Power Washing and Roof Cleaning Forum

BlueRidge · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Drones and the FAA

Art O · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Drone were big when they first came out, not a lot of guys are using them anymore.

BlueRidge · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Art O wrote:
Drone were big when they first came out, not a lot of guys are using them anymore.

Maybe it's the FAA stuff.

Eric Schnaible · Approved Exterior Cleaner

I was never a big fan of drones but I definitely use mine for good before and after photos. I have the certification as required. It’s unfortunate that many of the good, large commercial jobs are close to airports. All in all, I think they are a great investment for our business. If mine dies I would get another for sure.

Jason Watkins · Exterior Cleaner

I bought one to use for filming jobs, they make some incredible looking videos. I think i remember one guy said he even used it for gutter estimates occasionally.

I had never flown a drone before, and when i got it i couldn't believe how it performed... almost felt illegal to have something like it, hah. Really incredible technology... both the drone itself, and the HD camera/gimbal... footage was steady as a rock and crystal clear. 30 miles an hour, 400 ft high (that's legal limit, but capable of 1600 ft), and 1+ mile out if you want, all while transmitting live video.

Takes a lot of practice, though... i wrecked mine soon after i got it... still flies but camera mechanism broke. Haven't had time to order the replacement part yet.

Prices are coming down, so i expect to see more drones as time goes on.

I took a gamble on ordering one from china that rivals the $1k DJI models for a lot cheaper... was a Xiaomi Mi Drone 4k. I got it on sale... with expedited shipping, it was only $385... took a couple weeks to get here, i think.

You can find head to head comparisons with it and higher priced models on youtube... performs as well, or even better according to some, at a lower cost.

Only issue i'm aware of is that some customers report a tilt on the camera footage... mine had it. I think they were working on a fix, but I haven't kept up with it lately. I think this issue affects other high end drones as well, but maybe not at the frequency that it does with the Mi. There were some work arounds that had moderate success, and i think you can correct it with editing software, if necessary.

Xiaomi Drone 4k: https://www.gearbest.com/rc-quadcopters/pp_363299.html

DJI Mavic Pro would be a safer bet if you didnt want to order from China... lots of guys use these to make some great videos. It's smaller too, but twice the price.

DJI Mavic Pro : https://www.amazon.com/DJI-CP-PT-000500-Mavic-Pro/dp/B01LZ8QTSU

Both of these drones can take 4k HD video, or lower resolution if you want... like 1080 or 720.

-- Edited by Jason Watkins on Thursday 25th of January 2018 03:17:08 AM