Frequently asked questions

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Q: What is a drone?

A: A drone, as most of the public likes to call them, is a small unmanned aerial vehicle (sUAV) or small unmanned aerial system (sUAS) that has several blades to produce lift. There are many types being used. I use a quadcopter (4 rotor blades) which has a stable platform utilizing a GPS system. All of my aircraft use a 3 axis gyro stabilized gimbal with tilt, pan, and roll correction adjustments. The weight of my drones are 1380 grams with all equipment attached. To see the drones uses please see my equipment page.

Q: Can my business use an unlicensed drone operator to take pictures or videos.

A: No, The FAA requires that any pictures or videos taken by drone and used for the intention of promoting a business or photos or video used for commerical purposes must be done by an FAA certified licensed Part 107 commercial remote pilot. Hefty fines can be levied by the FAA to individuals and businesses for violating this law.

Q: How high can a remote unmanned vehicle (drone) fly? How far?

A: By law I  can fly as high as 400 feet above ground and a max horizontal distance of a few thousand feet. Most shoots will be done well below that altitude. I must also maintain a visual line of sight with our drone at all times. For longer distances a visual observer is used that is in constant radio contact with the sUAV pilot. Flying near certain airports there are maximum heights that may be only 100 feet altitude or a zero grid where there is no drone flying allowed.

Q: What kind of equipment do you use for your shoots?

A: Depending on the type of shoot requested I use four types of sUAV's, an Inspire 1, phantom 4 and 4 pro and a Mavic Pro Platinum.  The phantom 4 pro has a 1 inch 20 MP camera with a mechanical shutter. We also use Nikon 3400D DSLR camera and an OSMO handheld camera on a gimbal system with a 12.4 MP 4K Zenmuse X3 camera.  All of my photos and video are shot in the RAW format for a higher quality image that gives me a greater ability in post editing. 

Q: What if the weather is bad on the day of my shoot?

A: I will be glad to reschedule your shoot for another day, subject to availability.

Q: Do you have insurance coverage?

A: Yes, I carry a 1 million general  liability policy for aerial and ground for personal and property damage. 

Q: Do you offer in-house photo and video editing?

A: Yes, for customers that want the complete aerial video package I cover that as well.

Q: Can you fly at night?

A: Yes, I  can fly at night with special waivers issued by the FAA. Currently I have a nationwide waiver to fly at night in Class G airspace. To find out more ask about airspace when you book a shoot.

Q: How much room do you need to take off?

A: I only need an area of about 10 foot by 10 foot.  Preferably a hard surface free of dust or dirt.

Q: What is the maximum wind speed you can fly in?

A: I can fly in winds up to 30 mph but I also recommend filming in winds less than 20 mph.

Q: Do you also take interior shots with your real estate filming?

A: Yes, depending on the Real Estate Package you get I also do interior still and interior motion filming with both a Ronin M and Ronin Stable cam.

Q: What is your average rate?

A: My average standard rate is $125 and hour with a 2 hour minimum. Type of service requested and discounts can change these average rates. See Real Estate Photography to see set pricing based on the listing square footage.

Q: Do you only do aerial photography?

A: No, I also do terrestrial photography for outdoor shoots such as events, company picnics, birthday parties, real estate shoots and damage assessment photos for insurance companies. 

Q: Can a drone spy on me by flying over my property.

A: No, that is a common misconception that most people believe. Drones have wide angle lens. In order for a drone to do that they would have to be around at the same altitude as your house. The airspace in America is controlled by the FAA and it is a misconception that you own the airspace above your property. Nevada does have its own laws under Nevada NRS that states a drone must be 250 feet above private property. Federal law supersedes all state laws.

Q: What If I don't own a business and I'm not a real estate agent, can I still get photos and videos of my own home and property.

A: Yes you can, at FalconsEye I also offer a package that you can get to have professionally edited photos and video of your home and property. Many people have chosen this to frame a photo in their home or have a keepsake video of all of the work that they have put in to their land.