Which DRONE do I need for my Drone Startup Business?


Which DRONE do I need for my Drone Startup Business?

There are literally hundreds of drone choices out there, and most come with customizable options for sensors, accessories, and software. In this article, I will help you decide which drone you will need for your Drone Startup Business. Some drones are packaged bundles geared toward specific use-cases, while others are ala carte menus of add-ons. In the latter case, most vendors are willing to work with you to determine what you’ll need to get the job done, but you must be cautious that they will most likely try to upsell you into purchasing excess items that you may not actually need.

Some drone pilots start out as drone hobbyists, and transition into commercial work. Others start out in other industries, such as photography and surveying, and choose to integrate drones into their normal line of work. Still others come from a manned aviation background, and finally see the light that drones are the way of the future.

Regardless of how you came into this community, you have some very important decisions to make with how you equip yourself. One of the most pressing questions is this: which drone should I use for my drone startup business?

This can be overwhelming for the novice drone pilot. After all, the new drone pilot is just trying to answer a simple question: what is the right drone for the job?

That is the question we will help you answer.

Before we get into comparing drones for different missions, let’s take a step back and think about the business. After all, you won’t be in business very long if you spend all your cash on exquisite equipment, and then fail to make a profit. Keep reading to learn how to select the drone that is not only right for the job, but is also right for your business.

ASSET vs LIABILITY

According to Robert Kiyosaki, an “asset” is something that puts money in your pocket, while a “liability” is something that takes money out of your pocket. Assets typically cost money up front (as in, you have to buy an asset), but it eventually gives you a return on investment (ROI) that exceeds its initial cost—this is profit. If you can generate an asset without any initial costs, that is a very sustainable business model. Liabilities may or may not have up-front costs, but they slowly bleed you of money without any promise of an ROI.

Let’s look at some practical examples.

  • Linda has a baking business that she runs out of her home. In order to bake, she requires an oven. Her home oven worked alright, but she could only bake one batch at a time, and was limited to 2 batches a day so she could use the oven to cook for her family. At 2 batches per day, she was making $500 per week in revenue. When we consider the $400 Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) that includes the ingredients and her own labor, her weekly profit was $100.  In order to meet her customer demand, she required a large oven with sophisticated temperature and timer controls. So, she purchases a $5,000 oven that she uses strictly for her baking business.  While the up-front investment was significant, this oven allows her to bring in $1,000 of revenue each week from selling her baked goods. Her COGS is approximately $700 each week (same proportional ingredient costs, but less labor now that she can bake simultaneous batches). Her $300/week profit means that she will break even on the new oven in about 17 weeks. Once she hits the break-even point, she will continue to gain a $300 profit each week throughout the lifespan of the oven (about $15,000 each year). If the oven lasts 10 years, her total ROI will be approximately $150,000. If we look at it a different way, Linda made an extra $200/week profit with the new oven over the old oven. Over the course of 10 years, her old oven would have earned her $100,000, while the new oven earned her $200,000 profit. Linda spent $5,000 up front, and gained an extra $100,000 profit over the next 10 years.  Linda’s oven was an ASSET.
  • Tim is a contract food delivery driver who uses his personal vehicle to make deliveries. His current vehicle gets the job done, but he feels that he would make better tips if he drove a cooler car. So, he spends $15,000 on a used sports car. It turns out that Tim was right: within the first 3 months of owning his new car, he averaged $20/month higher tips than with his old car. Unfortunately, there were several recurring costs that Tim neglected to consider. One was the fuel efficiency—his sports car got 20 miles per gallon (mpg), while his old car got 33 mpg. Tim drove about 100 miles each month for food delivery, so he ended up paying an extra $7/month in fuel. Next, his vehicle insurance rates also went up: he used to pay $140/month in automobile insurance, but his sports car instantly raised him to $150/month for insurance. Tim is now paying an extra $10/month for insurance. Finally, Tim’s sports car requires synthetic oil, which is more expensive than conventional oil; it also requires a higher quantity of oil, due to the larger engine. Tim used to pay $60/year in oil changes, but now has to pay $160/year. On a monthly basis, his oil costs went from $5/month to $13/month—Tim is paying an extra $8/month for oil! Overall, Tim is making an extra $20/month in tips, but his sports car is costing him an extra $20/month than he was previously paying. Tim spent $15,000 up front, and lost around $2,500 more over the next 10 years. Tim’s sports car was a LIABILITY.

