The second resource I will recommend is from one of the top legal drone experts in the country, Jonathan Rupprecht.  He is also a certified flight instructor for fixed-wing aircraft.  There are a handful of US commercial drone experts I’ve found, who all seem to know each other and compliment each other.  I see them and hear from them at drone conferences and expos.  They are active on social media and their own websites, putting out a steady stream of high quality (and free) information, analysis, and commentary. 

 

If you want to know who this short list of experts are that I admire and follow, let me know.  Sharing my list of essential drone resources (people, websites, Youtube channels, podcasts, blogs, and more) was one idea I had for a giveaway…

 

Anyway, Jonathan Rupprecht has created a FREE Part 107 study guide.  Full disclosure, I have received it but haven’t gotten very far into it yet.  I’m still working through the FAA materials and preparing to take the Part 107 exam myself. J  (That delay was another big reason I couldn’t justify releasing a Part 107 study course – when I hadn’t achieved it myself yet!)_

 

Even without going through his entire course, I have enough respect and knowledge about Jonathan’s expertise and quality that I have no hesitation recommending what he has created.  You have to get on his email list to receive the free course, but that’s more than a fair trade for you. 

Go to Jonathan's website for his free Part 107 Study Guide:

 

Care to let me know where you are in your drone journey?  I would love to know.  Already have your Part 107 license?  (And have a better course or study method to recommend?) 

 

What are your big goals and plans for 2017 with drones?  I would love to know that!  I promise that if you reply to this email I will read it, think about it, and give you my best advice for who or what you should consider next (maybe what risks or issues you need to look out for).

 

 

I’m fortunate to have an equally ambitious and successful wife in her profession.  Actually, in some ways more successful. She got recruited to move us half way across the country. 

 

That opportunity creates a set of unique challenges and risks.  And we decided to accept and embrace them this year.

 

I don’t want to bore you with all of those details (more than you need to know too).  Suffice to say I’ve had to adapt and work hard myself in a lot of new directions and manners to keep our family together and happy as a sustainable unit. J  And it’s not out of the proverbial woods yet…

 

But things are definitely looking better now that we are in northern California.  It’s a good segue to the third point.

 

 

Northern California happens to be the home of an amazing concentration of drone expertise and activities.  I wrote a blog post to capture and document this impressive list:

Since writing that article, I have joined Drone Pilots Federation.  Bruce Parks, the President and co-founder of this educational non-profit, lives in Sacramento.  He has been in the drone industry since about 2012, intimately involved with drone racing and drone legislative efforts. His efforts have built connections with an amazing number of key players across the drone ecosystem. 

 

We hit it off and compliment each other nicely.  I’m proud and humbled to say I’m currently the Vice-President of this organization. We are having an exciting and rewarding time building up this organization into something that will provide unique and historic value for drone pilots across the world.  (More on this group soon.  If you are doing anything with drones I think you’ll care about it.)

The picture at the top of this email is (from Left to Right) Bruce, myself, and four drone pilots who flew for entertainment in a regional investor / startup event in November 2016.

 

When a family relocation became apparent this year, I decided it was time for me to do a complete re-assessment of myself and my life plans.  That’s when I realized that I need to move into the commercial drone “space.”

 

Since then, I have been working feverishly to find my niche in this incredibly fast moving and evolving industry.  I have immersed myself in it and been a sponge to learn and absorb as much as I can.  Not just technical information – in fact less of that and more of everything else: the drone markets and different “verticals”, the key players, business models, industry trends, national trends, political factors, competitive analysis, legal matters…

 

The pace of change and frenzy of activity has been intense.  As a result, my “input to output ratio” has weighed very heavy on the input side. 

 

In this process, I have seen where the masses are going… and I don’t want to go there. 

 

(For what it’s worth, if you want to buy a drone and become a one-man or one-woman drone entrepreneur and drone service provider, you have a ton of competitors out there.  There is a brutal race to the bottom for entry-level or initial portfolio work.  If you want to figure out how you can leap-frog over that phase or avoid falling into that trap, we should talk.  I have learned a lot from other people who have separated themselves from the masses of new drone entrepreneurs.)

 

Here’s what I see happening in 2017.  Some developments are happening in the commercial drone industry much faster and sooner than I expected.

 

At Drone World Expo in November 2016, Colin Snow gave an overview of his outlook for the commercial drone industry.  (If you want my top recommendation for who to follow as a drone business analyst, it’s him.)

 

One point he made, which now makes complete sense to me, is that the solo drone service provider is a transitional role in the commercial drone revolution.  As companies realize the benefits of drones, and as technology improves, they will create their own internal drone operations.

 

This won’t be the trend or the rule with every company and industry, of course.  But I believe it will be the dominant trend. 

Think about computers.  Or photo copiers.  Or 3-D printing.  The initial capabilities were with dedicated companies who were service providers for other companies.  But then companies said “hey, we need this inside our walls.  We need to integrate the process into our operations so we can control and optimize it.”

