AERIAL IMAGERY

DStub@HotMail.com ∙ (707) 695-4980

About AIPI

Why AIPI?

Literally, AIPI stands for "Aerial Imagery Private Investigator."

As a service, AIPI stands for safe, prompt, reliable drone operations. Primarily geared to assist in private investigations, AIPI is not limited to that. Any scene inspection would lend itself to drone imagery. Based in Sonoma County, California, any reasonable travel can be accommodated.

The Aircraft

Aerial Imagery flies the DJI Mavic Pro  quadcopter small unmanned aerial system with GPS guidance. The Mavic Pro  is a very stable aerial platform whose camera is capable of fully stabilized, extremely crisp 4K videos and high resolution still images. [FAA sUAS Registration #FA3HLMYEYR]

Owner - Operator

Aerial Imagery is owned and operated by David Stubblebine, a retired California peace officer and licensed private investigator (Lic #25996).  He possesses an FAA Remote Pilot certificate under Part 107 for small unmanned aerial systems (#4078826). He is a member of the US Association of Unmanned Aerial Videographers and adheres to their "Best Practices" guidelines. All AIPI drone operations are fully insured.

Sample Videos

Sample Drone Video Only: The raw files delivered to clients will have much crisper images and overall better quality than what is seen here via YouTube. File sizes average about 7.5MB per second of video.

Services, Rates, and Restrictions

Services - Clients Regularly Receive:

Video Images

4K video fully stabilized in MP4 format (MOV on request). Video images are extremely crisp, better than the YouTube sample above. File sizes average about 7.5MB per second of video.

Still Images

4000 x 3000 pixels JPGs averaging 5MB per frame with GPS coordinates embedded in the metadata. Ground photography is available at regular hourly rates with 3000 x 2000 pixel JPG files averaging 2.5MB per frame.

KML File

KML file(s) for viewing in Google Earth showing the three-dimensional path taken by the drone during the flight(s).

Map

Excerpt of the USGS Topographical Map with the area of interest highlighted and link to the full USGS Topo Quadrangle map.

Restrictions

FAA Rules

The FAA does not consider drones to be toys or even tools; they consider them aircraft - and they do not have a sense of humor about it. Drones are limited to flying within 400-feet of ground level (with a few exceptions), in reasonably clear & still skies, and they may not fly in a controlled airspace, like within five miles of an airport (waivers possible but not guaranteed).

See "Line of Sight."

Line of Sight

The FAA requires that drones be operated within the pilot's unaided line of sight (no binoculars). The DJI Mavic Pro  is out of sight at about half a mile, so that is the operational radius. Drones generally cannot be operated from a moving vehicle or boat either.

Flight Conditions

The Drone Operator is the sole judge of flight conditions and may cancel or terminate a flight at any time based on conditions. Conditions that will likely cancel a flight include:

  • Darkness
  • Winds over 20 knots
  • Gusty winds of any speed
  • Rain
  • Fog
  • Cloud base less than 500-feet above ground level
  • Obstacles such as trees or power lines
  • or (believe it or not) hawks.

Aircraft Limitations

The DJI Mavic Pro is a nimble, extremely stable aerial platform equipped with an outstanding fully stabilized camera. Its limitations, however, are:

  • A 20-25 minute battery life (I travel with 4 fully charged batteries)
  • 20 MPH max speed
  • The lack of an optical zoom (if you want to zoom in, you fly closer -- that's the zoom)
  • The camera cannot look above the level of the drone.

Beyond that, there is still plenty of room to take very high quality images of what you want to see.

General Rates

Hourly Rate

$135 / hour

 Includes Pre-Trip Weather & Flight Restrictions Check, Travel Time, Flight Time, File Downloading & Preparation, and File Transmission.

Mileage

$0.65 / Mile

Per Driving Mile

Additional Expenses - Dollar for Dollar

Billed Exactly as Incurred [Special Permits, Bridge Tolls, Parking Fees, etc.]

Additional services can be arranged -- limited only by the drone's capabilities, the law, and your imagination

Caveat Emptor

  •  Drone flights for commercial purposes must be flown by operators certified by the FAA, despite the myths and urban legends that surround this topic. Whether or not the drone operator is compensated is irrelevant to this question. Most (if not all) insurance policies for drone operations are only effective if the operator is properly certified by the FAA. If you hire a drone operator who crashes and creates a liability and his insurance won’t cover it, whose insurance will everyone turn to next?  I think we can guess.


  • Aerial Imagery's FAA certificates and insurance declaration are available for inspection.

Contact AIPI

Send Message

Aerial Imagery

PO Box 2826 ∙ Rohnert Park, California 94927

(707) 695-4980 ∙ DStub@HotMail.com