Big day for multirotor
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/02/15/faa-drone-rule/23440469/
"The FAA proposal would allow drones weighing up to 55 pounds to fly within sight of their remote pilots during daylight hours. The aircraft must stay below 500 feet in the air and fly less than 100 mph.
People flying drones would need to be at least 17 years old, pass an aeronautics test and be vetted by the Transportation Security Administration, but a certificate wouldn't require the flight hours or medical rating of a private pilot's license."
"The FAA proposal would allow drones weighing up to 55 pounds to fly within sight of their remote pilots during daylight hours. The aircraft must stay below 500 feet in the air and fly less than 100 mph.
People flying drones would need to be at least 17 years old, pass an aeronautics test and be vetted by the Transportation Security Administration, but a certificate wouldn't require the flight hours or medical rating of a private pilot's license."
Comments
Here is the rules for hobbyist as it applies now.
Still, good news for quad/hex manufactures.
http://amablog.modelaircraft.org/amagov/2015/02/15/dotfaa-announce-proposed-rule-for-suas/
They also provided the following links/resources:
FAA sUAS NPRM: www.modelaircraft.org/Gov/nprm/sUAS_NPRM_2-15-2015.pdf
FAA sUAS Proposed Rule Press Release: www.modelaircraft.org/Gov/nprm/sUAS-pressrelease-021515-FINAL.pdf
Overview of the Small UAS Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: www.modelaircraft.org/Gov/nprm/sUAS-Summary-chart-FINAL2.15.15.pdf
Unmanned Aircraft Systems Fact Sheet - 2/15/2015: www.modelaircraft.org/Gov/nprm/021515-UAS-Fact-Sheet.FINAL.pdf
They say drone pilots can command $100,000+ a year. Sounds like a business to be in.
Drone pilots in the military may earn amounts like that. But in real commercial settings? I can not really see that.
Say infrared picture/video of houses to see energy losses thru bad/missing/never installed insulation. You may be able to charge $500 for one assessment. Piloting alone will not do it, you also need to write up some report. And find new customers. I don't think you can run more then 10 of them a week. Not for 52 weeks. Take out costs for office/advertisement/car/gas/insurance and TAXES. I do not see any $100.000+ here.
Say all this drone delivery BS. You really think amazon/UPS/FedEx/whoever pays $100.000+ for a delivery guy?
Say simple stuff like AT&T and the guys climbing on the masts. Sure the could use a quad copter to look at it. But most of it is enclosed. They have to open the box and look inside. Quad copter can't do this. Guy has to climb up anyways.
Same with PG&E. Controlling electricity lines in FPV with a quad copter can not solve any problems. The helicopter with guy in there can.
So where is the deal allowing a company to earn $250.000+ to pay somebody $100.000+, taxes, SSI, Insurance, advertisement, office,...?
I do not see $1000.000+. Not even near.
Wish I could!
Mike
My guess is that the guys making six figures are the ones doing aerial video for commercials and movies. And that is for the owners, not a hired pilot.
Please someone prove me wrong!
I still can't get past the media calling visual-range piloted aircraft "drones". Then again, no one claims that the media actually educates people.
Commercial usage in foreign countries is gaining popularity in a lot of agricultural markets. Makes it pretty easy for one person to scan a couple acres of crops for issues, check a mile of levee for weaknesses, viewing cattle fence lines for damage, above ground pipelines for damage/leaks (add some gas sensors too), etc. Any place where basic human inspection takes place across a large area can be adapted for a multirotor aircraft.
Anyone making anywhere close to that amount in the military I can guarantee is NOT flying drones. Military pay is nowhere near that of commercial business pay.
A few months back a major online news outlet (think it was CNN) pointed to markets such as high-end real estate, land surveying, conservation (forestry, water channel surveying, etc.; things now done by helicopter or 4WD), and even transmission line inspection as the forefront of drone income opportunities. I can easily see it. Work yourself into the money stream where you can save $$$ over the old ways. It can take a day for a surveyor to hike up a mountain to find some marker that can't be spotted from a distance. A drone may be able to do it in 15 minutes, recording the GPS coordinates so the surveyor can now travel right to it. Time is money, so the idea is to make your cut by saving someone else time.
I'm watching countless documentaries, like the new series with Brian Cox, where you can tell the aerial work is done predominately by drone, not helicopter. Camera copters with a pilot can easily cost $500 an hour, if not more. You can make $100,000 by charging just $50 an hour, assuming you work full time -- that's a not too unheard of rate for an independent professional photographer. Note: Cox's shots are in countries where it's probably not illegal to use a drone for aerial photog, as it has been here in the US. With these new regs, an experienced video camera operator and editor has suddenly drastically increased his or her marketability. A good shooter/editor easily makes $50/hour on an assignment, and many work full-time.
So, I think these numbers are attainable, if you consider you're not just flying the drone. Your work product is the video, and that's what you're being paid for. The drone just opens up a new way of capturing the shots.
Plenty of room in the market for function-specific drones.
The same way they know a pilot flying a Cessna is old enough and has a certificate.
Silly string, tagging and flamethrowing from a drone: http://www.engadget.com/2015/03/15/Tryone-drone-sprays-paint-silly-string-and-flames
And ChPhy has a Kickstarter going now for a new drone:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1719668770/cyphy-lvl-1-drone-reinvented-for-performance-and-c