5 Reasons for Drone Service Providers to Log their Flight Time

Why do drone pilots log their flight time?

1. The FAA Recommends that Drone Pilots Log Maintenance and Inspections

Although the FAA does not require drone pilots to log flight data, they strongly recommend it – primarily for the purpose of tracking the flight time accumulated by each drone, along with maintenance and inspection records. Paragraph 7.3.5 of FAA Advisory Circular 107-2 states: “ . . . Recordkeeping of documented maintenance and inspection events reinforces owner/operator responsibilities for airworthiness through systematic condition for safe flight determinations . . .”

2. Enhanced Overall Safety of Drone Operations

Further, § 7.3.5 of FAA Advisory Circular 107-2 states that “. . . Maintenance and inspection recordkeeping provides retrievable empirical evidence of vital safety assessment data defining the condition of safety-critical systems and components supporting the decision to launch”.

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3. Legal Compliance

When applying for a Part 107 waiver, you may be asked to show documentation of flight training and experience to demonstrate risk mitigation. Additionally, in the unfortunate event of an accident, you may be asked to provide aircraft maintenance logs to show that the aircraft was properly maintained.

4. Competitive Advantage

In order to differentiate yourself from the ever-increasing field of Drone Service Providers, it is important to leverage experience and capabilities that give you a competitive advantage. One way of standing out from the crowd is to document and highlight your flight hours. This can be easily done by maintaining a log entry for each flight – whether for practice flights or actual missions – in a hard copy or electronic flight log.

5. Reduced insurance Premiums

Insurance underwriters often consider a pilot’s flight experience and safety record when pricing liability policies for drone pilots. Those with well-documented processes and recordkeeping systems in place – and the flight data to back it up – may find themselves rewarded with reduced insurance premiums.

Conclusion

Yes – keeping flight logs does add to the list of things that a drone pilot must do. However, proper recordkeeping of flight logs and aircraft maintenance can provide many benefits for commercial drone operators, including regulatory/legal compliance, cost avoidance and competitive advantage.

From The Editor:

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Jim Brammer

Director, Product at Aerial Decisions

After establishing a commercial photography studio in 2008 Jim founded Soaring Vistas Media in 2014, augmenting his studio-based offerings with aerial photography. The following year, Jim's aerial cinematography work was selected as a finalist at the 2015 InterDrone Film Festival. As the commercial drone industry matured, Jim obtained his FAA 333 Exemption in 2016 and, in 2017, his FAA Part 107 Pilot Certificate and Night Ops waiver. In addition to offering drone-based aerial photography, videography, cinematography and data capture services, Jim is also a drone industry Consultant and Part 107 ground school/flight school Instructor.

When he’s not shooting or flying, Jim’s passions include spending time with family; enjoying wine, live music and traveling with his wife Marcia; and giving back through non-profit work with organizations such as City of Hope and Unform Your Bias.

“At Aerial Decisions, our primary focus is on the safe, ethical and professional operation of drones. The knowledge that we are making a difference is truly meaningful, both for me personally, as well as our Clients. Our exceptional team of professionals allows me to leverage a perfect mashup of the skills – photography, videography, drone piloting and training, plus sales, marketing and strategic consulting – that I’ve been fortunate to amass along my journey to this point in my life.”