What is the difference between Linda and Tim? Both had up-front expenses, but Linda made a huge ROI, while Tim slowly drained his bank account. Both had higher revenue with their new equipment, but Linda was more successful than Tim in managing her recurring and non-recurring costs. Linda stayed in business, while Tim had to move back into his parents’ basement—at least he had a cool car to show for it.

Choosing the RIGHT Drone for the job

Let’s turn the conversation back to determining which you will need for your Drone Startup Business? When making an investment into business assets, there are two general schools of thought.

  • Buy to Budget
  • Minimum Viable Product

Buy to Budget means that you set a budget for what you can reasonably afford, and you buy the best, or the most, that you can within this figure. It could be the best drone, or two mediocre drones, or one mediocre drone with several extra batteries and a swanky software subscription.

Minimum Viable Product (MVP) takes an alternate approach. MVP considers what is the bare minimum to get the job done in an acceptable manner. The 100MP camera might take the best images, but it looks the same on a 6-inch screen as the 12MP camera, so the 12MP camera gets the job done just fine.

If you invest all your discretionary funds in the highest quality equipment, you will have the best gear in town—for a year or two. You will undoubtedly get more jobs and command a higher price, but the drone industry will inevitably leap-frog your equipment with a new product. Since you spent all your saved funds on one big purchase, you will be unable to upgrade as quickly as your competitors, and you will quickly find yourself with the oldest gear in town until you build back up to your next big purchase.

If you save your funds and invest in the bare minimum equipment, you will find yourself lamenting the exquisite capabilities that your competitors are able to use, and the ease at which they employ them. But you will have cash available for next year’s upgrade when the new model is released, or for accessories, or for a software subscription, and you will have a higher profit margin.

There is not simple answer for which approach you should take with your drone startup business, and your answer probably lies somewhere in between these two extremes. Your own experience level, the volume of work you intend to perform, and the quality of your final products all factor into your decision for how much cash you should invest into your equipment.

Get the cheapest drone that gets the job done

Benefits of the MVP Approach

There are plenty of websites that encourage you to buy the most expensive drone that you can, so we will take a contrarian approach: we will encourage you to buy the cheapest drone that gets the job done. Don’t let “perfect” get in the way of “good enough”. Flying the drone and collecting imagery is only part of the equation; the rest involves running your startup drone business.

If you are a novice drone pilot, you probably appreciate drone technology, but are not yet sure about what kind of drone work you want to do. After all, a drone with a daytime RGB camera can serve multiple industries, each with their own unique benefits and challenges. Exquisite top-end drones tend to specialize in a small set of mission types; they can still be used for other missions, but many of the built-in features that you pay for have no meaning. For example: you could buy a high-end RTK mapping drone package for $30,000, and it will give you the same real estate imagery as the basic $2,000 drone package. Or you could buy the dual daytime/thermal sensor, but find that most of your work is daytime RGB imagery only, meaning you wasted $5,000 on the thermal upgrade.

As you build experience, you may even find that your tastes change. Many drone pilots start in the Real Estate industry, taking aerial photos of a property to help the realtor sell it faster and for a higher price. This type of work is great for some pilots, but others don’t appreciate the urgency that comes with realtors—they all want their photos yesterday! If you went all-in on a Real Estate drone, you may find that you actually don’t enjoy the work that it is best suited for.

A starter drone is a good choice for a new pilot who is still mastering his piloting technique. Training your thumbs to make smooth and accurate movements on the joysticks is one part of the equation; other parts are performing proper preflight and postflight checks, conducting airspace and weather analysis, gaining comfort with automated missions, and adhering to strict flight documentation practices. These skills take repetition over the course of months to years to truly master.

The early stages of a drone startup business include much more learning than just flying a drone: there are plenty of business processes that also take time to master. How effective are you at gaining and maintaining customers? How are you processing the drone’s imagery and delivering it to the customer? How much time do you spend bookkeeping your revenue and expenses? You can read about these all day, but there is no substitute for experience.

