561 GUIDES · REGULATIONS, PRICES, CRAFT · PAGE 14/27

Professional drone guides — page 14

EU regulations, real prices, mission preparation: concrete answers before commissioning a drone service.

• Inspecting signs, totems and billboards by drone: safety, upkeep, pricesRoof signs, retail park totems, large-format billboards: the operator answers for their soundness and upkeep. What a drone checks (fixings, corrosion, LED panels), multi-site rounds and 2026 prices (excl. VAT).
• Monitoring a ground-mounted solar farm construction by drone: progress, commissioning, pricesPiles, racking, modules: on a ground-mounted solar plant site, the drone counts progress item by item, documents foundations and prepares commissioning (IEC 62446-3 thermography). Method and 2026 prices (excl. VAT).
• Inspecting a sewer collector with an indoor drone: no man entry, method, pricesMan-entry sewers, storm overflows, outfalls: a caged indoor drone inspects these structures without sending a team into a confined space (H2S hazard). Method, limits and 2026 prices (excl. VAT) for utilities and municipalities.
• Drone 3D site models for fire emergency plans (POI, ETARE in France): method, pricesEmergency response plans too often rest on outdated drawings. A drone delivers an up-to-date orthophoto, oblique views and 3D model of the site: fire access, water points, storage areas — for drills and real response. 2026 prices (excl. VAT).
• Monitoring an onshore wind farm construction by drone: foundations, erection, as-built records, pricesTracks, crane pads, foundations, inter-turbine cabling, lifting: a wind farm construction site stretches over kilometres. What the drone documents at each phase, the value of pre-backfill photos, and 2026 prices (excl. VAT).
• Estimating orchard yield by drone: fruit counting, calibration, pricesCounting fruit with drone imagery and AI to estimate an orchard's harvest weeks in advance: method, real accuracy, uses (contracts, thinning, logistics) and 2026 prices (excl. VAT).
• Mapping green tide algae strandings by drone on the coast: method, collection, pricesGreen tides in Brittany: mapping the extent and volume of seaweed strandings by drone to size municipal collection and document risk zones. Method, regulatory framework and 2026 prices (excl. VAT).
• All-risks insurance for a professional drone: equipment cover, theft, pricesLiability cover protects third parties, not your own drone. What a hull / equipment insurance policy covers (crash, theft, sensors), deductibles, replacement value, and 2026 prices (excl. VAT) by equipment insured.
• Fixed-wing or multirotor drone: which to choose for a large area, pricesFixed-wing or multirotor drone for a large area (agriculture, forestry, surveying): endurance, accuracy, use cases and 2026 prices (excl. VAT) to choose the right service.
• LUC certificate (Light UAS Operator Certificate): which drone operators need it, how to get it, priceThe LUC certificate lets a drone operator self-authorise in the specific category without a declaration or DGAC application for every mission. Who needs it, the procedure, price and alternatives in 2026 (excl. VAT).
• Hail or storm damage assessment on a solar farm by drone: method, insurance file, priceAfter a hailstorm, a drone documents the thousands of modules of a solar farm within hours — visible cracks and invisible hot spots — to speed up the insurance claim. Method and 2026 prices (excl. VAT).
• Private drone surveillance of a company site in France: what the law allows, formats, pricesDrone patrols over private premises in France: what a company may monitor, what stays prohibited (public roads, third parties, employees), GDPR duties and 2026 prices (excl. VAT).
• Renting a professional drone vs hiring a drone operator in France: comparison, duties, pricesDry-hiring a drone versus commissioning an operated service in France: who becomes the UAS operator, required training and insurance, true compared costs and when each option wins. 2026 prices (excl. VAT).
• FPV immersion flying in France: the rules, the spotter's role, professional usesFlying with FPV goggles is legal in France on one condition: a spotter keeps the drone in sight. Open and specific category rules, professional FPV work, service prices (excl. VAT).
• Filming a sports event by drone: race, trail, regatta — rules, set-up, pricesDrone coverage of a cycling race, trail run, regatta or open-air match in France: what the rules allow near spectators, the typical set-up, deliverables and 2026 prices (excl. VAT).
• Saving fawns from mowers with a thermal drone: method, organisation, priceEvery spring, mowing kills fawns hidden in French meadows. A thermal drone flight at dawn detects them before the mower passes: method, organisation with farmers and hunting federations, 2026 prices (excl. VAT).
• Surveying a French municipality's fire-fighting water points (DECI) by drone: inventory, access, priceExternal fire-fighting water supply (DECI) is the French mayor's responsibility: drones inventory water points, check the visual condition of reserves and tanks, their access and vegetation. Method and 2026 prices (excl. VAT).
• Ship hull inspection by drone: dry dock, holds and tanks, surveys — method and priceIn dry dock or alongside, drones inspect a ship's hull, superstructure and holds without staging: coating condition, corrosion, anodes, preparation of class surveys. Method and 2026 prices (excl. VAT).
• Drones in Natura 2000 sites and French nature reserves: what a professional may doNatura 2000 does not ban drones as such, but nature reserves, biotope orders and protected species disturbance rules tightly frame flights in France. Preparing a professional mission: who to contact, which seasons, what lead times.
• The French drone pilot theory exam (CATS): syllabus, registration, preparation, priceThe CATS theory exam, sat in a DGAC centre, opens the European standard scenarios (STS) to professional drone pilots in France. Syllabus, OCEANE registration, preparation and where it fits in the training path.
• Hosting a drone mission on an industrial site: prevention plan, coactivity, checklistA drone flight on your industrial site is an outside-contractor intervention under French law: prevention plan, work permits, coactivity management (cranes, machinery), ATEX zones. The client's checklist and its impact on lead times.