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Restrictions for Drone use in Construction

Antroflight

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Hi all,

I work in construction inspection industry and am looking for advice when using a drone for construction inspections and IR imaging. Is this airspace generally safe to fly in without restrictions? Do I need special permissions (occupied buildings vs new construction) etc. If anyone has good advise for a good construction drone with IR capabilities for construction use that would be fantastic as well. I am really interested in DroneDeploy but no very little about it (might be best to post this in a different thread).

Thanks!
 
Hi all,

I work in construction inspection industry and am looking for advice when using a drone for construction inspections and IR imaging. Is this airspace generally safe to fly in without restrictions? Do I need special permissions (occupied buildings vs new construction) etc. If anyone has good advise for a good construction drone with IR capabilities for construction use that would be fantastic as well. I am really interested in DroneDeploy but no very little about it (might be best to post this in a different thread).

Thanks!

My understanding is that only the FAA controls the airspace above the ground; construction site or not so if its a site that is not in controlled airspace then the typical 400' ceiling applies as well as flying over people on the ground. I don't know anything about the IR side but I've flown for many construction and marketing companies for construction sites.
 
My understanding is that only the FAA controls the airspace above the ground; construction site or not so if its a site that is not in controlled airspace then the typical 400' ceiling applies as well as flying over people on the ground. I don't know anything about the IR side but I've flown for many construction and marketing companies for construction sites.
Appreciate the response, what drone do you have? Any recommendations on a good drone for this purpose? I already am licensed - just need a drone but don't want to buy one too large or small for the purpose.
 
Appreciate the response, what drone do you have? Any recommendations on a good drone for this purpose? I already am licensed - just need a drone but don't want to buy one too large or small for the purpose.

I have the EVO II 6K and the DJI P4, but the P4 has been gathering dust since I bought the 6K. I do think the DJI ecosystem is a lot more mature than the Autel ecosystem but the sole reason why I stick with Autel is due to no geofencing.

I don't really think you can go "too large" for construction use; it really will come down to what your needs are and what your drone needs to carry. Size usually is more important if you want to travel especially when it comes to boarding a plane.

I really know nothing about the IR side of the house so I just don't know enough to be able to recommend one for this. Hopefully someone with IR experience will chime in and share their experiences. For the type of work that I do though (photography and video) the EVO II 6K has met all of my needs.
 
I already am licensed - just need a drone but don't want to buy one too large or small for the purpose.

So you are saying you already have the required Part 107 license from the FAA fro flying drones commercially? I only ask because the airspace questions are covered thoroughly in the test

As for a drone for your purposes...... DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual and Autel EVO 2 Dual are probably the two most common choices for your profession. They can be purchased with a dual system that includes a camera and a thermal camera on the gimbal.
 
Hi all,

I work in construction inspection industry and am looking for advice when using a drone for construction inspections and IR imaging. Is this airspace generally safe to fly in without restrictions? Do I need special permissions (occupied buildings vs new construction) etc. If anyone has good advise for a good construction drone with IR capabilities for construction use that would be fantastic as well. I am really interested in DroneDeploy but no very little about it (might be best to post this in a different thread).

Thanks!
Hi, I regularly fly DJI & Autel drones for construction projects as well as other inspections, outdoors and inside (use prop guards ;) ).

Regarding airspace, assuming you are part 107, you would be good to go if flying in uncontrolled "G" airspace up to 400' AGL. Also if you are 107, you can fly up to 400' above a structure if you stay within 400' of that structure, and, do not go up into controlled airspace. Note that your altitude will also be limited by weather such as visibility and cloud ceilings, something that can be run into on long running projects.

If you are 107 and need to fly in controlled airspace simply use one of the LAANC enabled apps such as B4UFLY to get authorization up to published altitude. Otoh, if you need special authorizations to fly above published altitudes or in a NFZ or on a recurring basis, then simply go to FAA dronezone site and submit your request (plan ahead though as it can take days or longer sometimes).

