Even though the property is in an urban area, there
are a variety of birds in the skies. A neighborhood
safe distance away. I think that due to the new
construction, the birds moved away from the
immediate area. I did have insects as high as 100
have had occasion where birds have made
aggressive moves toward the drone. I believe that
it was because the drone had come close to their
nests and they felt threatened.
so big, I had time to develop my comfort level. My
to the rear of the home away from all workers. Only
during times when workers were not present did I
125 feet. Once the house had a roof and the work
to develop the muscle memory which allowed me to
20 feet. I used open areas because I could see the
me to safely maneuver in tighter spaces. I found that
drone movement needed. Small movements can still
get dynamic shots.
Being in an urban environment, there was noted a lot
of manned aerial aircraft at varying heights at
am – 7:45 am. The remainder of the day may not
LAMAR H. ELLIS
and Treasurer for the Atlanta Chapter of the Association of Unmanned Aerial Systems International.
Lamar has over 30 years of real estate valuation experience and is an approved instructor with the
Appraisal Institute and the State of Georgia’s Real Estate Commission. Since 2014, he has traveled to
over 31 states presenting seminars on Drone Technology to real estate professionals. In 2019, Lamar
“Appraisal Aerial Inspections using a Drone.” Check out the website droneeducationservices.com to
500 Flights and Counting.
42 | APPRAISAL BUZZ SPRING 2020
100 feet. I found that for a residential home, a height
information on the home, the site, and the
surrounding areas.
to and during a big event, such as a sporting event or
holiday. During those days, I would always keep my
helicopter, I would either land the drone or bring it
down to a hover.
For operational issues, the main problem that I had
was simply keeping everything charged. I had
multiple chargers for the batteries, I could charge the
controller when in operation, but the iPad could not
be charged during use. I made sure that every night I
would fully charge everything to be sure that I could
the iPad was draining at a faster rate than I could
the entire day in 100-degree heat with little
and one of my batteries began to get hotter than the
rest, but temperature measurements always stayed
within reasonable levels.
Using a drone to obtain information on a property
can be rewarding and there are new opportunities
being recognized every day. In 2017, real estate
was the number one industry adopting aerial
photography and videography. As the technology
improves, so will its adoption into society. Drone
estate industry conducts business on a number of
levels in the future.
THE POWER OF DRONES
/droneeducationservices.com