Cell Tower Inspection Pilots Wanted.

[Florida Drone Supply]

Florida Drone Supply is Hiring Contract Drone Pilots Nationwide!

Hey pilots — if you’ve been looking for a chance to take your drone skills beyond hobby flying, or want more consistant industrial inspectin work, this is it.

Florida Drone Supply is expanding our national cell-tower inspection program and we’re hiring Contract Drone Pilots (UAS Field Technicians) across multiple U.S. states.

This isn’t just flying for fun — it’s paid fieldwork capturing data on telecom tower network sites that keep the country connected. You’ll work with an experienced operations team, get hands-on training, and travel to new locations as part of an industry-leading inspection network.

What You’ll Be Doing:

Flying missions to inspect towers and network assets

Capturing high-quality photo and video data

Supporting engineering and design teams with accurate field results

Traveling regionally for multi-day projects

Why Join Us:

Competitive per-site pay and travel opportunities

Flexible contract work — fly when and where you’re available

Join a growing network of pilots with real-world experience.

Backed by one of the most trusted names in the drone industry

Check out our latest video for a look at what we do:
Watch on YouTube - youtube.com/watch?v=HQfRiWUOUag&feature=youtu.be

Apply Now:
Pilot Careers

No limits. Real missions. Real income.
Fly with Florida Drone Supply.

 

[Harleydude]

You should list some of the requirements, like a smart phone. Last time I couldn't do it (5 years ago?) because I have a flip phone. I think there was an app that needed to be downloaded to gain access inside the tower base, which I thought was odd since one can fly a tower from any position on the ground. Maybe that's changed?

D

 

[giggity]

You should list some of the requirements, like a smart phone. Last time I couldn't do it (5 years ago?) because I have a flip phone. I think there was an app that needed to be downloaded to gain access inside the tower base, which I thought was odd since one can fly a tower from any position on the ground. Maybe that's changed?

D

I fly for 2 diferent cell tower companies(not this one). You don’t just fly the tower. You also need to capture the ground equipment in the shelters with your phone. There are several apps you need to access shelters and turn off alarms. One needs you to have a 360 camera, the other you use a free Matterport app on your phone for 360 models in/out of the shelters. One company requires you to have RTK and fly in their app, the other you can fly manually. Each of them is intense to onboard with and get used to their system. I often need to return to a site to capture 1 or 2 photos that I missed, very unforgiven if you make minor mistakes. Therefore I rarely travel beyond 1 hour from home.

 

[Harleydude]

I fly for 2 diferent cell tower companies(not this one). You don’t just fly the tower. You also need to capture the ground equipment in the shelters with your phone. There are several apps you need to access shelters and turn off alarms. One needs you to have a 360 camera, the other you use a free Matterport app on your phone for 360 models in/out of the shelters. One company requires you to have RTK and fly in their app, the other you can fly manually. Each of them is intense to onboard with and get used to their system. I often need to return to a site to capture 1 or 2 photos that I missed, very unforgiven if you make minor mistakes. Therefore I rarely travel beyond 1 hour from home.

Yep...that sounds 100% familiar. It bugged me that I had to physically drive to a meeting to find these things out. I would've said "forget it" LONG before getting in my car. At that time I worked out that the pay was about $35/hour. I bill out at 5 to 9 times that much.

My drone gigs are the exact opposite of the cell tower rigmarole. Client sends a KML/KMZ or other specification, I download it, build my missions using my drone and software of choice and then, depending on the amount of data, drop it on the cloud or physically drop if off to their office. I email an invoice and they either mail a check or I pick up. Very old school. Very casual. I deal with engineers, which makes communication a joy.

A lot of trust there that has built up over the past 10 years. It's a great relationship and a great work (read: enjoyable). And it's lucrative enough that house, cars, motorcycles, etc. are all paid off. Barring some kind of catastrophe, I have enough to retire on (I'm 62). I assume I have about another 5 years of this before AI takes over. Maybe 10 if I'm really lucky.

