Anyone here ever got any work using their drone for like real estate photography or anything like that?

a lot of people on here use their aircraft for commercial reasons. Real Estate, Development, Agriculture, Events, Weddings, a lot of things. Legally you need a 333 exemption AND you have to be a licensed pilot in order to do so at the moment, but those rules are changing next month, so I wouldn't rush out to do anything until the new rules come out. But yes, i'm sure several people will respond that they have a 333 exemption and are actively using their Phantoms for commercial work. I've only tapped into Real Estate so far but plan to do more once the rules come out and I can take my Aeronautical Knowledge Test to be in line with the new rules.

So the Aeronautical Knowledge Test you mentioned would be put in place of the 333 exemption AND needing to be a licensed pilot or...? I'm going to do some research on this because i'm new to drones but can you maybe post some links to where you got your info

Thanks

Yes.  I've done several jobs ......roof inspections for university buildings, farm field inspections, even a job for a major manufacturer of snack foods that was doing a major reconstruction project that had underground gas, electric, feed lines marked out around their plant and wanted aerial photographs that they used to map out new routes.
That was a tense job because of all the silos, steel buildings and elevated electrical lines potentially messing with GPS, so I used Atti mode the whole time.

The sky is the limit on the potential of UAV's in commercial applications.   Gotta say its great to get paid for something you love to do.

Tmygun Posted at 2016-5-19 07:50
Yes.  I've done several jobs ......roof inspections for university buildings, farm field inspections ...

lol nice. how do you go about getting such gigs if you dont mind me asking

Thanks!

adic27 Posted at 2016-5-19 08:48
lol nice. how do you go about getting such gigs if you dont mind me asking

Thanks!

With lots of hard work.

First you need to fully understand the market you want to work in.

Then, you need to do your research to find out which businesses are likely to be potential customers within that market.

Then research each business & find out who you need to speak to.

Then get a conversation going with that person & sell yourself & your services.

You also need to know what you want to charge.  Take into account all of the above time & your expected time preparing for & doing the work, figure out what hourly rate you want & multiply it all by that.  Then add your expenses.  You'll need this info so you can tell your potential client what your rates are.

You'll find, as with any photography business, the majority of your time will be spent doing legwork & paperwork.

Or, you could just take a wild guess & offer your services to anyone you think might be able to use them.  You won't earn much, but it'll make you smile more.

With us WestsideAV.com it was just a natural addition to our video production company. We used to shoot from helicopters or planes, very expensive. So our clients now love the fact that we can do aerials at a reasonable price. $1,500.00 per day, it used to be $7-10K per day.

I do have 5 MRs for video, the P3P is the least expensive, but we use it a lot. The most expensive MR is north of $10K.

One thing to bear in mind is at this point (333) you must stay 500' away from persons or property that are not involved and have permission for the shoot and you must file a NOTAM 24 hrs before the shoot. This makes most real estate shoots impossible as you also have to stay below 400', so unless you are shooting a mansion with lots of acreage it is impossible to follow the FAA rules.

This may change when PAR107 is enacted hopefully soon.

Also bear in mind you need a lot of insurance to operate commercially.

I am talking about in the USA. There are lots of operators not following these rules, and that is up to them. But if something goes wrong or you are caught it can be very expensive.

adic27 Posted at 2016-5-19 03:48
lol nice. how do you go about getting such gigs if you dont mind me asking

Thanks!

    I am going to assume that the idea of using your UAV for hire is an intriguing idea and you want to know how to get your toes wet in the field (test the waters) .

I got started purely by accident.  I own my own technology/networking company, and while being a pilot for several years had NEVER even used a RC car let alone a UAV.  Got my first P3 last summer and was doing it only as a hobby.....although I must admit I was flying my cojones off every chance I got!  

A customer of mine who owns several large farms asked if I could do some aerial recon on 3 of his water damaged fields late in the summer.  Paid me what I thought was a small fortune doing something I would have done for free........then BOOM....the word got out and I was getting requests for everything from roof inspections to aerial house pictures.

That being said I initially masked the work I was doing into "Technology Services" , but realized that I needed to be street legal. So with my pilots license and a couple of lawyer sisters I got a 333 late last fall, got liability insurance and bought another P3, P4 and an Inspire.

I think the laws are going to change very soon in the US and make it far more feasible for commercial UAV use and I think that's a good thing.

This is such a new commercial technology that there are people out and about that could benefit from this tech and don't even know it yet.  I took a friend of mine out on a job last week, who is a county EMT supervisor and he was so impressed, he got authorization for county emergency services to call me during the summer when they get one of their numerous field fires so they can determine the borders of the fire and the best way to contain the blaze.  That never dawned on either of us until he saw the P4 in action.

So I say there are a slew of ways to get started in using your UAV for hire.  Just be smart, safe and
make sure you follow ALL the rules.

Good Luck and safe flying!

hmmm...this last post reminds me:  a few weeks ago the chief of police of my small town (5000 people) stopped and asked me if I'd be interested in flying recon/searches the next time we have a flood (we flood often here).  I said damn right!  I wouldn't charge them, but is such an activity, for a public service, still considered "commercial"?  surely not, but I have seen posts here in the past that suggest for instance flying for a real estate agent to get a house picture is commercial activity even if you do not charge them.

Do you guys know if it's possible to get an FAA 333 exemption for a Phantom if you're under 18?

Thanks.