Our Pilots, Equipment, and the Question of Outsourcing

Our professional and FAA certified pilots are trained in the culture of manned aviation and they have accumulated hundreds to thousands of hours of flight time operating UAVs (drones) and manned aircraft. Training, recurrent training, aircraft maintenance, avoiding environmental impact and safety are paramount concerns and are integral considerations for all 34 North Solutions’ operations. From film, cinematography and television to the inspection of infrastructure and confined spaces, our pilots have the experience and skill necessary for the completion of just about any job. Skilled pilots require less flight time and film takes to complete a project thereby mitigating risk and increasing a company’s ROI.

The aircraft and equipment necessary for a project is dependent on the type of imagery and resolution required for the task at hand. The type of camera or sensor used is typically contained in the budget or contract. There are many different types of cameras and sensors and in many instances only certain drones are able to carry different types of cameras and sensors. It is therefore important for a client or customer to identify their vision or goal so that the vendor is in a position to help fill those needs.

Many companies have in house drone operators without utilizing outside drone vendors. Other companies outsource drone work completely. Some companies have a hybrid drone operation comprised of in house pilots for priority or special projects and third party vendors for the remaining tasks or projects. It is usually the company’s internal decision making process that determines the structure of drone operations after balancing risk, ROI, liability and security. The cost of start ups, scaling and maintaining in house operations can be considerable. Oftentimes in house operators are part time drone operators while maintaining their regular job responsibilities because of project availability or seasonal changes. Best practices would lean toward utilizing professional pilots for specialized flight projects.