"Hey AI...build a mission based on this spec, and then fly it." "Yes master." It's coming!...<:^0

D

 

[giggity]

Yep...that sounds 100% familiar. It bugged me that I had to physically drive to a meeting to find these things out. I would've said "forget it" LONG before getting in my car. At that time I worked out that the pay was about $35/hour. I bill out at 5 to 9 times that much.

My drone gigs are the exact opposite of the cell tower rigmarole. Client sends a KML/KMZ or other specification, I download it, build my missions using my drone and software of choice and then, depending on the amount of data, drop it on the cloud or physically drop if off to their office. I email an invoice and they either mail a check or I pick up. Very old school. Very casual. I deal with engineers, which makes communication a joy.

A lot of trust there that has built up over the past 10 years. It's a great relationship and a great work (read: enjoyable). And it's lucrative enough that house, cars, motorcycles, etc. are all paid off. Barring some kind of catastrophe, I have enough to retire on (I'm 62). I assume I have about another 5 years of this before AI takes over. Maybe 10 if I'm really lucky.

"Hey AI...build a mission based on this spec, and then fly it." "Yes master." It's coming!...<:^0

D

I’m on their website looking at requirements, DSLR Camera with 600mm telephoto lense, that’s NOPE #1 for me, $6,000 Matterport camera, NOPE #2 or a Leica BLK360 camera which Amazon can’t find, RF Meter, ok only $75 but not required by the other 2 companies I fly for. I splurged for an insta360 camera for the last company I onboarded with. $4,500 Mavic 3 Enterprise + 8 batteries would be NOPE #3 if I didn’t already have it. I think I’m done buying specific camera equipment. These employers need flexibly to accept what I have. If the 52X zoom my M3E has isn’t good enough for ground photos when flight is restricted, oh well. There are other basic requirements that can be expected like OSHA-10, hard hat, vest, a phone blah blah stuff we already have.
Yeah I hear ya on the ai bs. F ai. Skydio is already flying ai. F Skydio as long as I’m at it. Skydio and Elise Stefanik is why we are looking at a DJI ban. You’d think these companies would be looking for drone requirements other than DJI drones. Come next month, we’ll see how many drone jobs and companies Congress is going to destroy. DJI already stopped sending drones and parts to the USA. Thats kind of NOPE #4 for anyone thinking about getting into this from scratch. By the way, it’s like $180-$200 payout per tower which takes 1.5-2 hours on site per tower for anyone who’s wondering. And then there’s all the time it takes to upload your 500-1,500 photos you took ug. Who knows what this company will pay. $200 for me is bottom dollar for this work plus all the driving. Harley dude, if you’re billing out 5-9 times this, please let me be your Padawan Master Jedi!

 

[Harleydude]

I’m on their website looking at requirements, DSLR Camera with 600mm telephoto lense, that’s NOPE #1 for me,

Oh yeah....I forgot about that one.

$6,000 Matterport camera, NOPE #2 or a Leica BLK360 camera which Amazon can’t find, RF Meter, ok only $75 but not required by the other 2 companies I fly for.

RF meter? Interesting. I can kind of see that for older drones. The newer drones don't have near the interference problems from the days of yore.

I splurged for an insta360 camera for the last company I onboarded with. $4,500 Mavic 3 Enterprise + 8 batteries would be NOPE #3 if I didn’t already have it.

Yep...same here on that one. The drone I fly is an M300, but I don't own it. My business partner does. He owns the LiDAR unit, as well.

I think I’m done buying specific camera equipment.

I hear ya.

These employers need flexibly to accept what I have. If the 52X zoom my M3E has isn’t good enough for ground photos when flight is restricted, oh well. There are other basic requirements that can be expected like OSHA-10, hard hat, vest, a phone blah blah stuff we already have.

I generally wear what I call a "dork vest" when I fly (dayglo safety vest). The only reason is because it makes me look official so people leave me alone. I hate wearing hard hats. I'll wear one on an ACTUAL job site, but NOT flying a drone. I wear socks and sandals and maybe shorts or cargo pants. I don't like being told what to wear - especially when wearing it laughs in the face of common sense. I'm not sure what's going to hit me in the head while flying a drone. And if I fly my own drone into my own head, well...maybe I've chosen the wrong career...LOL....

