What Can an Aerial Drone Do For Me?
Drones especially aerial drones are increasing in popularity. They are like extended eyes and hands for people which extends their vision and reach. It is a good idea to consider the drone business even if you are just a drone pilot. According to Business Insider in their online report the drone market is expected to grow from $4.4 billion in 2018 to $63.6 billion by 2025.
Be a Drone Pilot
First let us talk about the good news: Drone pilots can earn as much as six figures per year in America by being drone pilots. There is an article from MarketWatch which precisely states this. In their article titled: Want to make six figures? Try being a drone pilot.
In fact you can see other articles by simply typing the Google keywords: “drone flyer salary” and other but similar Google keywords. We therefore can conclude that the market for aerial drones is growing exponentially. Because of this, adding the skill of flying aerial drones could be good for you career wise.
However being a drone pilot is not as straightforward as being able to fly a drone competently at least in countries like America, Australia, Philippines and the UK. Depending on the drone you would fly especially in weight categories you might need to get licensed to fly one.
There are however drone flying courses and certifications available online that may help you. However the best practice you would be able to get is by actually training on a real drone. You can start with a small one and gradually graduate to bigger and heavier ones were licenses are required.
You should be training yourself in flying a drone competently in a safe place where you are not in danger of harming people and damaging objects with your drones. Many professional drone pilots recommend this based on their experience of seeing people buy expensive drones and flying them in areas were they endanger people and their properties and most especially their drones.
While you are training you may want to research on drone ownership rules. What are the areas your drone is allowed and not allowed to go into? What are the rules of flying a drone at night? These are just some of the questions you should be able to answer on your way to becoming a professional drone pilot.
Start With Inexpensive RC Aerial Toys
At the beginning you might just be fascinated with seeing what an aerial drone could do. Before drones came into the picture there were the remote controlled (RC) scale model toy airplanes, helicopters and similar toys. Drones and these toys are very similar and most people can’t even tell the difference.
However drones can be compared to toy helicopters with multiple rotors (rotors are the parts which make the helicopter blades spin). That is how people mostly see aerial drones. The remote controller of these drones and toys are also similar. They have buttons for on and off, levers for navigations and so on.
So aspiring drone pilots and even just hobbyists can practice with the more cheaper option which are the RC toys. You can in fact purchase an RC helicopter toy for less than $10 if you are in America.
Anyone who has flown a cheap RC toy knows how difficult it is to fly one especially if you are a beginner. These toys are known for having crude and simple navigation controls particularly suited only for simple flying.
I guess most people who have flown one of these toys even the expensive ones have experienced repeatedly crashing these toys against obstacles and the ground itself. Many of these toys especially the cheap ones are made to withstand repeated crashes that is why they make excellent crash test subjects.
One thing good about them also is that if you have mastered them you can still keep them as toys or pass them along. If graduated flying RC toys and have bought your own expensive drone then maybe you as a parent or an older adult can pass these RC toys to your children or children you know.
Drone Racing
If you are still in your early years and still probably enjoying life you can try being a drone racer. It is a fast growing sport and can almost be held anywhere even above water. This is not advisable though since drones are not waterproof and you can damage or entirely destroy your drone when it crashes into the water.
Still we can see the appeal of flying drones above water. It is like flying drones above fires where if the drone crashes it gets destroyed by being burned. Like it or not this is one of the appeals of drone racing or any racing in fact.
Chalk it up to human nature and the excitement people get from seeing something potentially get hurt or damaged by high speed racing. The obstacles and speed in aerial racing is what makes the sport exciting for many.
What makes drone racing ideal is that nobody gets hurt by racing although one can still get hurt when a drone crashes in them. So it is advisable that both players and spectators are protected from any drones that might crash in them.
Drone racing is also particularly appealing to millennials and the younger generations who grew up playing video games by pressing buttons and levers in their console video game and mobile phones. It is a step up for them from playing racing video games on screen to racing drones in real life in real world tracks.
The growing popularity of the sport is what is making it profitable. For example according to Wikipedia in 2016 Dubai hosted a drone racing competition where the prize money is $1 million. This not only means good news for drone pilots but to drone competition promoters and anyone involved in the sport.
You can be a drone pilot and compete in these competitions or be a promoter instead. Drone competitions can be held anywhere as long as there is wide enough space to fly drones. You can hold the competition outdoors or indoors. There are plenty of wide enough outdoor spaces like parks, deserts, grasslands to conduct the sport.
Though indoor competitions can be a bit restrictive to high speed racing indoor competitions can thrive with obstacle races where maneuvering skills are more the winning factor than speeding skills.
Simply put there are many places both indoors and outdoors where you would find flying drones hard if not impossible. Can you fly a drone inside hollow tubes barely large enough for a human to pass thru? These are the sort of scenarios one can use in such competitions.
