Buying a drone for Indigenous land management
Australia’s Indigenous land estate is vast and the work required to maintain healthy Country is constant. For this reason alone, drones are a worthwhile tool to have in any land manager’s toolkit. Nowadays, there’s no shortage of choice—which is great once you know what you’re looking for. However, if you are navigating the unfamiliar territory of buying a drone for the first time, too many options can leave you feeling stuck. With guidance from our Chief Drone Pilot, Grady, we’ve developed a comprehensive guide of things you’ll want to consider before buying a drone for Indigenous land management.
If you want to learn more about the benefits of drones in caring for Country work, or for some inspiration about how drones can be used in land management, check out our blog, ‘Getting started with drone mapping.’
Where should I begin my research?
Grady will tell you; start by identifying your purpose. Specifically, what outcome do you want to achieve with your drone? Knowing the answer to this question is the key to niching down your research. For example, your purpose may be site surveying. If this is the case, then you’ll be looking for a drone that can create flight paths, cover great distances, with long battery life. Or, maybe your purpose is to build a 3D digital twin of Country. Then, features like fixed shutter, fixed focal length and software compatibility will be important to you. Perhaps you are part of a ranger group that is responsible for monitoring waterways and needs to regularly collect samples. Your ideal drone would be waterproof, with a rig that can carry samples. Defining your purpose first will take hours off your research time and give you more relevant results.
I know my purpose, what’s next?
That’s great! You’ve made excellent progress already. The next thing you should do comes in two parts;
Understand the different specifications and features drones can have.
Separate your need-to-haves from your nice-to-haves.
Part 1. Drone specifications and features to know
Battery life
Different drones have different durations of time they can be in the air for on a single charge. A good question to ask yourself is; relative to my purpose, how long will I need my drone to be in the air for?
Camera quality
Aperture, ISO, and shutter speed - if quality imagery and/or video is important to your project, you’ll need a solid understanding of these features.
Compatibility
Flying a drone may just be one small cog in your giant process wheel. For example, if you plan to use your drone for tasks like creating 3D digital twins, you’ll want to make sure your drone is compatible with all of the software and systems your organisation is using already.
Flight modes
Flight modes are pre-programmed settings that can change how a drone behaves during a flight. They include features like follow-me, waypoint navigation, and more. If you have a cinematic use case for your drone - these are the features you’ll want to explore.
Ingress Protection (IP) rating
The IP rating indicates the level of protection a drone has against dust and water. Considering the conditions your drone will need to fly in is important when deciding on what drone you want to buy and the level of IP rating you’ll require. Some drones can’t fly at all in even the lightest amount of rainfall.
Licences and qualifications
The bigger the drone, the more extensive the qualification you will need to have to fly it.
There are five different drone weight classifications:
Micro: 250g or less
Very small: more than 250g, but not more than 2kg
Small: more than 2kg, but not more than 25kg
Medium: more than 25kg, but not more than 150kg
Large: More than 150kg
*Note that you do not need a license for drones under 2kg as long as you abide by CASA’s regulations for a non-commercial flight. If you are after a complete breakdown of the requirements you need to meet to operate under each weight category, visit CASA’s official website.
Payload capacity
The maximum weight a drone can carry. Bigger drones can carry heavier weights. Will your drone need to carry anything?
Servicing
We never want to imagine one of our favourite tools breaking. But what happens if things go wrong? How easy is it going to be if you crash your drone, to get replacement parts, and what sort of turn-around time is expected? Knowing the above will save you any unwanted hassle in the future should an accident, crash, or break happen.
Transmission
The means by which your drone communicates with its controller, phone, or tablet used for controlling it. Transmission distances can vary from drone to drone from 1km up to 20km.
Wind resistance
All drones have a level of wind resistance they can handle. This is identifiable by a rating system from 0 - 12, with 0 equal to no wind resistance. How windy is your Country?
Part 2. Need-to-haves vs. nice-to-haves
“The best sized drone for the job is the smallest one you can get away with.”
- Grady Toomath
Let this serve as a gentle reminder; don’t lose sight of your purpose. You are now at a stage where you are ready to start researching drone models. As you gather more information, you may, without even realising, find that initial preferences have turned to absolute necessities. Or, essential features are being overlooked in favour of those that sound impressive. Be rigorous when discerning what is a need-to-have versus a want-to-have. Keep your purpose front of mind by writing down a list of essential features and specifications for your use case.
Let the research begin
To offer a helping hand in the research maze that is Google, we’ve shortlisted eight drone models with a variety of applicable use cases for land managers. This is by no means an exhaustive list and we encourage you to continue doing your own research until you find a drone that is perfect for your needs.
Winyama’s expert team knows first-hand how beneficial drones can be within the Indigenous land estate sector. If you are after a consultation tailored to your unique needs, send us an enquiry. We would love to help.