Question 1

What is your remote sensing experience?

Accepted Answer

When you partner with a company to acquire intel from your site, it's critical that they have experience working within the construction vertical. This means they are knowledgeable and experienced with precise positioning systems and how to integrate the necessary technologies to deliver sub-centimeter accuracy. They also understand how to operate on an active construction site - getting their work done safely and efficiently without interfering with the progress of the site. At Flying Fox UAV, delivering valuable data to our clients is critical to your success and ours. That means we strive to provide the highest accuracy possible and have spent years developing our process and integrating the right technologies, tools and gaining field experience to bring you actionable, reliable data of your site.

Question 2

How many orthomosaics have they successfully delivered?

Accepted Answer

There isn't a magic number to answer this question, but it's important for your provider to understand the difference between progress visual orthomosaics and precision orthomosaics. The two are very different and accuracy has a varied range; at Flying Fox, our precision orthomosaics deliver sub-centimeter relative accuracy of vertical as well as horizontal plains; while progress orthomosaics can also provide accuracy the main goal is to provide an accurate visual representation of the site in real-time. Therefore, the processes to acquire the datapoints is very different. Both are useful and provide valuable data but understanding your needs and the complexity of photogrammetry and precise positioning systems is critical to delivering you (the client) the appropriate, repeatable data to support improved decision making on your site.

Question 3

What is your construction experience?

Accepted Answer

Knowing that your provider has direct experience on construction sites with companies like yours is a decent indicator of their experience and aptitude. In addition, clarify that the pilot who is operating the mission has this experience and aptitude not just the “company” in general. Troubleshooting issues onsite is critical to a successful and accurate mission. Pilot knowledge is the key here. At Flying Fox UAV our teams have over 4 years and hundreds of hours of construction site experience delivering quality data.

Question 4

What equipment do you use?

Accepted Answer

The drone industry has a wide client base ranging from children and hobbyist to top secret government missions. You want to be sure they are using professional level drones that have safety redundancies, an important topic on construction sites. There are a myriad of features on professional drones that impact the efficiency, safety and quality of the deliverable. Aside from the drone itself, find out how the data is processed, shared, and stored. If you are looking for orthomosaics with high accuracy, ask what the process is to obtain accuracy – they should reference other technologies for achieving sub-centimeter accuracy, not just GCP’s.  Flying Fox uses professional grade drones, with ancillary equipment and positioning systems, and we are self-sustainable onsite for up to 12hrs and typically provide data within 48hrs of the mission.

Question 5

How will you assure accuracy?

Accepted Answer

The operator will need to combine several positioning methodologies to achieve sub-centimeter accuracy in the orthomosaics. The drone is one tool used in this complex process to achieve accuracy. They will also require benchmark data from you prior to starting their process. At Flying Fox, like all construction, we match our data to the existing data on the site. This includes several GPS/GNSS processes.

Question 6

What files will you send and how will I receive them?

Accepted Answer

Understanding clearly how you (the client) will use the data is critical to delivering actionable data. To integrate with earthworks or siteworks platforms, specific file types are required as well, if you are using the data to share with others and view from your device, you’ll need to be sure you are receiving file types that you can easily view and share. A knowledgeable and responsible provider will confirm the specific deliverables you’ll receive. How you receive the files is another question that is dependent on you (the client). What format do you want to receive the data in and how will you access it are important details to assuring the data is used to its fullest potential. Our clients receive 24/7 access to data via 3rd party platforms to download or view. They can easily share it as well.

Question 7

Will you fly from the site?

Accepted Answer

This sounds like a simple question but is loaded with details and will raise other questions! Beginning with the drone, Pilots and Visual Observers are required to have a clear line of site to the drone throughout the operation. That means, the likelihood that they will need to fly directly from your site is high. You should feel confident that the pilot and the company are knowledgeable about and implement FAA and local drone laws. Their insurance should cover the staff as well as the vehicle and of course aggregates to cover major incidents, just like any other sub. Additionally, spending time on the site means the pilot and VO have a more intimate understanding of the workflow as well as the current phase, where obtaining additional data would be beneficial to the client. Flying Fox UAV always flies from your site unless safety, efficiency or accuracy require otherwise. As your site progresses and changes, we move around to achieve the best positioning for the greatest results.

Question 8

Are you OSHA certified?

Accepted Answer

Of course, if they are on your site, the pilot and VO should be OSHA certified and wear appropriate PPE. All our pilot teams are either OSHA 10 or 30 certified and are equipped with their own PPE. They are also prepared to participate in any safety orientations required.

Question 9

What about insurance?

Accepted Answer

Some companies and pilots who operate as freelancers have hourly insurance that is paid for by the hour. At Flying Fox UAV, we take our investment in this business and your business very seriously. We have business insurance with construction level aggregates as well as airframe insurance on our equipment. When required, we provide COI’s naming you as additionally insured.  We cover all the bases!

Question 10

Can you fly near airports?

Accepted Answer

The DMV constitutes the most restricted airspace in the nation. To date, there has not been airspace that Flying Fox has been denied access to. In fact, no other company has been granted access to fly as close to the Capitol Complex as we have. Flying in restricted airspace requires anything from a simple COA form submission to intense review of company policies and procedures, equipment logs, and background checks. These procedures require a lot of time as well as costs for other agency approvals.