Imagine if you created a competition similar to American Ninja Warriors but instead for humans the competition is for drones. You can organize legal competitions without costing a lot of money but with a big potential for earnings.
Even if you do not have drones you can still conduct these competitions using cheaper or more expensive RC aerial toys. For example you can use RC helicopter toys for racing or for obstacle course racing. How popular your competition would be depends more on the promoter rather than what is racing.
For example you might think that cockroach racing might be a niche sport and not popular but the more you know about it the more you discover that it is popular for many people and has almost a cult like following. You can do the same thing even if you are just racing toy RC helicopters.
Drones Put To Work
If you are a person who wants to create more productive uses for drones and not just for sport you can try any of these businesses that are based upon drone technology. The service here is drone flying and the products are videos and images:
Aerial photography
There are many drones sold for such purposes. You can provide services where drones photograph or make videos about landscapes, real estate, sporting events, real estate, wedding and other occasions, wildlife, film and tv subjects and so on.
In this business your clients pay for high quality videos and images. So besides skills in flying a drone you must also be skilled in photography not to mention you should have high quality imaging equipment like cameras and video recorders to produce high quality products.
Aerial Surveillance
If you offer security services this would be a great addition to your services and might even save you cost. However you might have to add extra capabilities to your drone which will allow it to fly in dark areas especially unlit areas during nighttime.
A drone can easily survey a large space in such a short time which makes them superior in this instance to people. They can also provide very high aerial views which people on the ground cannot provide. In terms of variety in viewing angle they are superior to human security guards.
They can also fit in places most people cannot. For example during earthquakes there have been many instances were drones were used to enter very narrow spaces to search for survivors. This could be a good market for you if you sell small surveillance drones.
Aerial Inspections
This is most used in the engineering and scientific field. More than just carrying simple cameras drones used for these purposes carry more sophisticated equipment like special infrared cameras and GPS (global positioning systems) that enable them to for example provide cartographic information.
Their uses are varied. They can be used to inspect the conditions of roofs, building exteriors, gutters, chimney and so on. They can be used to map an area. They can be used to examine archeological sites. They can be used to analyze the progress of a construction site.
They can also be fitted with scientific equipment for flood and pollution monitoring as well as forestry management. They can be used for mining to detect natural resources like minerals, oil and gas. They can be used for urban planning in cities.
Perhaps one of their most common uses in aerial inspections is in insurance where they detect damages in structures for insurance purposes. If you are enterprising enough you can hunt down damages in buildings yourself and sell this information to insurance companies and/or the actual building owners themselves.
Another growing use of aerial inspections is in agriculture where you help the farmers gather agriculture data like soil data and pest/fungal infestations. Drones have also been used to scatter seeds and water plants in farms.
Aerial Advertising
This is especially helpful for advertising companies. You can offer a service where your drone hovers above people. Your drone would have an advertising medium like a banner attached to it. You can even market a drone drop where your drone drops giveaways to customers to attract more attention to your client’s product.
For example during a trade show you can advertise a certain company’s booth using your drone by displaying the company’s banner as well as the location of their booth. You can even use the drone to direct customer towards the company’s booth.
Drones in Construction
Many automation products are being introduced in the construction industry. Drones are one these products. Drones can carry building materials and perform other tasks such as painting walls. They can also be used in wiring a building by carrying wires and cables.
Chances are complete automation is not likely to happen due to the sophistication of the tasks involved in construction. Drone pilots can still be used to navigate or even program the drones to do tasks. For example the uncomplicated task for a human of carrying building materials is complicated for a drone. This is where your drone flying or programming skills will be needed.
Other Drone Businesses
There are still other businesses you can do. We will not discuss drone delivery as this kind of business is largely being developed by big technology companies and almost everyone is interested in it.
Drones are expensive and can be fragile so there is an opportunity for you to earn money by fixing damaged ones. There are also people who customize their drones. This could also be a good business for you if you know how to customize drones especially by adding add-on products to it.
You can also offer online and real physical courses in flying, building and repairing drones. You can offer photography classes to go along with your courses. If you have experience with scientific and engineering equipments used with drones you can offer this to a smaller but more profitable client base like scientists, engineers or students in such fields.
Conclusion
Drones are getting more and more popular and industry experts predict that the drone industry will grow exponentially in the coming years. If you have the means and inclination it would be a good idea to get licensed as a drone pilot. Drone pilots can earn good money even six digits if you are for example an American.
You can hone your skills and save money by testing yourself first on cheap RC aerial toys before progressing to your own expensive drones. Flying drones for sport can be lucrative as there is a growing market of young people who want to graduate from playing video games to actual racing games using same buttons and levers. You can also be a promoter instead.
If you want a more productive use of your drone skills you can market you drone service in the photography, surveillance, advertising and related services and products. One thing to note though is that drones and its add-on equipments could be expensive when damaged and could ruin your business altogether. Be very careful in handling them.