Besides FAA 107 for airspace and aircraft registrations, most projects will also require drone insurance above and beyond your normal business CGL or other policies. Also some states also require a separate state license and registration per aircraft in addition to FAA/federal.

License, registration, insurance, airspace authorization and weather aside, construction sites and inspection locations can be challenging and fun at same time. Cranes are interesting to work around, likewise with buildings, finding location to fly from with good vantage points to maintain VLOS can be a puzzle sometimes. Sometimes there can also be other drones at the site so good to ask if there are any others known in the area.

As to permissions for occupied vs new built, there are two parts to that, one is where are you flying from, if from the construction site then you need the sites permissions and they may have additional safety requirements such as protective safety gear (glasses, hard hats, clothing, etc). For other buildings, assuming you can fly those without permission of the property owner specifically using their grounds for takeoff/flying from, bigger concern will be safety and privacy.

The denser the buildings, as well as with some towers, watch out for RF/radio interference.

Dronedeploy (DD) works good, their fly app can be buggy, as well as some functions only work on ios (e.g. 360 panos, mission chaining, etc) vs. the android version. You can also replicate a DD mission using a tool such as Litchi for your waypoints, pois, actions, etc including still photo, video in same flight, then upload to DD. You can also use autel explorer missions to fly perimeters or other missions, upload images to DD. For map/model/imaging/2D/3D, you could use DD fly app, pix4d, autel missions, etc and then upload to DD or pix4d or odm/webodm among others for backend processing. For 360 spherical, you can use the dd flyapp (ios), or builtin in for DJI, or Litchi, or Autel explorer among others.

Speaking of DD and Autel, currently the various fly apps (DD, litchi, etc) do not support autel from a mission flying standpoint which is too bad. Otoh, you can setup a mission using DD or Litchi among other tools and fly them across different DJI aircraft.

Speaking of DJI, some complain about the geofencing, however you can obtain unlocking license (free) for all DJI aircraft (from mini & FPV to mavics to phantoms to inspire etc). These get stored in your controller and aircraft, when arrive on a site, simply unlock your aircraft and away you go. To get an unlock code however you will need to provide DJI some documents such as any applicable COAs, waivers or other things to show you are flying safe.

Some wrap up tips for construction sites, inspections, stay heads up vs glued to your screen, maintain vlos, add extra strobe lights to aid with vlos, do a pre site inspection, drive or walk around to get to know site, whats new, whats changed, where are cranes, wires, things to watch out for, have a checklist and plan. Then have fun and fly the plan.
 
I have the EVO II 6K and the DJI P4, but the P4 has been gathering dust since I bought the 6K. I do think the DJI ecosystem is a lot more mature than the Autel ecosystem but the sole reason why I stick with Autel is due to no geofencing.

I don't really think you can go "too large" for construction use; it really will come down to what your needs are and what your drone needs to carry. Size usually is more important if you want to travel especially when it comes to boarding a plane.

I really know nothing about the IR side of the house so I just don't know enough to be able to recommend one for this. Hopefully someone with IR experience will chime in and share their experiences. For the type of work that I do though (photography and video) the EVO II 6K has met all of my needs.
Very good point on the traveling component. Thank you.
So you are saying you already have the required Part 107 license from the FAA fro flying drones commercially? I only ask because the airspace questions are covered thoroughly in the test

As for a drone for your purposes...... DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual and Autel EVO 2 Dual are probably the two most common choices for your profession. They can be purchased with a dual system that includes a camera and a thermal camera on the gimbal.
Yes, I have my part 107. I got my certification about 2 years ago and also completed the free renewal. Thank you for the info!
 
Hi, I regularly fly DJI & Autel drones for construction projects as well as other inspections, outdoors and inside (use prop guards ;) ).

