To opt our or not to opt out?

Let me preface by saying this is my own personal opinion and why I decided to opt out.

Link to FAA request to opt out : https://www.faa.gov/licenses_certificates/airmen_certification/change_releasability/ 

I am not a fan of releasing my address to the public.  I work from home and have a wife and kiddo there too.  If I ran this business out of an office, that would be a different story.  

Ask any of my clients or friends and they will tell you I am open to pretty much anything.  If you wanted the registration for my drone, it is located on the About page.  Do you want my 107 certificate number to match to the FAA registry? That is also located on the About page.  Personal and business cell phone number?  Check the contact page.  Home address/business address, I will not share.  The world is a scary yet beautiful and safe place full of good and bad people.   I love my family and respect their privacy as much as anyone else.  The same goes for my clients.  Unless they want me to post say real-estate addresses, I will not.  Your privacy is just as important to me.  

Personally I opted out because of my family, but one day when I have an office outside of my home, I have no problem releasing that address to the public.

Brady R.

Pilot, Editor, Owner

What is LAANC?

LAANC stands for "Low Altitude Authorization Notification Capability" (Terrible acronym in my opinion).  Simply put LAANC is a system that allows small unmanned systems or "drones" to request authorization to fly in controlled airspace. 

DISCLAIMER: As of posting this blog McCarran airport is not utilizing the LAANC system and is used strictly as a theoretical example.  Good news is I have a COA for Class B airspace near McCarran airport.

I live in Las Vegas and we have a central airport McCarran International that covers most of Las Vegas in controlled airspace "B" classification.  This means that any commercial flights MUST have prior authorization from the FAA.  This is called a COA or "certificate of authorization".  The downside is that the COA takes 90+ days to get from the FAA.  What if you had a client book you 2 weeks out but you did not prepare ahead of time or apply for that COA?  Well simply put you can not legally fly in that airspace.  With the LAANC system however you can request authorization and be approved or denied within minutes!  This is a huge help to small business drone businesses.  The goal is to have legal pilots (107 certified) to apply for airspace authorization in a quick and efficient manner over the COA.  

Here is the downside.  You may be denied for any reason.  If you do not have a COA for the airspace and the LAANC system request is denied, you can not fly legally.  However if you do not have a COA it is an alternative solution for those places you don't usually fly in.

Here's where it will fit into our arsenal.  COA will always have priority (until discontinued).  LAANC will be utilized in the occasional jobs that I do not already have a COA.  

I am excited to see how systems such as Airmap and Skyward will utilize LAANC and look forward to testing this system out.

Brady R.

Pilot, Editor, Owner

5 Reasons why Prone to Drone?

Let's dive right into it to make this super sweet and simple...

#1 Part 107 Certificate holder.  This means that I have completed the current FAA qualifications to fly a drone "in furtherance of a business".  If you do not have a part 107 pilot for things such as youtube videos (with monitization), commercials, real-estate listings, etc... the pilot is flying illegally.

#2 Airspace authorization for Las Vegas valley and more!  If you fly within any airspace for commercial purposes you MUST have authorization.  Obviously this is for the safety of our skies.  There have been several incidences of drone collisions with manned aircraft which are completely unacceptable.  If you are authorized in specific airspace, you should also have your commercial license as in #1 to understand and know the regulations.

#3 Insured.  Chew on this for a minute... say you are a realtor and you hire some joe off craigslist because they are cheap.  Chances are they are not licensed, authorized or insured.  If that pilot get's caught, you and the pilot could both be looking at $1100 per infraction.  Not only that, but what if they wanted to fly near the home and had a malfunction and crashed through your clients window!!!!  Who do you think would be fronting the bill for that one?  Or even worse if there was a failure and it actually struck a human.  Even if an unlicensed drone operator had insurance without a 107, the insurance would not cover the damage.  Just as if an unlicensed driver of a car got into a crash, insurance would not cover it.  Make sure any pilot hired has insurance and is licensed!

#4 You are dealing with one person from start to finish.  From booking to the flight all the way to deliverable.  

#5 I take pride in your satisfaction.  As a client I consider you family and I take care of family.  Nothing but the best is good enough.  

Let family take care of family.  Give me a call for your next listing, construction project, or party for all of your aerial needs!

Brady R.

Pilot, Editor, Owner