5 Top Tips for commercial drone operators- what you need to know

A few weeks ago we went to Skytech in London and we asked industry professionals about their views on what makes a successful commercial drone operator. Legislation regarding commercial drone usage varies from country to country, so we gathered more universal tips.

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here's the video: below I added some comments to each point:

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1. CHOOSE THE RIGHT DRONE http://www.heliguy.com/ Choosing an aircraft that suits your buisness needs is more challenging each year as new techologies emerge and drone markets become more competative. You should already know the need for more than one drone for back up in case something goes wrong. To add to that you also need to consider processing, storing and protecting gathered data.


2. QUALITY DATA COLLECTION Ben Mawhinney from DroneLabs https://www.dronelab.io/ makes a valid point that it’s the quality of the data that is important. If you don’t know much about photography or topographical surveys, having a drone won’t help you much to become an expert. Similarly having an expertise in filmmaking doesn't mean you’re off to the Oscars with your drone. More advanced LiDAR solutions like http://yellowscan.lavionjaune.com/ and thermal imaging technology are also avialble and will make drones viable in those markets for years to come.


3. INSURANCE MATTERS https://www.coverdrone.com/ Pretty self-explanatory here, the fewer claims are made the lower the premiums will be. Perhaps in near future drone insurance companies will introduce a no claims bonus, based on the same principles as the car insurance?


4. GET CONNECTED https://www.uavs.org/ If you’re reading it you’re probably on the right track, on-line forums are just one of the examples of how you can engage in the community of drone operators.


5. HAVE THE RIGHT SKILLS http://www.uavcs.co.uk/ If you’ve been flying drones even before we called them that, you’ve probably developed flying skills and knowledge over the years. With growing demand for drones among photographers, surveyors, filmmakers and government agencies there is a need for skilled drone pilots. More companies will start looking into training and licensing their own drone operators so it’s important that they know enough about drones to do the job safely.


Is there anyone here with some additional ideas they’d like to add?