These drones are highly ranked by not only our team, but the majority of users in the market today. Drone manufacturer DJI accounts for 70% of the global drone market (for a reason).

These drones are great if you are looking to purchase a ready-to-use drone at a beginner/intermediate level.

The Highest Level

We have a lot of friends who are heavily involved with cinematography, looking to take the next step and add aerial photography/videography to their services. For them, our team would recommend these next few drones!

To clarify, the drones listed above are for beginner to intermediate. They provide incredible features and are easy to fly, with little to no experience. Once you make your way into the drones below, we would suggest having experience before purchasing.

Our team has received various requests to address the consumer drones that also have commercial applications in more than just aerial photography/videography.

DJI’s Camera supports AUTO Mode, A Mode & M Mode

AUTO Mode: In this mode, your camera will automatically adjust the shutter speeds and aperture for optimal exposure given a current environment.

A Mode: In this mode, you can actually set the aperture and the camera will automatically change the shutter speed for optimal exposure according to the environment.

Note: A Maintenance schedule should be devised to ensure safety and reliability.

Structural or skin cracking: Further inspect to determine scope of damage and existence of possible hidden damage that may compromise structural integrity.

Liquid or gel leakage: Further inspect to determine source of the leakage. This condition may pose a risk of fire resulting in extreme heat negatively impacting aircraft structures, aircraft performance characteristics, and flight duration.

Control inputs delayed: Discontinue flight and/or avoid further flight operations until further inspection and testing of the control link between the ground control unit and the aircraft. Ensure accurate control communications are established.

Battery casing distorted (bulging): Distorted battery casings may indicate impending failure resulting in abrupt power loss and/or explosion. An electrical hazard may be present, posing a risk of fire or extreme heat negatively impacting aircraft structures, aircraft performance characteristics, and flight duration.

You've finally decided you want to fly. You've chosen the perfect drone. Now what? It is time to figure out where, when, and what missions you can legally fly to avoid large fines and ensure drone safety. In order to properly learn the rules and regulations administered by the Federal Aviation Administration, our licensed drone operators believe that the Part 107 Certification is an absolute must for any drone pilot that is flying commercially in any capacity.

#1: Familiarize Yourself With The FAA Rules & Regulations

Up until August 29, 2016, the rules and regulations regarding flying unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the U.S. were mostly unstructured. Since then, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has made great strides in making flying drones legal and far more safe. Although these regulations bring a solid structure to the drone arena, we still receive many questions on whether the average drone operator actually needs an FAA Part 107 Drone License.

#2: Get Started Preparing for the Part 107 Test

Okay, you’ve read though the regulations and decided you want to become a commercial drone pilot to start making money and helping people with this awesome technology, so how do you go about receiving your Drone License? In order to be eligible to take the Part 107 Test and receive your Drone License, you must:

• Be at least 16 years old

• Be able to read, speak, write, and understand English (exceptions may be made if you are unable to meet one of these requirements for a medical reason, such as hearing impairment)

• Be in a physical and mental condition to safely operate a small UAS

• Pass the initial Aeronautical Knowledge Exam at an FAA-approved Knowledge Testing Center.

#3: Understand the Specifications of the FAA Part 107 Exam

To receive a Part 107 Drone License, the FAA requires all pilots to first pass the Aeronautical Knowledge Test. The exam is a 60-question, multiple choice test with three answer options (A, B, C).

Some questions will require you to reference airspace maps and weather charts provided by the FAA testing center. To pass, you must receive a score of 70% or better. In other words, you have to get 42 out of the 60 questions right to become an FAA pilot.

#4: Know What Sections/Material to Prepare for the Exam

Here is a breakdown of the questions by category:

1.  Regulations: 15%-25%
2.  Airspace & Requirements: 15%-25%
3.  Weather: 11%-16%
4.  Loading and Performance: 7%-11%
5.  Operations: 35%-45%

Total: 60 Questions 

Please, please, please don’t read this and think, “Oh, this might be too hard for me.” IT’S REALLY NOT THAT HARD. Using the Altitude University Part 107 Training Course or any other online training course allows you to breeze through the studying in nearly 10 hours.

I know you have put that amount of time into a test or big project at some point in your life, and we bet you didn’t come out of that event being a Certified FAA Drone Pilot. It's worth it.

Before we dive into the exhilarating journey of buying your first drone and show you the steps to becoming your own boss as a drone service provider, we want to introduce our company and show how Altitude has worked with some of the largest early drone adopters in various industries. 

Founded in 2015 by four drone enthusiasts and entrepreneurs, we have experienced nearly every industry in which unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can add value. Starting in real estate photography, Altitude took Southern California by storm, producing high-quality marketing materials for the top real estate brokers in one of the most competitive real estate markets in the world. Through the use of drone technology, we have completed hundreds of real estate marketing photography and videography jobs, displaying property listings in a new and innovative way. Today, we have developed a widely used platform that allows real estate agents nationwide to receive on-demand aerial photography from our highly trained pilot network.

The Altitude team has aggregated a list of drones we recommend for those interested in learning more about the technology. If you have landed on this page, we hope you are either interested in getting involved with drone technology, or need help deciding which drone to choose. Either way, enjoy the options below and fly safe!

We highly recommend the Inspire 1 and Inspire 2. These two drones are the perfect ready-to-go aerial systems that will put you in the sky within seconds. Great for filming high-quality video and aerial photography (4K video at 24-30fps), these are very user-friendly drones that are relatively easy to fly.

