Why I got out of the drone aerial photography business
I remember I was so excited to buy my first drone. I purchased it online and registered with the FAA as a non-commercial hobby drone pilot. I planned to change my registration later as a commercial drone pilot after I got comfortable with my new drone. I ordered ID tags for the drone that the FAA required and I stuck them on the body of the drone. I purchased extra rotor blades, an extra battery, and a training packet that was an inch thick for the test to acquire the commercial pilot license.
Once the drone app was installed on my mobile device and the pre-flight app B4UFLY from the FAA was installed, my first test flight went really well. Getting the pre-flight done was time consuming and nerve-racking for the first time... I wanted to make sure I was following all the rules and didn't want any FAA scouts to drive over after seeing me in the sky and permanently grounding and issuing a fine. I checked multiple applications for airspace restrictions and final situational awareness such as weather, wind, obstacles, people and birds in the area, cars and other distractions. With no schools, airports, airport approach paths, government buildings, or any other airspace restrictions; the flight lasted about 10 minutes and stayed under 30 feet. The drone app put me in a "beginner" status and restricted my flight ceiling to under 100 feet. The controls for the drone and the camera took a bit of time to learn but both were very responsive. Technically, as a hobbyist drone pilot, I am only allowed to fly in designated areas... per the FAA, recreational pilots can only fly in FAA-recognized Community Based Organization (CBO). Those CBO's are member funded, so, I would need to join a local club to be able to fly. Most CBOs only fly model RC airplanes; I find they are not too friendly to drones. In addition, at the time, and currently (2022), the FAA does not officially recognize CBOs however, they may have agreements set forth to control airspace around the field. Recreational CBO fliers are directed to follow the safety guidelines of existing aeromodelling organizations or use the FAA provided safety guidelines per Advisory Circular 91-57B.
After a few flights and as I started to gain more air time, obviously I became more comfortable with the controls and maneuvering the drone. I started to research more about what I could capture, study training materials, and how I could get my drone pilot license (and start making money). I still wanted to get more flight hours to be masterful with the drone but was nervous about rules and regulations restricting my recreational flying. At the time, the FAA was still developing guidelines for commercial and recreational pilots. Years later, the FAA rolled out The Recreational UAS Safety Test (TRUST). After passing the test, the recreational pilot must carry proof of test passage and then can operate following recreational flying rules.
Some of the commercial drone rules and regulations are common sense... like not being able to fly near schools, airports, airport approach paths, government buildings; but recreational drones are restricted to qualified airfields until, well, until the next update of the rules. Some of the rules I had not thought of, and made sense but I always saw other pilots break those rules.... but I quickly learned that those clips of the drone flying over people, over vehicles, and at night were allowed if the pilot had acquired an operational approval waiver by filing with the FAA for permission... or, if the drone was exempt by it's weight class and additional hardware that makes the drone compliant. One of the earlier rules did make me pause, it was a rule that stated that as a pilot, if I was going to fly near people, or even if I had permission to fly over people, I had to have a medical kit available to be able to treat multiple cuts, lacerations, head and other traumas from drone rotor blades and body impact. Reading that gave me a slight chill; but I wasn't discouraged. In April of 2021, the FAA updated rules and changed some of the requirements... including night flights... which still requires qualified lights to be installed on the drone but also additional training through the FAA. Hobbyist or recreational drone pilots still had restrictions for over-people, crowds, vehicles and night flights. Still with me? Following pretty well? I am trying to jump around 'cause that confusion is exactly what I felt. Ok...
After a few inevitable crashes during recreational practice flights (yeah, unless you were born to fly a UAV or are natural at remote flight control, you will eventually crash... buy extra rotor blades at a sale price when you can and drone insurance if you want to grow your drone experience into a business), the FAA started to discuss Remote ID. The rule was going to require all UAVs to have a Remote ID... that meant all new drones being built had to be build with the remote ID system, and all current drones in the field had to be retrofitted with a remote ID system or else be grounded permanently. So my not-so-cheap drone was going to be turned into a fancy paperweight or doorstop.
In April 2021, the FAA relaxed a lot of the rules, and I say a lot, for drone pilots under the provision that the drone is equipped with a Remote ID system, otherwise, all former rules and regulations still apply.
Aside from the initial cost of the drone, the costs to fix, repair, and maintain the drone as well as the costs for FAA registration, tags, training, CBO, and the licensing test... the time being consumed to review and monitor ever-changing rules and regulations was enormous.
Any small business or individual operating on slim margins, drone aerial photography is really difficult to be profitable with all the FAA rules and regulations for licensed commercial drone pilots. If a larger company can assign team members to manage regulations while other team members manage operations, that could work, but for small ops, I find it hard to be profitable while being compliant at the same time. As a recreational flier, costs are not too bad to operate, but I can not sell or run a business.
Spending more time to see how other small businesses or individuals are navigating rules and regulations while being profitable was no longer an interest... and ultimately the final line.
The reasons why I got out of drone aerial photography included a few factors, but it sums down to the profitability compared to the time required to stay up-to-date and compliant with the ever-changing FAA rules and regulations. As of this post, Remote ID has not been rolled out by the FAA, but I know at least a version of the rule will be rolled out eventually. It seams drone regulation with the FAA is still in its infancy and is changing rapidly, which, affects drone pilots and especially small businesses trying to keep up and make a profit.
I understand the need for regulation and to ensure the security and safety of the general public. I also recognize the liability and need to protect the drone pilots, all other aircraft, and the FAA. While the FAA tries to navigate drone regulation and figure out what it wants to do with the rules and regulations, I can't be in business if rules, regulations, training, or costs consistently change. As a small business, I can not justify my time, effort, and costs to operate, comply, and keep-up with FAA regulations to run an aerial photography business.
