I am Dave Luebbert and Delta Blue is my small UAV service. Being an Air Force veteran experienced in radar technology and aircraft detection as well as a life-long artist, combining those two life experiences together seemed natural to me by acquiring an expert commercial drone and earning an "A" score on the test for the FAA remote pilot certification. The challenge to fly a successful, safe, complete mission stirs me and I appreciate the spirit of exploration no matter the extent of the flight.

Bringing down some high quality imagery and video to work with from the bird's-eye view likewise provides another creative challenge. I follow the FAA guidelines closely, and safety and low-risk flying for me are number one priorities. I prefer flying vertically when possible to capture imagery, using my drone as a platform in space from which to use the Autel 12MP best-in-class camera, and when I need to fly a path of distance horizontally I prefer to plan the entire flight beforehand using way points with specific altitudes for each point, after first having scoped out the area I will fly in by walking or driving around it to establish any high-risk areas or obstructions. The best scenario of all for a horizontal distance mission is to map out the way point mission first, fly a trial run to determine the success of the flight itself, then fly that successful saved flight path again autonomously while freely and creatively using the high quality camera's controls to capture video and photo imagery.

The Autel X-Star Premium is one of the highest rated expert drones on the market, in a bright orange color, which helps me to easily keep it in my visual line of sight during the whole flight. It also uses GPS and the Russian GLONASS to make flying with coverage of about 20 guidance satellites precise and highly predictable and successful. Autel's new drone, the Evo, will be added to the fleet in 2018, giving Delta Blue flights more potential, such as longer flight times, 3D mapping and 60 frames per second in Ultra HD.

I find it extremely important to first alert all potential clients that they need, before any plans are made, to make sure the location of the flight needed is not five miles within a Class B, C, D or E airport unless they or their pilot have prior authorization to fly there, and apply 90 days before the flight date. The web address for application at the FAA:

https://www.faa.gov/uas/request_waiver