Drone franchisor lands in Australia

Unmanned aerial vehicle services company National Drones has launched the first franchise system for drone services and certification in Australia.

The system trains franchisees with the appropriate certification allowing them to use drones in a number of commercial settings. This includes agriculture, asset inspection, building and solar panel inspections, civil engineering and construction, mining, insurance assessment, emergency services, commercial photography, cinematography, media and television.

Under Civil Aviation Safety Authority regulations, drone operators are required to complete a UAV Controller’s Certificate and Aeronautical Radio Operator Certificate (AROC) to operate commercial drones. Organisations must be certified with an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Operator’s Certificate (UOC) to fly commercial drones, which can take upwards of a year to complete.

National Drones said that buying into its franchise system which already has a UOC can shorten the certification process to within a month. The certification is required to pilot drones up to 25kg, operate a vehicle closer than 30 metres (but no less than 15 metres) from a person, night flying and beyond visual line of sight.

The company will also help franchisees obtain their UAV Controller's Certificate and AROC.

National Drones also provides further training to franchisees for specific hardware, marketing and planning, and drone hardware and services.

Founder and chief executive Kevin Scrimshaw told CRN that easier certification wasn’t the only benefit to joining the franchise.

“Franchisees might not have the business experience, but they can benefit from being a part of a larger organisations. There are benefits from a certification level for an easier path to entry, but that’s only about a third of their training. There’s also the benefits of group marketing, a unified website and having a level of comradery.”

National Drones cited research claiming the drone market is currently valued at US$9.1 billion globally.

“There are a number of commercial UAV operators that tend to be regional or only service a particular area. We are called National Drones for a reason. We want to have the furthest reach and be the most accessible,” added Scrimshaw.

“If you needed an operator in Cairns for example, it could be quite expensive travelling and setting up there. By having a national footprint we intend to make this the best and most accessible drone operation.”