Ask Drone U

Navigating Legal Precedents, Ag Tech Beyond Spraying, and Budget Software Stacks In this rapid-fire community Q&A episode of Ask Drone U, Paul and Rob tackle pressing questions straight from commercial drone pilots. The hosts examine complex regulatory issues—including state-level land surveying laws and North Carolina court precedents—before breaking down high-stakes indus...

Navigating Ground Control Points, Propeller Subscriptions, and Cost-Effective RTK Workflows In this episode of Ask Drone U, hosts Paul and Rob address a question from listener Rick G regarding steep Propeller platform fees for AeroPoints. Paul breaks down whether AeroPoints can be used independently without expensive subscription plans, explores budget-friendly RTK and PPK work...

The Biggest Drone Tech Trends We Saw at Commercial UAV Expo 2026 What’s actually changing in the commercial drone industry—and which new technologies are worth paying attention to? In this episode of Ask Drone U, Paul shares his firsthand takeaways from the 2026 Commercial UAV Expo in Las Vegas, covering the aircraft, sensors, software, autonomous systems, LiDAR technology, and...

Buying Drones in 2026: Is the NDAA Premium Worth It? In this episode of Ask Drone U, Paul and Rob address a critical question from listener Ken : Would commercial drone operators actually switch to NDAA-compliant, Blue List American drones if performance matched DJI, even at 5x the cost? They break down the practical reality of looming foreign drone bans, why critical infrastru...

Why Drone Pilots Should Stop Selling Hours and Start Selling Outcomes Complex thermal deliverables are getting killed by simpler ones. If you inspect buildings with a drone, this episode shows why the smartest workflow may be a PDF, a screen-share video, and zero fancy modeling.Paul and Rob break down a real client question about Mavic 3 Thermal building inspection work in upst...