t seen before, but even the richest clubs, cant justify paying £1000 a day, once a week, every week of the season. Its great to have these clients on your showreel, but they dont keep you busy everyday of the week.
Inspections on the other hand do.
‘Above Gutter Line Inspections’ is a term i have come to know and love recently. Offering aerial inspections, 3D modelling and topographical surveys is were the consistent drone business is at!
Even in light rain, a roof inspection can be completed. Overcast skies dont matter. As long as the rain is light, the wind is mild, drone inspection jobs of roofs, buildings, chimneys, wind turbines can all be inspected.
I recently supported Mark Boyt of Sussex By Air, on a job in Salford. A church had burnt down, and Mark, who has an excellent reputation on my industry was asked to completed an aerial inspection. He needed a spotter to ensure safety during operations, so i joined him for a day. This was an exceptionally well paid job, and Mark has another satisfied customer; both the Insurance company and structural engineering firm, will both only use mark going forward. There dont need blue skies and fluffy clouds!
I guess my final point is this, drones are great for so many industries, however, not every industry has a need to a drone all the time, others do. So plan your marketing accordingly, don’t just chase the atheistic ‘showreel’ jobs!
Till next time.
Thumbs Up
Nathan
If you have been watching virtually any TV programme in the UK these days, you can be sure footage from a Drone is likely to appear. They are almost a staple part of TV production now. If you want to work with major TV companies, you are most likely going to be disappointed. There are a number of well known and established companies that complete the majority of TV work….. but thats a good thing! Typically these companies/pilots have been flying for years and tend to use bigger platforms. This has two benefits to clients such as the BBC or Channel 4 – Bigger platform = more lift = better camera = better footage. Secondly better platforms have much better redundancy (how well it performs if it loses a prop). Its generally safer to have a octo/hex than a quad. These are usually over £12000, all in, and who just starting out in the industry has money like that?
Unmanned Aerial Systems - A Beginners Guide 