Drone pilot directory search: Where can I find a drone pilot for hire?
Next up in our “Ask Drone Girl” series is about finding a licensed drone operator in your area to do some sort of job for you. If you have a question for Drone Girl, contact her here.
I was wondering if you know a link to who has a Part 107 license by state? Where can I hire a licensed drone pilot? How do I find other licensed drone pilots in my area?
I get asked about the existence of a drone pilot directory quite often. While the Federal Aviation Administration maintains a directory of all pilots with a Remote Pilot Certificate, the database is not searchable by state or area. The only real way to use it is to type a pilot’s name and confirm whether or not they have a license.
But what if you want to find a list of pilots in your area? What if you want a directory of pilots with a certain skillset — mapping, real estate, etc.?
There are dozens of websites that serve as a drone pilot directory. The websites are primarily self-reported, so do your own research to find if that pilot is legitimate (and of course, check the FAA’s website to make sure they really do have a license before hiring them for a job).
And with so many websites, it can be hard to know where to look. Some of my favorites include DroneBase, DroneDeploy Mapping Directory, Skytango, Uplift and UpSonder.
But perhaps the biggest drone network of them all is PrecisionHawk, which this month announced that it has acquired both Rhode Island-based Droners, a platform dedicated to helping drone operators hire licensed drone pilots specializing in aerial photography, and Ontario, Canada-based AirVid, which is a site for finding drone pilots who deal with not just aerial photography but also cinematography, surveying, mapping, and more.
The acquisitions could make PrecisionHawk the biggest network of commercially licensed drone pilots in the U.S.
PrecisionHawk says it intends to merge the two companies under the “Droners” brand, creating an immediate network of 15,000 drone pilots. Droners founder Dave Brown will lead the team while AirVid founder Patrick Egan will stay on as a consultant.
It is free for any pilot to join the network.
Which drone pilot directory is your favorite? Leave a comment below!
I joined a few drone directories in the past, a lot of them are jumping on the bandwagon and trying to make money for doing very little really. I don’t think we ever got a job through a directory, all our work comes through google search results directly to our own website. Having said that, I’ll still have a look at the ones you listed, though we mostly working the UK we have done a few projects for US TV shows.
Thanks for this informative content. This is what i was looking for
drones-and-pilots.com
skyelink.org is a great new professional drone network of service providers, pilots and other businesses.
Thanks for sharing a informative content. I am learning a lot from this informative content thanks
Thanks for the info. If you’re in Australia another directory is DroneHive.com.au