Companion to the lesson "Shooting the Job"; shot-list deliverables from "The Verticals That Pay."
The day before
☐ LAANC re-verified: the authorization window still covers your slot (the check itself belongs to quoting).
☐ Weather checked twice: forecast tonight, again over coffee on the morning.
☐ Fresh temporary flight restrictions checked.
☐ Client contact and gate codes confirmed.
☐ Shot list written against the contract deliverables: ten stills means twelve planned angles; a sixty-second clip means ninety seconds of usable motion.
☐ Every battery charged to full.
Site-survey card (walk the site on foot before anything leaves the ground)
Read
What you are looking for
Notes
Wires
Power lines crossing or bordering the site; note position before takeoff, plan every flight path on the far side
Other obstacles
Cranes, towers, tree lines that eat aircraft
Launch point
Surface you control; at least the length of a falling aircraft from anyone not involved
Bystanders
People present at arrival; plan for crowds forming (land or reposition rather than flying over)
RTH altitude
Tallest obstacle on site; return-to-home set above it
Power lines are the killer obstacle in this trade. Thin against the sky, hard to register until close, a strike drops an aircraft instantly. Bystander discipline: cones out, vest on, deliberate movements; make it look routine.
Pre-flight, every battery, every job
☐ Airframe and propellers undamaged, props seated and locked, gimbal cover removed.
☐ Battery charged, seated, warm if it is cold out; same for controller and phone.
☐ Remote ID broadcasting, registration visible, certificate on your person.
☐ Compass and home point set; return-to-home altitude set above the tallest obstacle.
☐ Weather and wind rechecked at the site, not just at breakfast.
☐ Shot list, flight path, and the no-fly lines, wires, people, agreed aloud or in notes.
Shot-list template by vertical
Fly the list in battery blocks: orbit and reveal while light is good, stills on the second pass, tricky detail shots last. Shoot redundancy: every keeper flown twice (a second take costs forty seconds; a reshoot costs a client). Eyes hold the line of sight; the screen only frames it.
Vertical
Deliverable spec
Planned shots (write in)
Listing
Five to ten stills of the property, 30-60 second clip
Roof inspection
Full roof coverage, detail shots of damage/anomalies, report photos
Construction progress
Same flight, same angles, monthly: photos, short video, sometimes a site map
Pack-up ritual
☐ Land, power down, props off, cards out.
☐ Footage offloaded to a laptop or drive before leaving the site when you can, and to a second drive the same day always.
Back up before you leave the job site: the cheapest insurance in the business.