The barrier to owning a capable drone is a credit card. The barrier to flying one for money is a federal certificate, insurance and a working knowledge of the airspace you are standing under. Most of the bad experiences I hear about live in the gap between those two.
1. Are you Part 107 certified?
Any flight conducted for compensation requires an FAA Part 107 remote pilot certificate. This is not a formality. It is the line between a commercial operation and an illegal one. Ask to see the certificate. Anybody who holds one will send it over without hesitating.
2. Are you insured, and for how much?
Ask for a certificate of insurance with the liability coverage listed on it. Plenty of commercial properties, construction sites and associations require the operator to carry coverage and to name them as additional insured before anything leaves the ground. If that request produces a long pause, you have your answer.
3. Is my address in controlled airspace, and can you file for it?
In South Florida this is the question that tells you the most. A professional will already have a rough idea of the answer for your address, will say whether the authorization looks quick or slow, and will tell you how much lead time to allow. An operator who has never filed one tends to change the subject.
4. Can you fly at night?
Night and civil twilight operations need their own FAA authorization. If the twilight exterior is the frame you actually want, this question decides whether you are talking to the right operator.
5. Are you a licensed business?
A registered, licensed business with a real address behaves differently from a person with a drone, and it is the difference between a job that is invoiced and insured and one that is neither.
6. Who owns the images, and what can I do with them?
This is the one that causes disputes months later. Sort out before the shoot whether you are receiving ownership or a license, whether the license covers the uses you have in mind, and whether the operator may put the images in their own portfolio. None of those answers are wrong. Finding out afterwards is the part that goes badly.
7. What exactly do I receive, and when?
Number of edited stills, video length and format, resolution, how it gets delivered, and how fast. Ours is edited stills within 24 hours of the shoot through an online gallery. You should be able to get a sentence like that out of anybody you are considering.
Common questions
Is a Part 107 certificate really required for real estate photos?
Yes. Any flight for compensation, including photographing a listing, is a commercial operation under FAA rules and requires a certificated remote pilot.
What insurance should a drone operator carry?
Liability coverage at minimum, with the ability to issue a certificate of insurance. Many sites also require being named as additional insured, which is a routine request.
How do I verify a pilot's certificate?
Ask to see it. The FAA also maintains an airmen inquiry lookup, and a legitimate operator will have no problem with either route.
This piece supports two pages worth reading next:
Frantz founded Papa's Aerial Services and flies as pilot in command on commercial jobs across Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach. He holds an FAA Part 107 remote pilot certificate and the company is licensed, insured and authorized for night operations.
