Get Your FAA Certification & Make Money Piloting Drones
If you have years of experience flying drones, did you know you could actually make money on your hobby? If you are skilled at taking video and photos, while gently maneuvering your drone through the air, you can capitalize on your skills. All you need to start is FAA Certification.
First Step: FAA Certification
Firstly, even if you are freelancing your drone flying skills, most commercial-grade jobs require you to have your FAA Certification. That means that the first step to capitalizing on your abilities is to become FAA certified. You can access multiple training courses online, as well as in-person, that can be easier to receive your certification. There are states that will not let you fly at all if you do not have your FAA certification. There is a chance you may already be certified so you might be able to pass this step.
Second Step: Practice
After you get FAA certified, your next step is to practice. Even if you know the basics of flight, and have been flying for a couple of years, practicing is important to hone your skills. It is important to learn the advance maneuvers and familiarize yourself with the features of your drone. If you find yourself with a beginner drone, for the sake of your goal, it may be time to upgrade to something a bit bigger. Whatever drone you use should have a built-in HD camera, extra batteries for extended flight time, and altitude hold.
Step Three: Your Niche
One of the harder steps to complete is finding your niche. Your goal is to make money piloting drones, but how do you do this? You could work with the farmers to help keep an eye on their crops, or even get into agricultural spraying. Many realtors pay for perfect pictures of their selling properties. You could even take matters into your own hand if you have the skill, and take your own shots and try to sell them to interested clients. This is a creative step, allowing you to use your imagination to the fullest. Build off your strong points, and make money for doing so.
Step Four: Target Clients
The hardest part is behind you, and your niche has been found. Now it is time to get paid for doing one of your favorite hobbies. Unless you have chosen to secure a full-time job as a drone pilot, you are most likely working freelance. This means you have to sell yourself to clients and prospects to receive work. You might have to start small with lower-paying gigs until you build a reference list that is respectable. Once you have some experience under your belt, you are able to charge more.
In order to locate a good clientele, you need to look at your local classifieds and job postings. You have to do the ‘leg work’ of contacting those in need of drone work, such as realtors or farmers. There are other means of advertising, fliers, and social media for a couple of examples, so utilize every option you can. Take your niche into consideration when marketing yourself. If you want to photograph weddings from the sky, place business cards at bridal boutiques.
Step Five: Quality
Once you have a good client base or just a few clients, it is up to you to provide a quality product. Remember that the best advertisement is word of mouth. So the better job you do, the better the references you get from the client. As you become more experienced you can switch to more advanced droneshttps://amzn.to/2tPmFIh for better quality.
Conclusion
If you follow these steps, you could find a fruitful career as a drone pilot. Even if you want to do it to make some extra cash, your goal is within reach. Click here to learn more!
P.S. For flying drones in Canada please read our article “Flying Drone in Canada – 9 Things to Know“.
