Businesses that use their own drones + in-house Part 107 pilot

[Kristina Fowler]

[P4P; Part 107 Aerial Provider]

Here's the official FAA breakdown of total Part 107 licenses as of AUG01 (by region/state/county; updated monthly): Airmen Certification: Regional Active Airmen Totals

Curious to get feedback from this forum as to how many businesses (as a percentage of total Part 107 licenses) buy their own drones and use company employees with Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificates to fly Part 107 missions on behalf of the company as opposed to contracting a 3rd party Part 107 Aerial Photo/Video provider. Examples would be Construction Companies, Real Estate Agents, Environmental Consultants, etc.

I've spoken to a couple lately who did this and I sensed that both regret the decision. "Seemed like a good idea at the time" responses. I pitched my services to them and they both wanted to hear more. I consider myself to be fairly current with new applications, techniques, hardware, etc, and it appeared they were out of the loop and wanted to learn more, especially after I showed them examples/exhibits. Your thoughts...

***Please complete the attached poll.

 

[MapMaker53]

Not sure how to complete the poll because I have no idea what percent of Part 107 licenses are used for companies for their own in-house work. How would anyone know that. Are you looking for just a guess? I fly my company's drone for environmental work.

 

[Kristina Fowler]

Not sure how to complete the poll because I have no idea what percent of Part 107 licenses are used for companies for their own in-house work. How would anyone know that. Are you looking for just a guess? I fly my company's drone for environmental work.

Yes. Just hunches, really. I knew before posting that a precise number is impossible without reaching out to each and every business. Just your own intuition... Check the answer that's closest to your estimate...

 

[MapMaker53]

I don't think many pilots have any feel as to how other 107 pilots make their living because it's a very young industry at this point. Asking the same question a little differently might yield more accurate data for extrapolating a percentage from this forum. Such as...

For those who currently have a Part 107 license, what type of commercial flying do you currently conduct?
- I fly as an employee/owner of a company that works on our own in-house projects or research.
- I fly as an employee/owner of a company that provides drone services or training for others.
- I fly as an independent drone operator for hire.

Hope that helps.

 

[SkyFrog]

I think a better question would be "do you fly as a company employee or as a self employed contractor"? Perhaps then you could get a very basic and small sample size idea of who does what. I myself fly as a contractor.