FAQ
About CityDrone
Flight Information
My Account & Missions
Scheduling a Mission
Insurance & FAA Compliant ^
CityDrone is insured so all missions are covered. All of our pilots within the US are FAA Section 333 exempt or have passed Part 107. They are also all qualified to fly drones for commercial purposes.
CityDrone's Pilots ^
Our pilots are trained, insured and certified and we are able to fly anywhere in Texas in about 48-72 hours.
Restricted Airspace & No-Fly-Zones ^
What does restricted airspace mean?
If the subject property is close in proximity to an airport, prison, government building, or stadium, there is a chance it falls in Restricted Airspace or a No-Fly Zone.
Not to worry! We research every project location and check the surrounding airspace before flying. So we’ll keep you updated if we're able to fly your project or not and if there will be any altitude restrictions or potential delays.
If necessary, we’ll also take care of any permission applications that might be required to fly for your project.
Why does this affect scheduling?
FAA approval/denial for flying in restricted airspace can take anywhere from 3 days to 30 days. Our pilot will submit the request for approval immediately but must wait for the FAA's response to the approval request in order to proceed. Throughout this process, the CityDrone team will keep you updated on the status of your order.
Why does this affect altitude?
Pilots are limited to a maximum altitude of 400' per the FAA. However, the closer in proximity property is to an airport, prison, government building, or stadium, the stricter the altitude restrictions become in that area. Our team reviews these airspace and altitude restrictions for every order and will notify you if we expect the altitude and/or shot list to be affected.
Information Needed to Gather Aerial Data ^
We will need the address (or another indicator of location) of the project where you need aerial data and a property outline to indicate the area the pilot should capture. We may ask for additional information, such as your preferred weather conditions, on-site/emergency contact information, the preferred package and any special instructions (example: GateCode is 1234).
Cancellation, Reshoot & Refund Policies ^
All cancellation and mission update requests should be submitted 24 hours prior to the scheduled flight date to avoid any cancellation fees. For requests that fall within 24 hours of flight, we will attempt to accommodate if possible, but do not guarantee cancellation or update. If the pilot is already on-site or traveling to the site, and you choose to proceed with the cancelation, a $50 fee will be applied for the pilot's time and travel.
No refunds shall be granted by DroneBase after a Mission has been completed with our Pilot. Should the unfortunate case occur where your assets do not pass our quality standards, our team will work to reschedule the flight for the next weather permitting date, when appropriate. All reshoot requests should be submitted within two weeks of receiving your final assets for consideration.
While we strive to provide the best possible assets for each Mission, there are some conditions outside our control that may not qualify for a reshoot: shadows, location activity, specific on-site shot direction/requests, haze, sun glare, and FAA imposed altitude restrictions.
Should our pilot be denied property access and is turned away from the site, there will be a $50 add-on cost for our pilot to return to the location for flight. Because of this, we'd ask that you ensure flight permission is granted prior to the mission scheduled date to help avoid this fee.
Copyright & Trademarking ^
Once imagery is provided for your mission it becomes yours and CityDrone's content alone. We ask that our Pilots do not share any imagery from missions with CityDrone on any other platforms to protect your privacy.
We take copyright infringement very seriously. If you believe that your copyright has been infringed, please send us a message to assist.
Feel free to check out our site terms for more information.
Turnaround Time ^
For most customers, we recommend the middle option, "Blue skies preferred", which will give you the best balance of a quick flight (48 - 72 hours after the flight is scheduled depending on weather) and blue skies. This option is typically great for customers in real estate and construction. We pass along these instructions to the pilot assigned your Mission who will visit and fly your site on the soonest clear or partly cloudy day (up to 50% cloudy).
If you're not in a rush to receive your imagery and want perfect skies, then that is an option for you as well. Just be advised, this may lead to an extended turnaround for your order, depending especially on the time of year and the part of the world your property is located. Our pilot will fly as soon as the weather is no more than 10% cloudy.
If you're in a rush to receive your imagery and time is of the essence, we will send the pilot out ASAP, but the sky may be gray with up to 100% cloud coverage. For property inspection, surveys, and mapping missions, the cloudiness is a non-factor. And for the last-minute marketing need, waiting for perfect weather may not be an option.
Available Production Edits ^
We offer a wide range of production video revisions in addition to those offered in our Pro Imagery and Video Package which includes: branding, text captions, contact information, and music.
