Anyone here considering earning supplemental income with the P3?

[stinkeye]

Hey gang! First off, I've been lurking here for a few days and I'm glad I found such a great resource with folks who are willing and able to help others in the community. I've lurked in a few forums where the vibe was just straight up rude and condescending.

Secondly, I run a couple e-commerce sites and have founded a few businesses so I'm always on the lookout for the next opportunity. Seems to me, (admittedly I'm a n00b here) that this technology will certainly be pretty mainstream within the next couple years or so. It has all the ingredients of an exponential growth curve and mass appeal. i.e. - rapid gains in technology and ease of use + precipitously falling retail prices and ever lower barriers to entry. This (multi-rotors, drones, UAV's whatever term you prefer) is a burgeoning multi-billion dollar market and I think everyone here can see that.

What I'm curious about is if anyone here shares my belief that there is money to be made until these products and people that are qualified to use them responsibly, reach mass market. Specifically, I'm thinking about realtors who are looking for photos & videos to make their listings stand out from the crowd. Or the wife who wants a big 16x20 print of their home (think higher end homes here) for their husband to put in his man-cave, home office, bar area, etc. Or the business owner who wants a bird's eye view of his/her entire operation to hang in the office.

I'm thinking that I can whip up a site in a couple weeks that can handle all of the payment processing, scheduling of appointments, then toss a few promoted posts on FB and have a nice little $1k-$2k /month side business running. Of course all of this is after the new FAA regs are finalized

Opinions? Thoughts? Feedback? Is anyone else considering or already doing this? I'd love to hear what the community here thinks of this nascent market opportunity. Thanks!

btw - already bought www.thedronebros.com and www.thepixelpilots.com just in case

 

[jason]

Sure don't need a middleman.

 

[stinkeye]

Sure don't need a middleman.

Sorry, I'm not sure I made myself clear. I'm not talking about doing these types of services for enthusiasts here, I'm thinking about the avg. consumer who isn't and most likely won't ever be a UAV owner. Again, sorry if I didn't make that clear!

 

[jason]

Tell me you're not a middleman.

"I'm thinking that I can whip up a site in a couple weeks that can handle all of the payment processing, scheduling of appointments, then toss a few promoted posts on FB and have a nice little $1k-$2k /month side business running. Of course all of this is after the new FAA regs are finalized "

 

[stinkeye]

Tell me you're not a middleman.

"I'm thinking that I can whip up a site in a couple weeks that can handle all of the payment processing, scheduling of appointments, then toss a few promoted posts on FB and have a nice little $1k-$2k /month side business running. Of course all of this is after the new FAA regs are finalized "

The definition of a middleman would be someone between the person providing said service and the consumer who purchases the service. Since 99.999% of consumers in the US have absolutely zero concept of what it takes to own, operate, and maintain a UAV - there really isn't a middleman in this scenario.
My website would be direct to the consumer/realtor/business owner who saw value in the product offered, but didn't have the means to do it themselves.

 

[ShoreBird]

I have to now go back through my exemptions and file new paperwork since I had used my serial number of my old V+ and now have to go back through and use my P3 once it gets here. Lets just say that here on the shore I paid for my phantom many times over. I also run two e-commerce sited but nothing to do with drones or photography. I Just did those jobs by word of mouth.

 

[Sandstorm76]

Always good business sense to advertise your ideas to an open forum.

 

[dmcgrew]

You're too late to the party

http://techcrunch.com/2015/04/29/dronebase/#.h6hitu:hs72

 

[Skyy]

It's not like "there can be only one" now is it?

 

[JayB]

I'm in the UK and definitely want to explore the opportunities out there to earn money from my phantom or just drones in general. That is the reason why I have bought my first drone as I need to prove to myself that what I envisage is achievable.

I think that the UK is slightly behind the curve in commercial drone use compared to the US and I hope to take advantage of that.

 

[stinkeye]

It's not like "there can be only one" now is it?

I know right?! You can take the top 50 metro areas in the US and there's easily room for several folks providing a service like this in each major market. At least until one particular start-up in that market scales up enough to supply all of the demand. In the meantime, it's a land-grab for market share.

I think folks are misinterpreting what I'm talking about here. My market is just my metropolitan area (2.5-3.0 million people). There isn't one company that's going to own this space nationwide or even regionally IMHO.

 

[sawx75]

Without a 333 exemption from the FAA, you are not supposed to use UAV's for commercial purposes. Now I know that is scoffed at by many, but currently that is the rule.

 

[stinkeye]

Without a 333 exemption from the FAA, you are not supposed to use UAV's for commercial purposes. Now I know that is scoffed at by many, but currently that is the rule.

Agreed 100% but the key word there is "currently".

 

[AerialVideoNW]

Yes I am. Currently waiting on my 333 exemption from the FAA. In my area (Seattle) there are only a few companies that offer drone video services. Most of those only deal with movie and TV production.

 

[cascadeflyer]

Any way to get the exemption with out a pilots license? Seems ridiculous that one needs to spend thousands on ground and flight school to fly an rc quad copter and sell a few pictures!

 

[AerialVideoNW]

Yes, my friends brother just received his letter last week. No pilots license needed. If you look on the FAA site there is a section that lists approved waivers. Most do not have a pilots license. I don't know if they are accepting any more waiver applications. When I sent mine in early April there was a notice that they would only be accepted through the 24th of that month. This is because they expect to have permanent rules in place by Sept and they are being inundated with requests.

 

[cascadeflyer]

I have read a ton of the approved waivers. All of them have pilots license requirement?

Every one I have read says exactly this

"13. Under this grant of exemption, a PIC must hold either an airline transport, commercial, private, recreational, or sport pilot certificate. The PIC must also hold a current FAA airman medical certificate or a valid U.S. driver’s license issued by a state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, a territory, a possession, or the Federal government. The PIC must also meet the flight review requirements specified in 14 CFR § 61.56 in an aircraft in which the PIC is rated on his or her pilot certificate. "

 

[AerialVideoNW]

That is one of the rules you are requesting to be waived.

 

[cascadeflyer]

I have not found any approved exemptions without that wording.

https://www.faa.gov/uas/legislative_programs/section_333/333_authorizations/

Read the PDFs on the right.

The way I read this is yes you will get a letter of authorization. But if your not a licensed pilot you are not authorized. Please tell me I am wrong as I want to go full speed ahead with this.

 

[AerialVideoNW]

It's been over a month since I submitted and mine isn't even listed on the site yet. My friends brother just got his approval last week and his submission isn't on the approved list yet. There were quite a few without a pilots license that were approved. I used one as a template. Howeve when I did mine there were about 400 total submissions. Now there are a lot more.