Yeah I hear ya on the ai bs. F ai. Skydio is already flying ai. F Skydio as long as I’m at it. Skydio and Elise Stefanik is why we are looking at a DJI ban. You’d think these companies would be looking for drone requirements other than DJI drones. Come next month, we’ll see how many drone jobs and companies Congress is going to destroy. DJI already stopped sending drones and parts to the USA.

Funny...I already own all the drones I will ever need. I don't crash, so I don't need spare parts. I have spare props, of course. But I haven't replaced a prop in years.

Thats kind of NOPE #4 for anyone thinking about getting into this from scratch. By the way, it’s like $180-$200 payout per tower which takes 1.5-2 hours on site per tower for anyone who’s wondering. And then there’s all the time it takes to upload your 500-1,500 photos you took ug.

Yep...assuming nothing goes wrong...<:^/ What I like about my work is I count on me and only me 100%. If someone else screws something up, it's a change order and bill for it. The caveat, of course, is if I screw up, it's out of my pocket. So far, in 10 years, only one screw up <knock on wood>. I had one mapping job where the P4P camera had focus issues that I didn't notice until I pulled them up on a 36" 4K monitor. "Slightly soft" is how I would have described them. I flew that job, again, at my expense.

Who knows what this company will pay. $200 for me is bottom dollar for this work plus all the driving. Harley dude, if you’re billing out 5-9 times this, please let me be your Padawan Master Jedi!

Regarding your last sentence, look to aerial mapping and, if you can afford to get into it, aerial LiDAR. THAT, my friend, is where it's at. THAT is where you will make good money flying a drone. I occasionally do aerial traffic analysis, which is basically parking the drone at a specific point in space over and over for 3 hours and hitting the record button. The traffic gigs are in 15-minute blocks. 4 minutes on, 11 off. Those gigs bill out at roughly $200/hour, but is boring as hell. I now bring my laptop to play Solitaire or Sudoku to pass the time. I make sure I have line of sight of the drone, of course.

These days I do roughly 4-6 gigs a month and have been for about 10 years. So, I guess, technically, I've been semi-retired for 10 years.

Actual flight time on my last gig was roughly 34 minutes total flight time. But there's more to mapping than the actual flight. I spend about an hour or more building missions, looking for viable launch points, etc. Then after the flight I organize the data. Most times it's about 40GB. This last flight was no exception, as they wanted video, too, of the flight lines (a first). It was almost an hour drive each way. I left 9AM and was back a little after noon. So you figure an hour prep, 2 hours travel, an hour on site, another hour processing data. Spread over 2 or 3 days if I'm feeling lazy. Roughly 5 hours total. I billed that out @ $1800. That comes to $360/hour. Not all jobs are that lucrative. On average I bill out $250-$300/hour. But some gigs I bill out as low as $150/hour, but that is rare, and never any lower than that.

The thing is, this is work I love. My clients are male engineers, so communication is terse, succinct, accurate, objective and to the point. They send specifications, KML's (or KMZ's) via email, I build the mission, fly it, and deliver deliverables. The best part is that I get to work outside, but only when the weather is nice. No rain, of course. And I don't usually fly on cloudy days, either, but sometimes I do. If it's too cold or hot I'll fly from inside the cab, but that's rare. I like being outdoors and in the sunshine. It's good work. But it's definitely a house of cards. One screw-up and it's on me. I live by the 6 P's; Prior Planning Prevents Piss-Poor Performance." Good times.

D

 

[Florida Drone Supply]

For more information, go to Florida Drone Supply, Careers....

Or you can TXT / Email me at;

Mike W. den Hartog

Florida Drone Supply

24311 Walden Center Drive Suite 101

Bonita Springs, FL 34134
(855) 8-DRONES

Office: +1.(239) 533-0072
WA, TXT, Mobile: +1.913.219.1370

[email protected]

www.FloridaDroneSupply.com

 

[Florida Drone Supply]

You should list some of the requirements, like a smart phone. Last time I couldn't do it (5 years ago?) because I have a flip phone. I think there was an app that needed to be downloaded to gain access inside the tower base, which I thought was odd since one can fly a tower from any position on the ground. Maybe that's changed?