The next step for Altitude was with an Inspire 1, which was used to launch Altitude Aerial Services. This business was focused more on data collection and data analysis for commercial industries (agricultural surveying, aerial inspection, construction and golf course management).

Our team has now ventured into using the Inspire 2 and the Matrice Series in a variety of industries and find both drones perform extremely well for professional pilots. While the Matrice is very customizable, we recommend working with the Inspire Series first to gain some traction with this technology before making the substantial investment the Matrice requires.

Step 3: Apply

Once you feel you have the material down, the next step is to schedule an appointment with a Knowledge Testing Center.

You’ve completed the course! Now, it's time for you to sign up for IACRA, and then schedule your Airman Knowledge Test at an FAA-approved Testing Center. 

Starting on January 13th, 2020 drone enthusiasts who are in the process of acquiring an FAA Drone License (Remote Pilot Certificate) will need to register on the IACRA website. Registering for IACRA will provide you with a unique FAA tracking number that is required before scheduling your exam at an approved FAA Testing Center. 

Essentially, the FAA has added one more step to the process for applicants. This is not too complicated, and I’ll walk you through the exact steps on how to do this below. 

1. Registering as an Applicant in IACRA

• Click the 'Register' link near the top right of the IACRA home page.
• There are many different roles in IACRA, but you must use the "Applicant" role to apply for a new certificate or to modify an existing certificate.
• Check the 'Applicant' box, then agree to the Terms of Service (TOS) and continue.
• On the IACRA User Profile Information page, please enter all the information.
• If you don't have an existing certificate, leave that section blank.
• Use your full legal name, including any suffix.
  IMPORTANT NOTE : This name must match the name on your Knowledge Test (if test was required).
• Please enter a valid email address. IACRA will use it for important notifications.
• Create a user name and strong password. Please remember your password.
• Click Register.
• If there is any required information missing, there will be error messages.
• IACRA will display your FTN (FAA Tracking Number). Please write this number down; it will also be emailed to you. This number is your unique identifier, and for most application types you must provide it to your Instructor and/or Certifying Officer to complete an application.
• If you start an Airman application, additional personal information will be required (residential address, height, weight, etc.)

TO SIGN UP PLEASE USE THE LINK BELOW

IACRA Registration Link: https://iacra.faa.gov/IACRA/Default.aspx

2. Scheduling Your Exam

This is an updated list of commercial testing center locations and contact information. This list replaces all previous versions. Applicants may contact the following central registration numbers for additional information or to schedule testing appointments:

Airman Knowledge Testing (AKT) Organization Designation Authorization (ODA) Holders

Computer Assisted Testing Service - 1-800-947-4228

PSI / LaserGrade Computer Testing 1-800-211-2753

Visit the link below to schedule your exam - https://faa.psiexams.com/FAA/login

Here is a link to a listing of testing centers: http://candidate.catstest.com/sitesearch.php

Step 1: Start the Business

Although the majority of the content our team wants to provide surrounds drone technology, we have found many aerial pilots are so excited to begin jobs that they forget to build a foundation to their business. The first step we recommended taking when becoming an aerial service provider is to establish your company as a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC). This will allow you to operate your business without the lingering risk of being personally liable for any accidents that may arise when operating your UAV. Although it’ll be an expense of anywhere from $800-$1,400 per year, this is an important step to protect yourself as a professional UAV pilot.

There are a couple of different things you are going to want to do to ensure the quality of your work.

For shooting aerial photography, at Altitude we love to use HDR photos. If you have a DJI drone, you will be able to shoot with this setting. HDR photos are photos taken in multiples. The camera will take one underexposed photo, one normal exposed photo and one overexposed photo. You then proceed to merge them together in Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop, creating a high-quality, visually appealing photo. If you want to just take normal photos, we recommend always shooting in raw and editing them in a photo editor software like Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Lightroom.

When shooting in raw over jpeg, you can make edits to the photo (exposure, contrast, etc.) without reducing the quality of the end photo like .jpeg files do.

Note: Use the following questions as a guide to address both sets of information. Answers to these questions may be entered into the Waiver Safety Explanation field on the waiver form (5,000 character limit), or submitted as attachments after receiving a waiver tracking number (See Step 4 – Submitting Additional Information).

1. Where do you plan to operate?
Consider providing latitude/longitude and a detailed map of your planned flight area.

2. How high will you fly your aircraft (maximum altitude above ground level)?

3. Do you want to fly in controlled airspace? (Class B, C, D & Surface E)

4. Are there any other kinds of airspace within 5 miles of any planned flight area?

If yes, please see 14 CFR §107.41 and Airspace Authorization Request (Page 5)

5. What kind of areas will you fly over?

Ex: rural, sparsely populated, congested, populated, a neighborhood, within city limits, large outdoor gathering of people, a restricted access site, etc.

Small UAS Details 

• Applicant must provide a method for the remote pilot to maintain visual line of sight during darkness.

• Applicant must provide a method for the remote pilot to see and avoid other aircraft, people on the ground, and ground-based structures and obstacles during darkness.

• Applicant must provide a method by which the remote pilot will be able to continuously know and determine the position, altitude, attitude, and movement of their small unmanned aircraft (sUA).

• Applicant must assure all required persons participating in the sUA operation have knowledge to recognize and overcome visual illusions caused by darkness, and understand physiological conditions which may degrade night vision.

• Applicant must provide a method to increase conspicuity of the sUA to be seen at a distance of 3 statute miles unless a system is in place that can avoid all non-participating aircraft.