Here are some general questions that come up regarding our drone flight services, some more often than others.
Where are you located?
Above & Beyond Imagery is located in Hudson, Wisconsin, on the Beautiful St Croix River Valley.
We provide drone flight services to the surrounding counties of Pierce, Dunn, and Polk. However, we don’t mind traveling further for work. In the past we have made trips to Eau Claire, La Crosse, Rice Lake, and Superior.
What does “sUAV” Stand for?
Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. Drone and sUAV on this website can be used interchangeably.
Are drone flights ever postponed or delayed?
Sometimes drone flights are postponed. This is almost always due to current weather conditions, as drones are not waterproof and have wind limitations. In some instances, though rare, temporary flight restrictions come up and restrict flights… this is usually due to presidential visits or other high level cabinet visits.
For more information on postponed flights, check out out our information page dedicated to this topic: Postponed Flights.
What does “PIC” stand for?
PIC stands for “Pilot In Command”. The PIC is the sUAV pilot in direct control of the drone, or who directs the person at the drone’s controls.
What Are “Deliverables”?
Deliverables are the results from the sUAV flight that are to be delivered to the client. Photos, video, orthomosaics, and roof mapping reports are some examples of deliverables.
Clients must have an email address and be able to download their deliverables from a secure weblink provided by Above & Beyond Imagery.
Typically deliverables are made available within 24-48 hours after the sUAV flight has concluded.
How Long Do You Keep Deliverables Available For Download?
Above & Beyond Imagery keeps deliverables available for 90 days only. After that time the files will be purged from our cloud storage.
The reason is for this is storage space. Videos and photography collected from a sUAV flight, along with any other content generated from that imagery, such as orthomosaics, roofing reports, and more, require a large amount of storage space. Cloud Storage space incurs costs, and in an effort to keep costs down, we purge client deliverable files after 90 days.
Are there any limitations to the drone (sUAV) flights you can perform?
There are and here are some of the most basic:
- The drone must be within visual line of site of the PIC during the flight. While most drones are capable of flying many miles away and maintain communications with the remote control device, doing so would put the drone out of visual line of site of the drone pilot, which is illegal not to mention unsafe. On occasional special FAA waivers can be obtained if needed, but so far Above and Beyond Imagery has not needed one.
- sUAV flights may not exceed 400 feet AGL (Above Ground Level), but can exceed 400 feet above the highest point of any structure while remaining within a 400 foot radius of that structure. This is done to provide safe separation of drone flights from airplanes.
- sUAV flights must also stay 500 feet below clouds and no closer than 2000 feet horizontally.
- sUAV operations may not interfere in any way with any manned-aircraft operations. There are also strict airspace rules for various areas of the county. Some airspace areas require authorization to operate a sUAV within, such as certain classifications of airspace near many airports.
Are your drones (sUAVs) waterproof and able to fly when it is raining?
Sadly no. Poor weather, such as rain, sleet, sprinkles, snow, and high wind cause drone flights to be postponed until the weather clears. Low cloud cover and visibility can also cause a sUAV flight to have to be postponed.
There are also cold weather limitations for many sUAVs. Most manufacturers suggest their drones not be operated in temperatures below freezing.
Scheduled drone flights may need to be postponed: You can read more about that here at our POSTPONED FLIGHTS page.
What is the difference between someone who is FAA Part 107 commercially licensed to fly an sUAV, and someone who is not?
In order to legally fly a sUAV for monetary reimbursement, the Federal Government requires pilots be educated in Civil sUAV Operations, Procedures, Regulations, Safety Planning, and a whole lot more.
Someone without an Part 107 Certificate caught flying for compensation can face a stiff fine from the FAA, as can the person and the company that hired them. Any broken regulation can result in additional fines on top of the first, and they can add up fast.
*** Make sure any drone pilot you hire is Part 107 licensed and insured! The FAA has been cracking down.
What is Remote ID, and do your drones have this feature?
Remote ID is form of ‘digital license plate’ for drones that broadcasts a signal that can be tracked and used to identify a drone and its operator. There are a few different regulations that affect if a drone is required to broadcast a Remote ID Signal; essentially any drone used for commercial use under Part 107 is required to have it, either by means of eternal software and hardware capabilities, or by affixing a special broadcast module to the outside of the drone.
All of the drones used by Above and Beyond Imagery are Remote ID compliant with FAA regulations, and registered as such with the FAA. To be caught otherwise could incur hefty fines.
Do your drones have special safety features to avoid ‘flyaways’ and ‘collisions’?
Yes they do. Above & Beyond Imagery uses DJI or Autel Robotics ‘enterprise’ or ‘pro’ level drones, such as the Phantom 4 Pro 2.0, and Mini 3 Pro, and Air 2S. These drones have specific features, such as collision avoidance, altitude sensors, and automatic ‘return to home’ functions under specific safety conditions.
Many low cost and amateur drones do not have such features, and some that do don’t function very well. DJI, Autel and Parrot drones are at the forefront of drone technology and safety features.
Are your drone flights insured?
Yes. Above and beyond Imagery carries flight insurance from Skywatch for $1,000,000 on each flight. More insurance can be added as requested for certain projects.
Further Questions Not Answered Here:
Please reach out to Above & Beyond Imagery with any further questions through our CONTACT page.