DroneBase (YC W15) raises from Union Square to pay any pilot for aerial footage(techcrunch.com)
techcrunch.com
DroneBase (YC W15) raises from Union Square to pay any pilot for aerial footage
https://techcrunch.com/2016/11/14/drones-for-hire/
6 comments
As a pilot I just don't see the value this (and others) platform could offer. What makes them different than the other dozen platforms that advertise drone services? They are also a little misleading, "If you are at least 18 years old and have your own drone, you're 99% there."? There's regulations to follow in many countries, and severe penalties for violating them.
Isn't this highly illegal in the US without a (very expensive) commercial license? IIRC You can't drive for Uber w/o a drivers license.
Commercial licensing under part 107 is a couple of hundred bucks; a bit more if you go through a fancy training program. The requirement for a full scale pilots license was a stopgap that no longer applies. See https://www.faa.gov/news/fact_sheets/news_story.cfm?newsId=2...
That being said, this company looks as sketchy as all get out... fly random "jobs" and you "might" get paid? I get the business model - have people fly jobs and then try to sell the imagery but wow...
That being said, this company looks as sketchy as all get out... fly random "jobs" and you "might" get paid? I get the business model - have people fly jobs and then try to sell the imagery but wow...
> fly 10-minute missions, upload the assets, and get paid if a DroneBase clients wants to buy the info
and get paid if...
and get paid if...
Has anyone had any experience flying drones for them? How many jobs are around? Hiw much do they pay?
I was wondering about this too. Looks a little shady ( on DroneBase's part), from what I am seeing in Pilot Forums.
Ex: See this thread. Most (if not all) wanna be Pilots are stating a very similar experience. http://www.inspirepilots.com/threads/dronebase-skycatch-etc-...
1) Sign up
2) Get email promising Gigs
3) wait and wait and wait for 3 to 6 months without any paid gigs.
I wonder who it is that shot all the alleged footage for Hilton Hotels etc (mentioned in the TC article). Could very well be a single pilot or company that produced stunning footage to get funding etc.
Ex: See this thread. Most (if not all) wanna be Pilots are stating a very similar experience. http://www.inspirepilots.com/threads/dronebase-skycatch-etc-...
1) Sign up
2) Get email promising Gigs
3) wait and wait and wait for 3 to 6 months without any paid gigs.
I wonder who it is that shot all the alleged footage for Hilton Hotels etc (mentioned in the TC article). Could very well be a single pilot or company that produced stunning footage to get funding etc.
I've been a pilot for them for the last 5 months. They've sent me 5-6 client gigs with an average payout of about $225 per gig. I've never done one of the panorama jobs that are not a guaranteed pay out. Overall I can't complain, each job takes about 20 minutes to do and I've never driven more than 40 minutes to the site.
Fly it over my property and expect it to be neutralized.
[deleted]
You own neither the sky over your property nor the minerals underneath it.
Own? No. But, law is fairly clear that an owner is entitled to freedom from excessive noise and passage by airborne carriers. If an aircraft is in flight so low that it is unreasonably disturbing to the landowner, the aircraft could be held liable for trespassing on your property.
> If an aircraft is in flight so low that it is unreasonably disturbing to the landowner, the aircraft could be held liable for trespassing on your property.
This isn't true at all in the United States, and if you destroy the craft, the FAA will prosecute you under federal law.
https://www.engadget.com/2016/04/18/faa-says-shooting-down-d...
This isn't true at all in the United States, and if you destroy the craft, the FAA will prosecute you under federal law.
https://www.engadget.com/2016/04/18/faa-says-shooting-down-d...
That is not what the linked article says. The FAA may consider it a crime, but prosecuting any specific incident is another matter entirely. The article even notes that means other than shooting it down would make for a "messy" case.
And you will need to involve law enforcement to recover your wrecked drone from my property, since I won't allow you to trespass.
And since when did all the privacy advocates on HN decide it's OK to fly your drone and camera over other people's property? Or is it only OK if you're being paid to do so and not a government entity?
And you will need to involve law enforcement to recover your wrecked drone from my property, since I won't allow you to trespass.
And since when did all the privacy advocates on HN decide it's OK to fly your drone and camera over other people's property? Or is it only OK if you're being paid to do so and not a government entity?
Federal law supercedes non-existent privacy law in the US. I agree there should be privacy regulations to prevent drone intrusion, but that's up to the FAA to update the regulations around airspace use.
Presumably that only entitles you to call the police rather than "neutralise" the problem though.
Actually, I do own the mineral rights for my property.
Unless you're willing to file suit in a federal court, I wouldn't risk a drone over others' property in many parts of the country.
The FAA will prosecute for you, no payment to an attorney required. Don't mess with aircraft, regardless of form.
In addition to misquoting your earlier linked article, you're assuming the FAA has the time, energy, resources, and desire to prosecute a case with scant evidence involving an uninvited drone flying over private property for profit. They have enough to do keeping airline passengers and private (manned) aircraft safe. I don't think they're likely to spend a lot of effort trying to get your drone back or punishing me if all you have is (maybe) some video evidence that your drone had an unfortunate midair collision.
> DJI has become DroneBase’s most important partner. DroneBase requires pilots to exclusively use the Chinese manufacturer’s hardware in order to standardize the footage collected
I think that would be a massive turn off for people here. DJI's drones are not known for their quality, price, configurability or.... well... anything utilitarian.
I think that would be a massive turn off for people here. DJI's drones are not known for their quality, price, configurability or.... well... anything utilitarian.
What? DJI's are hands down the easiest to control medium drone out there. They are reliable, have great flying time, and decent cameras out of the box.
In the consumer camera-in-the-sky space, everything out there is compared against a Phantom.
In the consumer camera-in-the-sky space, everything out there is compared against a Phantom.