Compared to helicopter right-of-way inspections that average $1,200 to $1,600 per mile, the cost to perform right-of-way inspections by Drones, on average, costs between $200 and $300 per mile. Drone inspections are significantly less expensive, and they substantially reduce the risk of fatal accidents.
The aerial right-of-way data collected by drones can benefit multiple industries, such as oil/gas, power lines, wind turbines, cell towers, solar panels, anything that needs to maintain a clear area around the asset. Our drones provide high-res images that help us see such things as vegetation encroachment, items too close to the pipeline, utility tower, etc., as well as damage, and the state of security.
- Drones provide safer right-of-way inspections
- Drones help you stay in compliance with regulatory requirements
- Drones offer a significant reduction in labor, remediation, and other costs
Maintaining Your Right-of-Ways
Monitoring and managing your right-of-way’s vegetation is your responsibility. Mile High Drone pilots can fly our drones into tight spaces and challenging areas to inspect your rights-of-way, finding and identifying areas of overgrowth or undergrowth and any other hazards that may become problematic.
Our end-to-end solution combines data collected by drones with comprehensive data analysis and excellent reporting capabilities, offering a practical way to use aerial intelligence for your right-of-way inspections.
Drone deployments are replacing:
- Human-crewed aircraft and physical on-sight inspections with drone inspections
- Non-actionable data with highly actionable integrated data
- Mind-numbing data review with machine intelligence
- Antiquated data overload with a purposeful reporting system
Utility companies globally now deploy crewless aerial vehicles (UAVs) to resolve a wide variety of inspection challenges. Rapid-fire technological improvements, in concert with AI, are poised to transform many industries in the next decade.
Operating drones legally
The public is not yet fully educated on the rights of drones; this has the potential of creating property and privacy rights issues. Threats from individuals wanting to shoot down these aircraft are not uncommon.
Mile High Drone pilot/operators are highly knowledgeable in commercial small Unmanned Aircraft System (sUAS) operating rules; we can correctly address concerned citizens and landowners. For example, when operating within the FAA National Airspace System (NAS), property owner consent is ‘not legally required’ to fly over the property. According to FAA airspace definitions, property owners do not own the ‘airspace’ above their property. This is not to imply that property owners have to relinquish their right to privacy. If a legal issue arises, the drone operator would be required to prove the scope of operation and that the work performed was for contractor services.
Our commitment to FAA compliance
We take every precaution to properly maintain our licenses and certification so that we may perform right-of-way inspections for OG&E companies, both private and the public:
- We retain our Remote Pilot Airman Certification – sUAS Rating
- We operate below 400 feet above ground level
- We keep sUAS in Line-of-Sight
- We do not fly over people
- We respect all Airspace limits
- We perform Daytime Operations only
- We correctly display our aircraft registration numbers
- We properly document any incidents or altercations
Utilities typically obtain right-of-way easement rights to enable them to perform maintenance. Maintenance crews access their lines and structures with utility vehicles for maintenance, repairs, and inspections. Mile High Drones would be considered a subcontractor and therefore, these easement rights would “flow down” to the sub-contractor since they are performing services in place of utility crews.
Anyone who willfully sabotages, destroys, disables, wrecks, or shoots down a drone aircraft operating within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States, that was within FAA guidelines, and performing commercial operations, could face up to (5) years in prison.
Our business is located in Denver, Colorado, but we fly projects all over the United States. We consider ourselves “high altitude” experts since Denver is 5280 ft above sea level, and there are unique challenges to flying at this high elevation. For more information on our services, please visit our website or call Mile High Drones today.
