Joined about 2 months ago
Part 107 pilot, GIS background
on Building a drone survey portfolio - what to include
Interactive maps are a game-changer for portfolios. Embed a DroneDeploy or Mapbox interactive viewer on your site. Let prospects zoom in and explore the data quality themselves. Also include your accuracy reports. Engineers and surveyors who evaluate your work want to see RMSE numbers, not just pretty orthomosaics.
on When do you actually need 3D orthomosaics vs standard 2D?
Some of this is driven by software marketing. Pix4D and others push 3D ortho as a premium feature and clients see it in the sales materials and assume they need it. It's on us to educate them about what they actually need for their use case. That said - if you're flying with the M4E oblique cameras anyway, the 3D ortho is basically free since you already have the oblique imagery. No reason not to generate it in that case.
on Connecting third-party RTK base stations to DJI drones
Thanks for writing this up Quinn. The number of people who think you HAVE to use DJI's base station is wild. Any RTCM3 source works. Does anyone know if this works with the Mini 4 Pro? I know it doesn't have RTK built in but wondering about the aftermarket modules.
on Best practices for drone surveys on construction sites
Put GCPs on things that don't move - fire hydrants, manhole covers, utility poles. Paint targets on curbs once they're poured. Nail targets to wooden stakes driven flush with grade in areas that won't be disturbed. We learned the hard way that no GCP survives grading operations. Plan for re-establishment.
on Exporting to Civil3D - best workflow?
Also check out the Autodesk Connector app in DroneDeploy. It pushes data directly to BIM360/ACC. Not as useful for traditional Civil3D but if your clients are on Autodesk cloud it's slick. For local Civil3D work, Craig's workflow is basically what I do too.
on Before/after of a 200-acre solar farm installation
Would love to hear more about the panel alignment verification process. We're pitching a similar project and need to articulate the value proposition to the EPC contractor. What accuracy were you getting on individual panel positioning?
on Flight altitude vs GSD tradeoffs - when to fly higher?
Rule of thumb: your achievable accuracy is roughly 1-2x your GSD in ideal conditions. If the client needs 0.1' accuracy, you need sub-3cm GSD. Do the math backwards from requirements.
on What overlap settings are you using for construction sites?
DroneDeploy's flight app will actually recommend overlap based on your site and flight altitude. For most construction sites it suggests 70-75 front, 65-70 side. I generally just trust the recommendation unless there's something unusual about the site.
on Remote ID compliance - what's everyone doing?
Got a DroneTag module for my older drones. $150 each, velcros on, works fine. Cheaper than upgrading if your current equipment still meets your needs.
on Flying near airports - LAANC approval process
Document everything. Screenshot your LAANC approval, keep records of any coordination. If something goes wrong you want a paper trail.
on M3E vs M350 RTK for small survey firm - worth the price jump?
We kept the M3E and invested in a good base station instead. D-RTK 2 mobile station + more GCPs = significantly cheaper than the M350 upgrade and we're hitting 2cm accuracy on checkpoints.
on Oblique imagery for facade surveys - flight planning tips
For facades I typically fly at 45 degrees off nadir. Higher overlap than usual - 80/80 at minimum. The key is consistent distance from the building surface. Process as a 3D model, not ortho. Pix4D's 3D Maps template works well.
on Best NDAA compliant drone for survey work?
DroneDeploy supports both X10 and Astro for processing btw. X10 has cloud sync integration, Astro is more manual but PPK processing works. So you don't have to change your whole workflow, just the aircraft. Skydio X10 is probably the easiest transition from DJI if you're already in the DroneDeploy ecosystem.
on Insurance requirements for commercial drone survey
BWI Aviation is popular in the survey community. I carry $1M liability and hull coverage for about $1200/year total. Most clients accept $1M but some government contracts require $5M.
on DJI Dock 2 for autonomous survey missions - anyone using it?
The scheduling is really slick. You can set it to fly at the same time every day, same flight path, and it handles battery swaps automatically. For change detection it's perfect.
on Part 107 waiver for night ops - how hard is it?
Actually this changed! As of 2021 you don't need a waiver for night operations anymore. You need: 1. Anti-collision lights visible for 3 statute miles 2. Complete the updated Part 107 training (or recurrent) that includes night ops The M3E has lights built in that meet the requirement. Just make sure your Part 107 cert is current and you took the updated test.
on RTK vs PPK - when do you use which?
One more thing - some processing software handles PPK better than others. DroneDeploy's Auto-PPK is dead simple, just upload and it figures out the corrections. Pix4D requires more manual steps. Factor that into your workflow decision.
on DroneDeploy vs Pix4D vs Propeller - which one for a surveyor?
@CadCraig Export options are solid - you get LAS, LAZ, DXF, and you can export surfaces directly. There's also an Autodesk integration if you're on their cloud stuff. I export to Civil3D regularly, no complaints.
on Starting a drone program - M3E RTK or Anzu Raptor?
M3E. Not even close for a startup. You want the biggest community and most tutorials available when you're learning. The DJI ecosystem is just more documented.