Regarding airspace, assuming you are part 107, you would be good to go if flying in uncontrolled "G" airspace up to 400' AGL. Also if you are 107, you can fly up to 400' above a structure if you stay within 400' of that structure, and, do not go up into controlled airspace. Note that your altitude will also be limited by weather such as visibility and cloud ceilings, something that can be run into on long running projects.

If you are 107 and need to fly in controlled airspace simply use one of the LAANC enabled apps such as B4UFLY to get authorization up to published altitude. Otoh, if you need special authorizations to fly above published altitudes or in a NFZ or on a recurring basis, then simply go to FAA dronezone site and submit your request (plan ahead though as it can take days or longer sometimes).

Besides FAA 107 for airspace and aircraft registrations, most projects will also require drone insurance above and beyond your normal business CGL or other policies. Also some states also require a separate state license and registration per aircraft in addition to FAA/federal.

License, registration, insurance, airspace authorization and weather aside, construction sites and inspection locations can be challenging and fun at same time. Cranes are interesting to work around, likewise with buildings, finding location to fly from with good vantage points to maintain VLOS can be a puzzle sometimes. Sometimes there can also be other drones at the site so good to ask if there are any others known in the area.

As to permissions for occupied vs new built, there are two parts to that, one is where are you flying from, if from the construction site then you need the sites permissions and they may have additional safety requirements such as protective safety gear (glasses, hard hats, clothing, etc). For other buildings, assuming you can fly those without permission of the property owner specifically using their grounds for takeoff/flying from, bigger concern will be safety and privacy.

The denser the buildings, as well as with some towers, watch out for RF/radio interference.

Dronedeploy (DD) works good, their fly app can be buggy, as well as some functions only work on ios (e.g. 360 panos, mission chaining, etc) vs. the android version. You can also replicate a DD mission using a tool such as Litchi for your waypoints, pois, actions, etc including still photo, video in same flight, then upload to DD. You can also use autel explorer missions to fly perimeters or other missions, upload images to DD. For map/model/imaging/2D/3D, you could use DD fly app, pix4d, autel missions, etc and then upload to DD or pix4d or odm/webodm among others for backend processing. For 360 spherical, you can use the dd flyapp (ios), or builtin in for DJI, or Litchi, or Autel explorer among others.

Speaking of DD and Autel, currently the various fly apps (DD, litchi, etc) do not support autel from a mission flying standpoint which is too bad. Otoh, you can setup a mission using DD or Litchi among other tools and fly them across different DJI aircraft.

Speaking of DJI, some complain about the geofencing, however you can obtain unlocking license (free) for all DJI aircraft (from mini & FPV to mavics to phantoms to inspire etc). These get stored in your controller and aircraft, when arrive on a site, simply unlock your aircraft and away you go. To get an unlock code however you will need to provide DJI some documents such as any applicable COAs, waivers or other things to show you are flying safe.

Some wrap up tips for construction sites, inspections, stay heads up vs glued to your screen, maintain vlos, add extra strobe lights to aid with vlos, do a pre site inspection, drive or walk around to get to know site, whats new, whats changed, where are cranes, wires, things to watch out for, have a checklist and plan. Then have fun and fly the plan.
Thank-you @gschulzuio, very helpful information!
 
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Thank-you @gschulzuio, very helpful information!
For IR inspections I would go with Autel. It's much better than the comparable sized Mavic enterprise advanced. If you get the 640R (flir sensor version) the data will also be compatible with flir studio for processing. If you want to go directly platform your looking at the m300 with xt2 camera for the same quality as autel 640R (few YouTube videos out there showing comparison) I just took the sUAS thermal cert from ITC I would highly recommend as IR is not as easy as point and shoot (which I initially thought lol) hope this helps. Happy flying
 
I have the M2EA and I've used it for roof inspections. It works well, but the IR images are not compatible with Flir tools, so if you need precise, reliable measurements you might want to avoid the M2EA.
 
Watch this video and see if this is what you are looking for. Autel have a similar drone with IR. It would be for you to research both drones and make a decision. Like it was mention Geofencing is why most people turn to Autel
 

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