 

Here is the big surprise to me.  This evolution or shift of companies creating their own internal drone programs vs hiring outside operators is happening much sooner and much faster than I expected.

 

Many companies and agencies – even those who are very risk-averse and thus not the ones I would predict to make this move so fast – are SKIPPING THE OUTSOURCING SOLUTION ENTIRELY.  They have someone inside the organization who is a “drone evangelist” and has won approval to purchase one (even more than one!) drone. 

 

You might predict that they are running into lots of questions and issues… and that’s where I see myself entering the picture. J

 

This trend is something you may want to think about too.  Maybe you are one of these people inside a company or department?  If so, we definitely need to talk!

 

For instance, someone I met in a metropolitan utility company said one faction in the company is gung-ho to get drones and start using them.  But another department is saying “hold on… what are our processes going to be?  What liabilities and risks does this expose us to?”

 

This is when I realized that my experience as a project manager and engineer in the aerospace industry was a unique advantage. 

 

In addition to helping Drone Pilots Federation grow in 2017, this is going to be my focus: helping corporations take a risk-management and effective approach to standing up an internal drone operation.

 

Two unique aspects of my background will serve me well in this regard.  First, I know how to safely and effectively integrate complex aerospace systems for mission-critical users and customers.  That’s what happens when you are a project manager for systems engineering disciplines on a military aircraft program.  Taking a methodical and comprehensive project management approach (including active risk management) is essential. 

 

Second, I know a lot about bringing a disruptive innovation into a corporate environment.  Not just a technical innovation.  Not just an aerospace innovations.  But innovations more broadly and comprehensively such as 3-D printing, crowdfunding, alternative project management methods, new organization structures, lean startup methodologies…

 

Building a new startup company around any of these innovative practices is one thing.  But bringing them into an established company that already has a certain culture, policies & procedures, internal politics, org chart… that’s a very different animal.

 

Ten years ago, what architectural firm would have seriously considered starting an aviation department in their firm?  That would be silly.  Unless their leaders had so much value and geographic business coverage that they deserved their own corporate jet.

 

But creating an internal drone program IS starting an aviation department.  That’s what these companies are learning… many of them the hard way.

 

Aerial drones are a disruptive innovation. A major game changer.  Much to my surprise, many large companies and agencies in the U.S. are choosing to embrace this innovation now that Part 107 has become law.  But for any company or institution who doesn’t have an aviation department already, they are going to run into major challenges and surprises.  Unless they take a very methodical and informed approach.

 

Does this relate to your situation?  If so, I invite you to stay tuned. :-)  I’ve started working on a free white paper (maybe presentation) just for people in non-aviation companies who want to implement a drone operation.

 

If this topic and goal doesn’t have any interest for you, I hope you got something valuable out of this email.  Thanks again for requesting to read more from me.  You’ll see an “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of this email if you don’t want to receive more from me.

 

But if you have ANY plans to operate a drone in 2017, no matter what country you live or work in, let me tell you something about Drone Pilots Federation.  Our goal is to connect drone pilots with valuable information, people, partners, and tools to help you fly safely, legally, and productively.  That can mean profitably (for business), with fun (for hobby or recreational flying), or maybe both (for sport), or for a better future (for educational purposes).

 

With all of those valuable uses and applications of drones, we are trying to learn how and where to most effectively focus our energy and resources.  We can’t do it all, yet.  But if you are looking to connect with other drone pilots and professionals who you can trust and work with, I encourage you to join Drone Pilots Federation and select your interests from our registration form here: 

 

 

Our membership is free.  We have plans to throttle-up our efforts and outputs in 2017 too.  A highlight from 2016 was a “Drone Swarm” we held in Sacramento.  In one short evening we packed in expert presentations, regional business promotion, networking, and an FPV micro drone indoor race!  You can read and watch more about that here: http://bit.ly/2dn2V0j

 

As for the “corporate drone program” topic, I can’t say at this point how frequently I will be sending out emails.  Definitely better than 2 or 3 times a year. :-)  If you want more frequent updates from me, please find and connect with me on LinkedIn and Twitter if you haven’t done that yet.  I am Brett Hoffstadt on LinkedIn and @BrettRocketSci on Twitter.

 

I hope your 2016 has been happy, healthy, and rewarding.  My best wishes for a happy (and safe) New Year celebration.  Most of all, my big wishes for a happy, healthy, productive, and fun 2017.  It is going to be a wild ride in the commercial drone space. 

 

It will be a wild ride in many other ways too… fellow residents of mine in California are talking about succeeding from the Union.  I thought I was leaving that discussion behind when I left Texas!

 

I hope we will stay in touch.  If you can spare a few more seconds to reply to this email and say a word or two (just to let me know you are still out there), I’ll be thrilled to hear from you.

 

Take care and take charge,
 Brett

 Brett Hoffstadt, PMP
 brett@creative-forces.net
 @BrettRocketSci

 (210) 753-0843 (PDT)