D

I think that might have been a different project or before my time. Tallon required an app and we used to do work for them but we do not require. But I posted a link below to our carriers page.

For more information, go to Florida Drone Supply, Careers....

Or you can TXT / Email me at;

Mike W. den Hartog

Florida Drone Supply

24311 Walden Center Drive Suite 101

Bonita Springs, FL 34134
(855) 8-DRONES

Office: +1.(239) 533-0072
WA, TXT, Mobile: +1.913.219.1370

[email protected]

www.FloridaDroneSupply.com

 

[Florida Drone Supply]

I fly for 2 diferent cell tower companies(not this one). You don’t just fly the tower. You also need to capture the ground equipment in the shelters with your phone. There are several apps you need to access shelters and turn off alarms. One needs you to have a 360 camera, the other you use a free Matterport app on your phone for 360 models in/out of the shelters. One company requires you to have RTK and fly in their app, the other you can fly manually. Each of them is intense to onboard with and get used to their system. I often need to return to a site to capture 1 or 2 photos that I missed, very unforgiven if you make minor mistakes. Therefore I rarely travel beyond 1 hour from home.

There are definitely a lot of different parts. We use Matterport Pro 3 cameras, and that camera does have an app.

 

[Florida Drone Supply]

I’m on their website looking at requirements, DSLR Camera with 600mm telephoto lense, that’s NOPE #1 for me, $6,000 Matterport camera, NOPE #2 or a Leica BLK360 camera which Amazon can’t find, RF Meter, ok only $75 but not required by the other 2 companies I fly for. I splurged for an insta360 camera for the last company I onboarded with. $4,500 Mavic 3 Enterprise + 8 batteries would be NOPE #3 if I didn’t already have it. I think I’m done buying specific camera equipment. These employers need flexibly to accept what I have. If the 52X zoom my M3E has isn’t good enough for ground photos when flight is restricted, oh well. There are other basic requirements that can be expected like OSHA-10, hard hat, vest, a phone blah blah stuff we already have.
Yeah I hear ya on the ai bs. F ai. Skydio is already flying ai. F Skydio as long as I’m at it. Skydio and Elise Stefanik is why we are looking at a DJI ban. You’d think these companies would be looking for drone requirements other than DJI drones. Come next month, we’ll see how many drone jobs and companies Congress is going to destroy. DJI already stopped sending drones and parts to the USA. Thats kind of NOPE #4 for anyone thinking about getting into this from scratch. By the way, it’s like $180-$200 payout per tower which takes 1.5-2 hours on site per tower for anyone who’s wondering. And then there’s all the time it takes to upload your 500-1,500 photos you took ug. Who knows what this company will pay. $200 for me is bottom dollar for this work plus all the driving. Harley dude, if you’re billing out 5-9 times this, please let me be your Padawan Master Jedi!

The time on location is very close to correct. However, the pay is higher and the time between sites is usually half an hour to 40minutes. The number of photos is usually 1500-2500. As for pay, we pay out on the Friday after approvals on Wednesday. We have been in the business for 10+ years, specializing in towers, and we are by far the largest of our kind, flying hundreds of towers per day. The overage pilot makes a considerable income for the investment; the ROI is much more than most business models. With consistency being very high at this time.

 

[giggity]

The time on location is very close to correct. However, the pay is higher and the time between sites is usually half an hour to 40minutes. The number of photos is usually 1500-2500. As for pay, we pay out on the Friday after approvals on Wednesday. We have been in the business for 10+ years, specializing in towers, and we are by far the largest of our kind, flying hundreds of towers per day. The overage pilot makes a considerable income for the investment; the ROI is much more than most business models. With consistency being very high at this time.

Are you able to accept my insta 360 instead of the Leica black 360 camera? What about the Matterport camera requirement? I have the free Matterport app and use my phone on a tripod. That’s good enough for the “other” guys. I’m interested in this if you guys can make exceptions to your requirements at all. I know you require the 600mm handheld for places that can’t be flown. I have never run into this problem
And I’m surrounded by airports.