If you follow the MVP model, you should find that you can still build revenue while keeping a comfortable cash reserve. This cash reserve gives you options to continually upgrade your equipment and software suite, invest in workflow automation, and broaden your marketing efforts. You will also have the opportunity to learn what your customers actually need, not what you think they need.

For example, I used to spend hours editing property photos to look as beautiful as they could. I would saturate the grass to a rich shade of green, and brighten the clouds to a crisp, clean white. The customers would show their appreciation for this work, but would still use the unedited photos in their galleries. Why would they do this? Because my drone shots were a small part of the overall gallery, and they wanted all photos to look approximately the same. My aerial shots had to match the ground photographer’s shots in the album. I learned from this experience that I had not only wasted time performing an unneeded service, I had also wasted money on sophisticated photo editing software.

Following an MVP approach gives you an opportunity to find a niche market, gain a deep understanding of customer needs, and customize your equipment, software, and business processes to meet that need.

The Right Drone for the Job

Now that we’ve discussed how to set a realistic budget, let’s apply these concepts to selecting the right drone for the job. Each type of mission will entail some characteristics of your equipment to optimize it for the task at hand. We will use “Good” to describe an MVP setup, “Better” for a step up from the bare minimum, and “Best” for the top of the line in today’s market. Remember that this is just a list of properties, and you can absolutely pair a “Good” airframe with a “Better” camera and “Best” software if you choose. Think of it as a general drone buying guide to help you make informed decisions.

This category combines structures, pipelines, powerlines, solar panels, and turbines. It is very broad and difficult to summarize in one paragraph. To characterize it broadly, this is the genre of drone work that thrives from thermal imaging. Companies that lose just a few dollars a day to minor damage and leaks might lose thousands or millions of dollars over a long timespan. This broad category typically requires a very robust drone with a sophisticated sensor and processing software.

  • Good
    • Airframe: Quadcopter
    • Battery: 15-20 minutes
    • Camera: 20MP, rolling shutter
    • Gimbal: 2D stabilized, tilt
    • Flight Modes: Stabilized, Waypoints
    • Accessories: Geotagged images
    • Example Software: OpenDroneMap
    • Example Drone Kits: Parrot Anafi, DJI Phantom 4, Autel EVO 2
  • Better
    • Airframe: Hexacopter
    • Battery: 20-30 minutes
    • Camera: 320×240 thermal
    • Gimbal: 3D stabilized, tilt
    • Flight Modes: Stabilized, Waypoints, Autogrid
    • Accessories: Geotagged images, GCPs, obstacle avoidance
    • Example Software: Scopito, Agisoft
    • Example Drone Kits: DJI Mavic 2, Parrot Anafi Thermal, Autel EVO 2 Dual R, Skydio X2, DJI Matrice M200-M300, Freefly Astro, FLIR ION M440, FLIR SkyRanger R70
  • Best
    • Airframe: Octocopter
    • Battery: 30-45 minutes
    • Camera: Dual mode 640×480 thermal and 4K RGB
    • Gimbal: 3D stabilized, tilt
    • Flight Modes: Stabilized, Waypoints, Autogrid
    • Accessories: Geotagged images, GCPs, obstacle avoidance, PPK/RTK kit
    • Example Software: PrecisionHawk, Pix4D
    • Example Drone Kits: DJI Matrice M300-M600, Yuneec H520, Watts PRISM, Easy Aerial Osprey, Freefly Alta 8

Mapping requires high resolution photographs that can resolve small features on the ground or structure. This is typically quantified as Ground Sample Distance (GSD). Think of GSD as the area that each image pixel covers. For reference, most commercial satellite imagery is in the 1-5m GSD range. Some drone mapping jobs for non-industrial purposes can get by with a GSD of 10cm, while others need less than 1cm resolution. Low resolution cameras can capture the same GSD at low altitudes (50 ft) that high resolution cameras can capture from high altitudes (200 ft)—you just need more pictures, closer together.  You also must understand if the job requires absolute accuracy (object locations in the image are closely matched with their real-world latitude/longitude) or relative accuracy (the distance between objects in the image matches the distance between them in the real world). Most shots will be straight down (nadir), or close to it.

