Drone construction progress photos and maps in central Pennsylvania
For general contractors, owners, and lenders who need the site documented the same way every visit, so week twelve compares to week one.
What this is
A progress set only works if it repeats. Every visit flies the same pre-programmed waypoints at the same altitudes and headings, so the frames line up week over week and a comparison is one glance, not an argument. Every frame is timestamped and geotagged.
Add a progress map and the site becomes measurable. A grid flight becomes one seamless top-down image you can open on a phone, drop into ArcGIS or QGIS, and measure distances and areas on. Delivered as a web map, a GeoTIFF, and a GIS layer.
What that map is and is not: relative measurements on it are good to a few centimeters at the resolution I fly. Absolute placement on the earth is within a few meters unless we set ground control points, which I can do by arrangement. It is a progress and planning tool, not a survey, and not the basis for pay quantities.
What you get
- 01Fixed-position stills15 to 30 aerial frames per visit from the same waypoints every time, timestamped and geotagged, plus a side-by-side set against the previous visit.
- 02Progress mapOne top-down map of the site, measurable, as a web map, a GeoTIFF, and a GIS layer. Sites up to 10 acres at the flat rate.
- 03FlyoverA 60 to 90 second cut for the owner's board, the lender, or the marketing team, from the same visit.
- 04One folderEvery visit lands in a dated folder under one link, so the whole job's history is in one place for a draw request or a dispute.
How a job runs
- 01
Baseline
A first visit sets the waypoints and captures the site before or at groundbreaking. Everything after compares to this.
- 02
Cadence
Weekly for fast vertical builds, every two weeks as the norm, monthly for slow sitework. Recurring visits are quoted as a monthly schedule.
- 03
Each visit
I check in with the super, follow the site's safety rules, fly the set, and am off site in under an hour.
- 04
Deliver
Within 48 hours, into the job's folder. The map adds a day of processing.
Packages
Flat rates. Delivered within 48 hours.
- 01Aerial stills12 to 15 edited aerial stills from several altitudes, MLS and print sizes, delivered within 48 hours.$175
- 02FlyoverA 60 to 90 second aerial video cut to music, plus one vertical cut for Reels and Marketplace.$300
- 03Progress mapOne seamless top-down map of a site up to 10 acres, delivered as a web map, a GeoTIFF, and a GIS layer.Coming
- All packages and add-ons
Questions
- How accurate is the progress map?
- Relative measurements, distances and areas on the map itself, are good to a few centimeters. Absolute position is within a few meters from the aircraft's own satellite positioning. With surveyed ground control points, which I can place by arrangement, absolute accuracy improves to roughly the accuracy of the points. Nothing here replaces a licensed survey.
- Can a lender use these for draw requests?
- Owners and lenders use dated, geotagged aerial sets to confirm that work billed on a draw exists. That is exactly what the fixed-position set is for. Whether it satisfies a specific lender is their call, and I am happy to deliver in whatever format their inspector wants.
- What do you need from the site?
- A contact on site, the site safety rules, and a spot to launch outside the active work zone. I carry my Part 107 certificate and the insurance certificate for the job, and I check in every visit.
- What does a monthly schedule cost?
- The single-visit rates are published. A recurring schedule is quoted from those based on cadence and site size. Ask and you get a number the same day.
- Who owns the files?
- You get a written license to use every frame and map however the project needs, including handing them to a lender, an architect, or a lawyer. The history stays in your folder for the life of the job.
Book a shoot
Based in Harrisburg and Hawley, Pennsylvania. Travel by arrangement.
Also