The time for drones is now!

Disruptive technologies

The best training I ever had in marketing disruptive technologies was insurance and financial planning, trying to get someone to give up their money to be used at a later date. You can show people the track record, the historical return and the tax benefits but what really needs to happen is the trust has to be established. Sometimes you have to come in like a bull in a china shop and get in their dish a little “So Mr. So And So, when do you plan on retiring? When do you plan on starting your savings plan to get there? Do you think the taxes on your savings plan, once you do start saving will hurt you or help you? What is Mrs. So And So going to do if, God forbid, you get hit by a bread truck stepping off the curb? Mrs. So And So, how do think you are going to remember you husband if something like that were to happen and he didn’t have any insurance protection? What will you have to do to replace his income and maintain your life style? Will you have to eat a different cut of meat, will you have to drive a different car, live in a different house, do you children have good enough grades to get the financial aid and scholarships to pay for their college? Would you move in with your parents or his? Will your parents or your in-laws let your adult children move in them too?” When I talk to surveyors it can be like that.

All it takes is one

I participated in last month’s meeting of the San Diego branch of The California Land Surveyors Association, following Dave Wooley a well know surveyor and author from Orange county California. Right off the bat he went into how many jobs we lost last time new technology was introduced. I was not feeling the love. Then he went into the other problems in the survey industry that are hurting it, not related to the new technology, he transitioned to the industry being proactive, keeping up with their continuing education and advances in the technology and become the masters of it. I still didn’t feel that much enthusiasm when I got to get up and talk but at the end of the meeting, eight surveyors gave me their business cards so I could get them a trial Pix4D 10 day license. So far, nobody has activated their license.

No more excuses

I followed up and actually had a chance to talk to one of these surveyors and he told me “We have a guy with a Phantom but the problem is, it is still not legal!” I was expecting that kind of response and I put on my financial planner, closing hat and told him “When I tell you how it is legal, will you listen?” Then after he agreed to listen I explained to him how the FAA has relaxed the requirements to qualify for a 333 exemption to only a “Light Sport” pilot’s license and how there is a light sport plane at Palomar Airport, there are facilities all over Texas and Kansas as well as Sky Warrior Inc. out of Pensacola, Florida just bought a light sport plane specifically for UAS/Drone pilots to qualify for their 333 exemptions. Then he very enthusiastically responded “We are interested, we will come to Texas or Florida, where ever we have to so we can use the drones legally. We really like the Pix4D software, we know it works!” Then I told him that “I am going to quote you!”

More exemptions granted

My mother called me today to tell me “Oh you probably already know but the FAA just granted three more exemptions” Well I didn’t know so I had to look them up. The FAA is partnering with CNN for a Drone testing program for news outlets to see what the benefit is. Then the American Red Cross is doing a study for the benefit of UAS for disaster relief and a production company in Tampa is the first to get a 333 exemption in Tampa. I stumbled on another article about Corporate America putting pressure on the FAA to speed up the process of getting the approved restrictions approved. Companies that were named were Amazon, L3, Chevron and BNSF Railway. Then I looked up exemptions for surveying just because it is what is what’s on my mind right now. I didn’t find anything specific to surveying but I found a press release published May 6^th, yesterday about the US Department of Transportation initiative through the FAA with industry mostly pertaining to line of sight and beyond line of sight operations. All I had to read was “Department of Transportation” and as far as I’m concerned, that means surveyors. I will post more information as I become aware of it.