  • Good
    • Airframe: Quadcopter
    • Battery: 15-20 minutes
    • Camera: 12MP, rolling shutter
    • Gimbal: 2D stabilized, tilt
    • Flight Modes: Stabilized, Waypoints
    • Accessories: Geotagged images
    • Example Software: OpenDroneMap, QGIS
    • Example Drone Kits: DJI Phantom 4, Autel EVO 2, Parrot Anafi
  • Better
    • Airframe: Quadcopter
    • Battery: 20-25 minutes
    • Camera: 20MP, rolling shutter
    • Gimbal: 3D stabilized, tilt
    • Flight Modes: Stabilized, Waypoints, Autogrid
    • Accessories: Geotagged images, GCPs
    • Example Software: MapsMadeEasy
    • Example Drone Kits: DJI Matrice M200-M300, DJI Inspire 2, Easy Aerial Falcon, Freefly Astro, SkyFish M4, Full Throttle Falcon
  • Best
    • Airframe: Octocopter
    • Battery: 30-40 minutes
    • Camera: 40MP, mechanical shutter
    • Gimbal: 3D stabilized, tilt
    • Flight Modes: Stabilized, Waypoints, Autogrid
    • Accessories: Geotagged images, GCPs, PPK/RTK kit
    • Example Software: DroneDeploy, Pix4D
    • Example Drone Kits: DJI Phantom 4 RTK, DJI Matrice M600, Skydio 2+, Skydio X2, Easy Aerial Osprey, Freefly Alta 8
mapping large area

Many of the small area considerations also apply to large areas. The biggest difference, obviously, is the acreage you must cover. A small job might be a 5 acre site or smaller, while large jobs can reach hundreds of acres. The topography matters since there is a difference between open fields and dense forests. The customer needs might drive you from an inexpensive RGB camera to an expensive LIDAR sensor if their needs include powerlines or dense foliage.

  • Good
    • Airframe: Quadcopter
    • Battery: 25-30 minutes
    • Camera: 20MP, rolling shutter
    • Gimbal: 2D stabilized, tilt
    • Flight Modes: Stabilized, Waypoints
    • Accessories: Geotagged images
    • Example Software: OpenDroneMap, QGIS
    • Example Drone Kits: DJI Matrice M200-M300, DJI Inspire 2, DJI Phantom 4 RTK
  • Better
    • Airframe: Octocopter
    • Battery: 30-40 minutes
    • Camera: 40MP, mechanical shutter
    • Gimbal: 3D stabilized, tilt
    • Flight Modes: Stabilized, Waypoints, Autogrid
    • Accessories: Geotagged images, GCPs
    • Example Software: MapsMadeEasy
    • Example Drone Kits: DJI Matrice M600, Teledyne CL-90, Watts PRISM
  • Best
    • Airframe: Fixed-wing
    • Battery: 60-90 minutes
    • Camera: LIDAR
    • Gimbal: 3D stabilized, tilt
    • Flight Modes: Stabilized, Waypoints, Autogrid
    • Accessories: Geotagged images, GCPs, PPK/RTK kit
    • Example Software: DroneDeploy, Pix4D
    • Example Drone Kits: SenseFly eBee, WingtraOne GEN II
Real Estate and Event Photography

Basic photography is all about the quality of camera and editing software. It is beneficial to have a drone with some endurance, so you can capture all the shots on a single battery. You will want a stable platform, and you will also want a stabilized gimbal to hold the camera to minimize blur. Various flight modes and pan/tilt options give you more room for creative shots, especially when shooting video. These jobs can be very short, and it is helpful to have a drone you can launch in under two minutes to minimize your time at the site.

