Hello from upstate SC

[HAWK-i.us]

Brand new member here. I run a A7M3 with Sony/Zeiss 16-35/F4, a Liowa 12mm prime, and a 35-70 kit lens, all with GoDox lights and remotes for real estate work. The kit lens and prime lens are virtually extraneous, 'cause I never need them. Also am a Part 107 sUAS pilot flying P4P's. Have been interested in photography since the kids were little (long long time ago) and been into commercial photography about 5 years. Was most active initially in Construction and Commercial Dev jobs and now phasing those out. Been building real estate clients for couple years. Also doing real estate measures and floor plans with Lidar on iPhone13 Pro Max.

You're invited to check out portfolio at www.HAWK-i.us, and comments are welcome.

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

Welcome from Florida: we'll be sending TS Nicole up to you, she's not welcome to stay here

 

[HAWK-i.us]

Brownie -- Tell your son to plan a longish time to build a consistently profitable business. There's a huge amount of competition for scarce clients. Lots of people who think that getting paid to fly a drone sounds waay cool. Higher paying gigs require higher technology and experience, and the required technology is constantly moving. If I was a youngster wanting to get started in this career, knowing what I know now I'd try to get into a drone department with a large corporation, like inspections with a power company, etc.

 

[HAWK-i.us]

FlowlersFreeTime -- I think we're going to get to meet her later this week. Try to wear her out a little, pretty please. You guys are getting a heavy dose this year. Good luck............R

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

Hey Bob, off topic a bit but I want to get into drones a bit more strictly as an amateur; do I still need that part 107 license?

 

[HAWK-i.us]

Not at all. You can fly recreationally without the P107 certification. The FAA definition of recreational is pretty narrow though. If you're flying strictly for fun, then you're good to go. However (there's always one of those isn't there), the regs are getting tighter, you'll still have to register your drone with the FAA (minor cost), and starting next year there will be a requirement for the drone to broadcast an identification code. That will start showing up on new equipment soon, and there will be after market add-ons that will be compliant, probably ~$50, for legacy equipment.

The FAA has a pretty useful general info site here: https://faadronezone-access.faa.gov/#/

One of the most important things to know is where you can fly and how high. The default ceiling is 400 ft above ground level (AGL) defined as where you took off in "uncontrolled" airspace. But as you get closer to airports, the ceiling drops down and you have to get a specific clearance depending on the airport and your distance from it. That clearance is call a LAANC authorization (Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability), but even as a recreational flyer you can get LAANC authorization for free from a 3rd party provider of that service. The physical ceiling of many drones is much much higher (my Phantom 4 Pro can be easily fly at 15000 ft) than you're allowed to fly, which sets up lots of potential for irresponsible flyers giving lawful drone pilots a bad name. Here's a handy national map to show you what the altitude levels and LAANC authorization areas are located. Just enter the street address or LAT/LONG enter the search field in the top left corner here:

ArcGIS Web Application

faa.maps.arcgis.com

There are lots of other things to know if you're going to be a responsible drone flyer. For example you can readily buy equipment that will give you control and good downlink data/pictures from miles away. But legally you have to keep the drone in sight (VLOS: visual line of sight) , which might be as much as 1/2 mile if your eyesight is good and conditions are right. There are provisions for use of a VO (visual observer) to help with that VLOS limit. You can't fly over people, or in state or national parks (that's a bummer), and there are others. There are right-of-way rules of the road that basically says that the drone pilot is the lowest of low on the totem pole of who gives way to who. Most everything you need to know can be found on the FAA web site.

If you have specific questions, drop me a line at rrussell@comporium.net, and I'll do what I can to help you out. Regards.......... Bob R.

 

[Tim Mayo]

Welcome Bob and thank you for joining up here and introducing yourself to us. I had a quick look at your site, it looks like you enjoy keep yourself busy, great work! Just let me know if you have any questions about the forum.

 

[HAWK-i.us]

Thanks Tim...........R

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

Bob, thank you for the useful info! I won a Mavic Air 2 in a raffle last year and I've only had it up a few times. I will probably dust it off soon enough.

I like how some landscape photography youtubers use drones to complement their still photography, sometimes for b-roll, sometimes for location scouting, so that's my draw.

 

[HAWK-i.us]

Be advised that those LiPo batteries need an occasional charge to stay alive. Maybe 3x/yr. They have a designed-in slow discharge to ~50% of full charge after a few days of full charge. But after that they will continue to discharge very slowly based on their "internal resistance" that comes from the chemistry of the battery. If they go to an indicated 0% charge, they still have a voltage, but that continues to drain off until the chemistry is damaged. If the batteries won't take a charge, you might as well dispose of them. Let that radio controller have a charge from time to time also.