​Intro Video

"Bah!  Who needs aerial imaging?  We tend our fields by ground with great care."

The farmers above also tended their field with great care.  Consider this:   According to U.C. Davis, Lake County vineyard varieties average about 4 tons per acre yield, which means that can fluctuate by 1 to 2 tons per acre above or below average, depending upon how managed.  The sample field above appears to have roughly 50% stressed crops (light yellow) with high producing areas in green. Since those stressed crops are still producing, let's call it at 25% average under-performance on yield to that field and about the same with many agricultural lands -- pears, vines, and other crops.   For vines, market price varies but let's call it at $1,300 Gross per ton, and $709/ton Net on the 15 acre sample.  So, $709/ ton x 4 tons/ acre average x 15 acres would be about $42,540 in normal year profit to a small vineyard....or about $2,836/acre Net.  Some 25% of that represents about $709 per acre loss or gain over this scenario's average perhaps due to management and farming efficiency.  Or, on that 15 acres, about $10,635 Net below or above average is possible, depending upon management.  Add in all the wasted pesticide, water, energy on pumping and fuel in tending, soil nutrients under and over applied, and long-term damage to the vines with lower yields each year while having to bear the cost of replanting sooner.  Those figures factored in could easily double the cost.  All the more so if the crop value is above $1,300/ton.  Now, what's that on 1,000 acres?   Potentially over $709,000 in Net annual loss or gains on yield alone, plus all the other inefficiency costs.  

That's a scenario on vines. How about the area's pears? For 2012, U.C. Davis estimated 15 to 35 tons per acre on Lake County's Green Bartlett yield, and our example image of field inefficiency should fall close to the median. This indicates a variance of 10 tons/ acre below to 10 tons/acre above median yield depending upon how managed. If we call it at $400/ton, this represents a yield loss or gain of about $4,000 per acre directly related to crop survey & management. On a small 10 acre orchard, that represents $40,000 loss or gain related to yield.  At 1,000 acres of pears, that's potentially over $4,000,000 in losses or gains to go after.  Add in additional losses of wasted water, energy, soil nutrients, and long-term damage to the orchard from neglect....all of which could be mitigated.  There is also the positive environmental impact of more efficient farming in using less chemicals, pesticide, energy, less fuel, and the economic impact as those losses saved mean a few less workforce laid off during lean times.  Our estimates there are certainly off, as each operation varies in output, costs, and market prices per crop, but should give you an idea on the potential value of aerial surveys.

Therefore, compared to what you are probably losing yearly, the cost of our aerial services is very trivial.  There's no guesswork to what we do there, either.  All is very scientific in approach.  There is the initial aerial survey, working together with farm management to form a prescription strategy, then follow-up aerial surveys on the impact of those corrections. Finally, there is the before and after accounting on new yield versus historical data and future year measures, with management decision to upkeep or adjust the methods.

PRICING: 

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Small farms -- $150 anywhere in Lake County for 1/4 to 100 acres.  Package includes outdoor real estate aerial photos plus crop health survey (NDVI), 2D, and 3D mapping.  $50 extra for 2-5 minute marketing video.  Mileage & time fee for property outside of county limits.

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100 to 1000 acres -- $1/acre. Package includes outdoor real estate aerial photos, 2 to 5 minute marketing video, 2D and 3D mapping, crop health survey (NDVI).

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Construction / Roofing / Industrial -- Visuals, 2D and 3D mapping, FLIR, 3D Photogrammetry and LiDAR. Request a quote and samples from our portfolio. 

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• Ongoing project aerials and presentation videos.

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• Terrain contour mapping.

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• 3D photogrammetry down to 2-7 centimeter accuracy for surveys.

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• Cell Tower, powerline, vegetation encroachment, and infrastructure inspections -- FLIR and LiDAR.

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• Methane gas leaks (pipeline), air chemistry analysis, and other special missions.

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• Energy efficiency reports - FLIR.

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• LiDAR point cloud 3D imaging.

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• 3D rendering of structures, earth movement, pipelines.

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• Close-in imaging of difficult to access hardware.  Specialized in Action Sports Videography (fast moving target tracking) and tight proximity hand-flying (Down to 1 foot over vines and 1mm resolution imagery -- enough to see a lady bug on a leaf or inspect cracks and missing bolts on towers, bridges, and overhead views of airliner wings .).  We fly how the robots cannot yet do!   But, we also put the droids to hard work.

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• Roads & Highways.

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• Accident and HAZMAT site imaging.

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• Disaster imaging, insurance claims.

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• Aviation -- Airport runway, taxiway, and property aerials & analysis; Airliner aerial inspections (structural skins).

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Federal Aviation Administration relevant licenses:

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• Remote Pilot #4124800, Commercial, FAR 107 (Expires: Lifetime.  Subject to retesting by 4/26/2020)

• Airframe & Powerplant Mechanic #: 3652639 (Issued 1993/94. Expires: Lifetime)

• Vimana AG-X1 Certificate #: FA3FPECHEF (Expires: 4/27/2021)

• Vimana AG-X2 Certificate #: FA3HTF9F7R (Expires: 8/7/2022)

Liability Insurance:  Documents upon client request.  We carry $500k liability insurance anywhere in the U.S. as standard, and can escalate to $10m coverage per project at extra fee.

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Management Experience:  47 years in aviation; 37 years piloting; 30 years professionally in aviation with zero safety issues.

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