  • Good
    • Airframe: Quadcopter
    • Battery: 10-15 minutes
    • Camera: 12MP / 4K
    • Gimbal: 2D stabilized, tilt
    • Flight Modes: Stabilized
    • Accessories: None
    • Example Software: GIMP, DJI Go
    • Example Drone Kits: Parrot Anafi, DJI Phantom 4, Autel EVO 2
  • Better
    • Airframe: Hexacopter
    • Battery: 20-25 minutes
    • Camera: 20MP / 6K
    • Gimbal: 3D stabilized, tilt
    • Flight Modes: Stabilized, Waypoints, Orbit
    • Accessories: ND filter
    • Example Software: Corel PaintShop, DJI Pilot
    • Example Drone Kits: DJI Mavic 3, DJI Inspire 2, Yuneec Typhoon, Freefly Astro
  • Best
    • Airframe: Octocopter
    • Battery: 30-40 minutes
    • Camera: 40MP / 8K
    • Gimbal: 3D stabilized, pan & tilt
    • Flight Modes: Stabilized, Waypoints, Orbit
    • Accessories: ND filter, optical zoom lens, obstacle avoidance
    • Example Software: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom
    • Example Drone Kits: DJI M200-M600, Yuneec H520, Freefly Alta 8, Watts PRISM
Agriculture Inspection Large Area

Most people won’t hire a drone pilot to inspect a small backyard garden, so we will assume that any agriculture inspection job is for a field that is at least several acres. The most cost-beneficial use of drones in agriculture inspection come from larger farms that span thousands of acres. These jobs benefit from long endurance, a sensor that works outside the range of the human eye, and precision geotagging.

  • Good
    • Airframe: Quadcopter
    • Battery: 25-30 minutes
    • Camera: 20MP, rolling shutter
    • Gimbal: 2D stabilized, tilt
    • Flight Modes: Stabilized, Waypoints
    • Accessories: Geotagged images
    • Example Software: OpenDroneMap, FIELDimageR
    • Example Drone Kits: DJI Phantom 4 Multispectral
  • Better
    • Airframe: Octocopter
    • Battery: 30-40 minutes
    • Camera: NDVI
    • Gimbal: 3D stabilized, tilt
    • Flight Modes: Stabilized, Waypoints, Autogrid
    • Accessories: Geotagged images, GCPs
    • Example Software: Measure, PrecisionHawk, DJI Terra
    • Example Drone Kits: DJI Agras, Watts PRISM, Freefly Alta 8
  • Best
    • Airframe: Fixed-wing
    • Battery: 60-90 minutes
    • Camera: NDVI, NDRE
    • Gimbal: 3D stabilized, tilt
    • Flight Modes: Stabilized, Waypoints, Autogrid
    • Accessories: Geotagged images, GCPs, PPK/RTK kit
    • Example Software: DroneDeploy, Pix4D
    • Example Drone Kits: SenseFly eBee, WingtraOne GEN II

Wrap Up...

To summarize, we covered how to set your budget for drone equipment, and how to evaluate which drone is right for the job as well as right for your business. Be sure to check all the features before making a purchase; we would hate to see you waste precious money on obstacle avoidance when you are only flying over open fields!

We hope you realize that no drone lasts forever, and you will have another chance to purchase new equipment and software in a few years to keep up with changes in technology, customer needs, and your personal tastes. We wish you the best of luck on choosing your market and purchasing your equipment. Please follow us on social media to leave comments or contribute some tips to your fellow drone pilots.

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Scopito | Welcome to the future of visual inspections.

At Scopito, we are experts at digitizing your assets. Our platform uses automation and Machine Learning to derive all-important insights from your geospatial data. Over time, your historic inspection data will become the catalyst for powerful predictive maintenance.

How To Get Your FAA Part 107 Pilot Certification

If you are serious about making money with your drone, whether it be Real Estate, Aerial Inspections, etc., then you will need, from the FAA a 14 CFR Part 107 certification.

The best source for your training can be found by clicking on RemotePilot101. Jason Schappert is a pilot and author of 8 best-selling aviation flight training books. While studying and taking tests is not the most fun, Jason breaks it down into 10 easy to follow (at your own pace) video lessons. These lessons are straight and to the point giving you the exact knowledge, nothing less, nothing more than what you need to pass the exam. Additionally, he is continually updating the training to keep it relevant to any changes to FAA regulations. This membership is a 1-time subscription – for life! So when you’re 24 month renewal comes around, just sign in to RemotePilot101 and refresh your training.

Just remember, if you are flying commercially, you will need your Part 107 certification. It’s not hard, you can do it!

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