DroneBase (YC W15) raises from Union Square to pay any pilot for aerial footage

https://techcrunch.com/2016/11/14/drones-for-hire/

by signor_bosco • 10 years ago

21 20 10 years ago

techcrunch.com

danielvf2• 10 years ago

Has anyone had any experience flying drones for them? How many jobs are around? Hiw much do they pay?

sean_patel• 10 years ago

I was wondering about this too. Looks a little shady ( on DroneBase's part), from what I am seeing in Pilot Forums.

Ex: See this thread. Most (if not all) wanna be Pilots are stating a very similar experience. http://www.inspirepilots.com/threads/dronebase-skycatch-etc-...

1) Sign up

2) Get email promising Gigs

3) wait and wait and wait for 3 to 6 months without any paid gigs.

I wonder who it is that shot all the alleged footage for Hilton Hotels etc (mentioned in the TC article). Could very well be a single pilot or company that produced stunning footage to get funding etc.

gholevas• 10 years ago

I've been a pilot for them for the last 5 months. They've sent me 5-6 client gigs with an average payout of about $225 per gig. I've never done one of the panorama jobs that are not a guaranteed pay out. Overall I can't complain, each job takes about 20 minutes to do and I've never driven more than 40 minutes to the site.

daurnimator• 10 years ago

DJI has become DroneBase’s most important partner. DroneBase requires pilots to exclusively use the Chinese manufacturer’s hardware in order to standardize the footage collected

I think that would be a massive turn off for people here. DJI's drones are not known for their quality, price, configurability or.... well... anything utilitarian.

danielvf2• 10 years ago

What? DJI's are hands down the easiest to control medium drone out there. They are reliable, have great flying time, and decent cameras out of the box.

In the consumer camera-in-the-sky space, everything out there is compared against a Phantom.

sverige4• 10 years ago

Fly it over my property and expect it to be neutralized.

RhodesianHunter• 10 years ago

You own neither the sky over your property nor the minerals underneath it.

JumpCrisscross• 10 years ago

Unless you're willing to file suit in a federal court, I wouldn't risk a drone over others' property in many parts of the country.

callmeed• 10 years ago

Own? No. But, law is fairly clear that an owner is entitled to freedom from excessive noise and passage by airborne carriers. If an aircraft is in flight so low that it is unreasonably disturbing to the landowner, the aircraft could be held liable for trespassing on your property.

sverige4• 10 years ago

Actually, I do own the mineral rights for my property.

pierotofy• 10 years ago

As a pilot I just don't see the value this (and others) platform could offer. What makes them different than the other dozen platforms that advertise drone services? They are also a little misleading, "If you are at least 18 years old and have your own drone, you're 99% there."? There's regulations to follow in many countries, and severe penalties for violating them.

tedmiston• 10 years ago

fly 10-minute missions, upload the assets, and get paid if a DroneBase clients wants to buy the info

and get paid if...

clownman• 10 years ago

Isn't this highly illegal in the US without a (very expensive) commercial license? IIRC You can't drive for Uber w/o a drivers license.

matheweis• 10 years ago

Commercial licensing under part 107 is a couple of hundred bucks; a bit more if you go through a fancy training program. The requirement for a full scale pilots license was a stopgap that no longer applies. See https://www.faa.gov/news/fact_sheets/news_story.cfm?newsId=2...

That being said, this company looks as sketchy as all get out... fly random "jobs" and you "might" get paid? I get the business model - have people fly jobs and then try to sell the imagery but wow...

DroneBase (YC W15) raises from Union Square to pay any pilot for aerial footage

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