The Premium Videos Package starting at $1999, is our most popular and contains custom animations, object tracking, nearby business pin drops/graphics, voiceovers, phone consultations, virtual neighborhood tours, map zooms and more.
Premium video examples:
Please note, both the Pro and our Premium Videos include one free production revision in the cost of the package. The complimentary revision request must be submitted within two weeks of receiving the final assets. Additional revisions (outside the first edit) will be subject to an additional fee of $100/hr for production work.
Quality Concerns ^
Should it ever occur that you are unsatisfied with the quality of your assets, we will do our best to reprocess the data and improve quality immediately upon request. If you are still unsatisfied with our team's revisions, we will re-fly your project on an as-needed basis. Contact info@citydrone.org if there are any quality concerns.
Receiving Assets ^
Once your Mission is completed, you will be notified that the assets are available via email and can Click the link in the email to download or share the link with anyone who might want to view your assets.
Scheduling Policy ^
We provide three options for scheduling. The three options are fly within the next 48 - 72 hours (weather permitting), provide a specific date and/or time in the schedule, or receive a call in advance to schedule the flight.
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Fly within the next 48 - 72 hours (weather permitting) - The pilot will have the option to select a date within the 72 hour time window and the flight time will default to the standard time frame of 11 am - 2 pm
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Provide specific date and/or time in the scheduler - The pilot will fly on the date and/or time specified in the scheduler
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Receive a call in advance to schedule the flight - CityDrone will call you to schedule a date and time. The on-site contact will receive 3 calls across 3 days (1 call per day). If this option is selected, the on-site contact should be notified that they will be receiving a call from CityDrone to schedule a flight.
As is mentioned above, orders (missions) that require a call in advance to schedule the flight date and time will be scheduled directly by the DroneBase team. DroneBase will call the provided on-site contact a total of 3 times in 3 days (1 call per day).
If we are unable to connect with the provided on-site contact on the first call, a voicemail will be left providing the on-site contact with a callback number. The on-site contact will also be notified that our team will be calling once a day for the next two days.
Please also note that if our team is unable to get in contact with the provided on-site contact in the 3 day span, the order will be canceled.
Standard Flight Instructions ^
In order to ensure the assets our pilots provide are consistent and of a high-quality, they are provided with a standard set of instructions:
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Standard Shot List:
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Images will be taken at 100' and 350' from the cardinal directions (N, NE, E, SE, E, SW, W), pending FAA height restrictions
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Panoramas will be taken at 100', pending FAA height restrictions
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Videos are captured from a multitude of different angles and altitudes to provide multiple perspectives of the property.
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Standard Weather: The flight date will be set for the next clear or partly cloudy day (Less than 50% cloud cover). However, you can select from the following weather requirements:
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Up to 10% cloudy (clear and sunny)
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Up to 50% cloudy (partly cloudy)
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Up to 100% cloudy (mostly cloudy)
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Standard Time: The flight time will be between 11 AM-2 PM for optimal lighting conditions. If you would like to request a specific time frame, please include that in the special notes when placing the order. Flights completed outside the 11 AM - 2 PM time frame may be subject to harsh shadows or glare, as the sun will be lower in the sky.
Please note that a 10% cloudy (clear and sunny) requirement may lead to an extended timeline for the order as the pilot may need to wait for the weather to cooperate.
Note: If you are to have special flight specifications for our Pilot, we request that you provide as much detail as possible to reference when submitting your Mission request.
For specific requests around preferred time and/or day, we will do our best to accommodate. However, we ask that you reference a select timeframe rather than stages of the horizon (ex: twilight, dusk, sunrise, etc.) as these are open to loose interpretation.
Additionally, if a property will require the Shopping Center Shot List, or if the mission is for a lot larger than 100 acres, you may be asked to authorize additional charges.
Placing an Order ^
You can submit a Mission request for both Commercial & Residential Real Estate at any time, through our site directly.
Simply fill the contact form or click Book Now and we will start the process for you.
Meeting the Pilot? ^
You are more than welcome to meet our Pilot on-site for your Mission, though your presence is not required. Should you choose to coordinate with the Pilot, simply specify this request in the notes section when scheduling a Mission. If on the other hand, you decide not to oversee the flight and our pilot needs direct access to the property or needs to check in with security, we may request additional contact info.