Frequently Asked
Questions

Every project has different site sizes, sensor requirements, deliverable formats, and timelines. A flat rate would either overcharge small jobs or underprice complex ones. We scope every project individually so you pay for exactly what your job needs — nothing more.

Within one business day for most projects. Send the site boundary, what you need measured, and the format your team works in, and you will get a scoped proposal with a fixed price, a deliverable list, and a schedule — not a day rate and an estimate.

Every quote includes flight operations, data processing, deliverable files in your requested formats, and a project report. Mobilization costs and rush fees are always broken out separately so you can see exactly what you're paying for.

For most projects yes — a 30% deposit is required to schedule, with the remaining 70% due on delivery. For ongoing or repeat clients we can arrange alternative payment terms.

Multi-phase work is usually billed against milestones rather than a single deposit. The default split is 30% to schedule and mobilize, 40% on completion of field acquisition, and 30% on final delivery — so you are never paying for work that has not happened, and we are not carrying a full corridor survey on our own balance sheet. The exact split and what counts as each milestone is written into the proposal before anything is signed. For long-running or phased programs we can bill per phase instead.

Northern Drone is not itself a licensed land surveying firm — we provide drone data collection. When a project requires deliverables certified by a Professional Land Surveyor, we partner with licensed PLS firms who review and stamp the final product. You get drone-speed data collection with a licensed signature on the record — one project, one deliverable, fully defensible.

Yes. Northern Drone operates under FAA Part 107 with current remote pilot certification, and we carry $5M in liability coverage. Certificates of insurance naming your organization as additional insured are available on request, usually the same day. For work requiring controlled airspace access we hold the authorisations needed, or obtain them before the flight.

We monitor conditions closely and reschedule at no additional cost if weather prevents safe operations. For thermal and LiDAR work we require specific conditions — we'd rather wait for good data than fly in marginal conditions.

Yes. We are based in West Fargo, North Dakota and fly nationwide. Travel and per diem are quoted as a separate line item so you can see exactly what the mobilization costs rather than having it buried in a day rate. For projects far from us, we will tell you honestly if a local operator would be more economical.

We are authorized to operate in many types of controlled airspace through LAANC and FAA waivers. We assess airspace requirements during the scoping process and handle all authorizations as part of the project.

$5M in liability coverage. Certificates naming your organization as additional insured are available on request and usually issued the same day. If your site requires specific limits or endorsements, tell us during scoping rather than the week of the flight — most requirements can be met, but some need lead time.

Standard turnaround is 72 hours from flight completion. Rush processing (36 hours) is available for an additional fee. Complex LiDAR classification or multi-flight projects may take longer — we'll confirm timeline in your quote.

We deliver in whatever format your workflow requires — LAS/LAZ point clouds, GeoTIFF orthomosaics, DEM/DTM rasters, DXF/DWG for CAD, Shapefile or GeoJSON for GIS, and PDF reports. Just tell us what you need.

Vertical accuracy of ±2–5 cm is repeatably achievable with an RTK base station on site and independent checkpoints flown and verified afterward. That figure is not automatic — it depends on ground control, and without it absolute vertical drifts. Every survey ships with an accuracy report stating the control used, the checkpoint residuals achieved, and the resulting RMSE, so your engineer accepts the data on evidence rather than trust.

Yes. Our solar thermal inspections are conducted in compliance with IEC 62446-3. We document irradiance levels, wind conditions, and time-of-day for every inspection and include this in the delivered report.

Ask for the checkpoint residuals. Any survey can claim a number; a defensible one shows independent checkpoints that were not used to build the surface, the difference between measured and surveyed elevation at each, and the resulting RMSE. We include that in every accuracy report. If a vendor cannot produce it, the number is marketing.

It depends almost entirely on the ground, not the equipment. Dry sand, gravel and competent rock are close to ideal. Silt and loam are moderate. Wet clay is the worst case by a wide margin — it is electrically conductive and attenuates the pulse aggressively, sometimes limiting useful depth to a fraction of what the same antenna achieves in sand a mile away. On unfamiliar ground we fly a short test line before committing to a full survey grid.

Absolutely. We regularly work under NDA for utility companies, mining operations, and construction clients. Just include your requirements in the project brief and we'll sign before any site work begins.

Yes — we're used to working alongside engineering firms, GIS analysts, and environmental consultants. We can deliver data in formats compatible with your existing workflows and coordinate directly with your technical team.

Yes. For clients with regular survey needs — annual vegetation management flights, quarterly solar inspections, seasonal ag surveys — we offer preferential pricing and priority scheduling. Get in touch to discuss.

Yes, and we prefer it. If you have established control points or a project datum, send the coordinates and the CRS before the flight and we will tie the survey into them directly. That removes a transformation step and means our deliverable drops straight into your existing model instead of needing to be reconciled with it.