Anyone operating an unmanned vehicle between .5 and 55 pounds in weight for commercial purposes must have their FAA part 107 Certification and have registered their drone with the FAA. Commercial use is defined as exchanging flights or services for compensation of any type. Always ask to see a copy of an aerial provider’s 107 certification and registration to verify that the person you are hiring is flying legally and not putting you or your company at risk for fines or other legal trouble.

Only hobbyists are exempt from obtaining a 107 certification. The FAA defines hobby flying as “for enjoyment and not for work, business purposes, or for compensation or hire.”This means that any time a drone is used to obtain images or video for a purpose that will generate revenue (such as taking pictures to assist in the selling of a home, taking pictures as part of a photography package from a wedding photographer, etc.), this becomes commercial use and a 107 certification is legally required.

LazMarq Drone Solutions is FAA Part 107 certified and fully compliant with all FAA registration and licensing requirements for commercial UAS operations.

Any person flying a drone for commercial purposes needs to carry flight liability insurance. No exceptions. This protects them and the client(s) in the event the drone crashes and damages property. Flight insurance is very different than general business liability or professional liability insurance, and it is exceedingly rare that a general business or professional liability insurance will cover the flying of or any damage done by a drone.

LazMarq Drone Solutions carries full flight liability insurance and will provide a copy to our clients upon request. Our drones and equipment are also fully and individually insured, as is our work vehicle.

Any good drone pilot will be able to provide you with an extensive background of flight training, (up to and including private/commercial pilot flight school), number of years they have been flying, hours logged in the aircraft type, etc. Be aware that there is no FAA regulation of the private drone flight programs in the US. While some programs do offer extensive and excellent training over the course of several weeks, some are nothing more than a brief online video. A class is not qualification, and only a current FAA issued pilots license is a reputable indicator that the pilot meets federal minimum requirements to legally operate a commercial drone.

 LazMarq Drone Solutions has extensive experience in flying, building, and repairing drones and other forms of remote controlled aircraft.  Our drone pilot also has private pilot’s flight training certification and holds a current FAA Part 107 pilots license for commercial operations.

An aerial photographer MUST always verify that a client’s location is in clear airspace and not in one of the FAA mandated ‘no-fly zones’. Places such as airports, state parks, government buildings, etc. have multiple restrictions regarding drone flight or images. Never assume that any location is clear because the FAA can place a temporary flight ban over an area at any time. Drone operators are also prohibited from flying over crowds without a waiver.

LazMarq Drone Solutions will verify airspace viability before we provide you with a quote, and again before we fly the location to ensure full compliance with the FAA. We will also ensure we are fully compliant with all FAA airspace waiver and exemption requests prior to any operations that would place the session in violation.

Every pilot has crashed a drone at some point and should be honest about this, but a skilled pilot immediately recognizes a problem and can (usually) bring a malfunctioning drone down without damaging anything other than the drone itself. This doesn’t result in a flight liability claim, just an out of pocket repair/replace expense for the photographer/pilot. Damage reports from drone crashes are filed with the FAA, NTSB, and/or NASA depending on the location, severity, and dollar amount of physical damage.

 LazMarq Drone Solutions has an exemplary safety record, has never filed a liability claim, and has no safety infraction record with the FAA, NTSB, or NASA. We take safety very seriously, and perform multi-point safety checks of all of our equipment before and after every flight, as well as a pre-flight inspection of the area to determine any possible flight risks (i.e. trees, power lines, cell towers, etc.). We also track local weather conditions constantly to ensure that flight conditions are within safety limits. If conditions prohibit safe flight, we will contact you as soon as possible in order to reschedule.

Aerial imagery is of course heavily dependent on the weather, and carries many legal restrictions. For example, we cannot fly outdoors with wind gusts over 16 mph, or within 5 miles of an international airport.

We generally provide aerial services in the greater Albuquerque area including Rio Rancho and Bernalillo, but can and will travel to other locations as needed.  We will ensure the site is safe and in viable airspace before we conduct any flights.  Our flight liability insurance also provides coverage regardless of location.  In order to best accommodate you, the client, it is best to ensure we have approximately a week notice for scheduling, but if the same day or next day is open, we will be happy to deploy a team immediately.

This new aerial platform is ideal for many types of services that could only previously be provided by plane or helicopter at an exorbitant rate.

The truth is that quite literally, THE SKY IS THE LIMIT!! We have the ability to provide our clients with aerial imagery and/or videography for construction, site management and progress, multiple types of inspections, real estate listings, surveys, zoning, 3D mapping, 3D imaging, architecture, weddings, special events, television, film, documentaries, immersive video, agriculture, mining, 360 degree images, mosaics, indoor flight, real-time video feed, demolition, research and development, land management, forestry, chase vehicle, and much, much more, and we can do so at a very reasonable rate.

There are many models and types of drone, camera, and video equipment on the market. The name brand is not as important as the quality of the equipment. A good photographer keeps their equipment in tip-top shape as well as technologically up to date. Remember, a poor craftsman blames his tools.

LazMarq Drone Solutions exclusively flies the latest DJI products, including the Inspire 1 Pro, Phantom 4 Pro, Mavic and a wide range of custom vehicles for unique applications. We also have the expertise to build additional drones for special missions.   Our flight hardware and mission execution software is updated on a continual basis to maintain industry standards for reliability and performance.

Is the drone provider selling the rights to his images or selling a set number of images? Are you going to end up owing this provider for the product he is selling in addition to his time and equipment?

LazMarq Drone Solutions releases all rights to the imagery to you upon delivery at no additional charge, and there are no hidden fees. Furthermore, we will take as many images as it requires to document everything you want to be shot or filmed.  We can provide you with raw as well as fully edited and processed imagery upon request at no additional fee.