Drone Buying Guides

The job was a roof inspection for a small property management company in my area. A guy I know through a local real estate networking group mentioned he had a contact who needed some aerial documentation of a flat commercial roof — they were dealing with a warranty claim and needed photo evidence of the current condition. Nothing crazy. Just systematic coverage of the whole roof surface, close-up shots of problem areas the property manager flagged, and a deliverable package of organized, timestamped images. Seemed simple enough.

The Planning Side Took Way Longer Than I Expected

I think the biggest eye-opener for me was how much time went into the work before I even charged a battery. I'm used to hobbyist flying where I just show up, do a quick airspace check on , and go. Commercial work is a different mindset entirely.

First thing I did was look up the airspace. The property was in Class G so that part was easy — no LAANC authorization needed. But I still pulled up the sectional chart in Foreflight just to double-check for any TFRs or other restrictions I might have missed. Clean area, which was a relief.

Then I started thinking about the actual flight plan. The building was maybe 35,000 square feet of flat roof with some HVAC units and a few skylights scattered around. I decided to fly the inspection manually rather than use an automated grid mission, mostly because I wanted to get close to specific areas and the automated missions I've practiced don't always give you great flexibility for that kind of targeted work. Looking back, I might try a hybrid approach next time — run a quick automated pass for full coverage, then go manual for the detail shots.

I also had to think about sun angle. The job was scheduled for a Tuesday morning and I knew I wanted to avoid harsh shadows across the roof surface if possible. I used the Sun Surveyor app to figure out that mid-morning around 10am would give me decent even lighting without the flat glare you get at midday. That's the kind of thing I never thought about when I was just flying for fun.

Equipment and Settings

I was flying my DJI Mavic 3 Classic for this one. I know some people doing roof inspections use thermal cameras and that's probably the gold standard for finding moisture intrusion and insulation issues, but the client specifically asked for visual documentation only, so the RGB camera was the right tool here. I shot in DLog-M color profile so I had some flexibility in post, though honestly for a practical inspection deliverable most of the images ended up barely processed — the client wasn't paying for cinematic color grading, they needed clear, sharp documentation photos.

I kept my shutter speed around 1/800 to minimize any motion blur at the lower altitudes I was flying, ISO as low as it would go, and I shot in RAW + JPEG just to have the RAW files as backup. For inspection work I'm not sure the RAW files added much, but it felt like the right call for a professional job.

I brought two extra batteries which ended up being more than enough. Total flight time was probably 35 minutes spread across two batteries. The third one I never even used.

On Site — What Actually Happened

When I got there I introduced myself to the property manager who walked me around the perimeter of the building and pointed out the areas he was most concerned about — some bubbling near one of the drain corners and a section where the membrane looked like it had been patched at some point. That walkthrough was genuinely useful and something I didn't anticipate needing. In my head I thought I'd just show up and fly. Having that context changed how I prioritized my shots.

The flight itself was mostly uneventful. I set up a landing pad on the parking lot, did my pre-flight checks, and got up to about 50 feet to start with a wide establishing shot showing the whole roof. Then I worked my way methodically across the surface at around 20-25 feet, trying to keep consistent altitude above the roof while accounting for the HVAC units. Those were the trickiest parts — getting close enough to see detail without clipping anything. I was flying in Normal mode the whole time, no Sport mode anywhere near a roof with obstacles.

One thing I wasn't ready for was wind. Ground level felt calm but up at 50 feet there was a pretty consistent breeze from the west that was pushing me around more than I liked. Nothing dangerous, but it meant I had to slow down and pay more attention than I wanted to. I'd say this bumped my cognitive load up noticeably compared to flying on a calm day.

Delivering the Work

This is where I felt a little underprepared. I ended up with around 180 photos and had no great system for organizing them ahead of time. I ended up sorting them into folders by roof zone — North Section, South Section, HVAC Area, Drain Corners, Detail Shots — and created a simple PDF summary with a few annotated overview images showing where each zone was located. Nothing fancy. I used Lightroom to do a light edit pass on the key detail images and exported everything as high-resolution JPEGs.

The client seemed satisfied, which was a relief. But I know my delivery workflow needs work before I do this again. I've been looking at some of the inspection report tools that integrate with drone imagery — there are a few platforms designed specifically for this kind of thing — and I think investing some time in learning one of those would make my deliverables look a lot more professional.

What I'd Do Differently

Honestly not a huge list, but a few things stand out. I'd have a standardized shot list prepared before arriving on site rather than winging it. I'd build a simple client intake form so I understand exactly what they need before I show up. And I'd have my delivery folder structure already set up on my laptop before I fly, so organizing 180 photos doesn't feel like a second job after the flight.

But overall? Pretty good first experience. I made some money, I learned a lot, and I didn't embarrass myself. For a first commercial job I'll take it. If you're sitting on your Part 107 and wondering whether to take the leap into paid work, I'd say just do it. The first job is the hardest part and even doing it imperfectly taught me more than another month of practicing in the park would have.

I'll keep posting as I take on more jobs. Hoping to get into some real estate work next — that seems like a good market in my area. We'll see.