About
About Drone Works
Drone Works is a commercial drone operator based in Los Angeles. The company was founded in 2023 and flies aerial photography, mapping, 3D modeling, thermal inspection, and FPV work across Southern California.
FAA Part 107
Certified remote pilot in command
Documented flights
Authorized, logged, and repeatable
Airspace cleared
Approval to fly your site is on us
Operating since 2023
Same pilot on every flight
The company
What Drone Works does
Drone Works flies five kinds of work: aerial photography and video, orthomosaic mapping, photogrammetric 3D modeling, thermal inspection, and FPV cinematography. Most jobs come from real estate brokerages, general contractors, property managers, inspection firms, and production companies.
Jobs are quoted against a deliverable rather than against flight time. A listing shoot, a monthly earthwork survey, and a roof inspection are different problems, and each one sets its own aircraft, sensor, flight plan, and processing. Flights are planned in advance, authorized with the FAA where the location requires it, and logged with aircraft, pilot, date, and conditions, and those records are available to any client who needs them.
One pilot flies every job. Work is not subcontracted and processing is done in house, so the person who scoped the job is the person who flies it and delivers the files.
- Founded
- 2023
- Based in
- Los Angeles, California
- Coverage
- Southern California, within about 120 miles
- Certification
- FAA Part 107 remote pilot in command
- Staffing
- One pilot, no subcontractors
How we work
Standard practice on every job
Scope is set before the flight
Each job starts with the deliverable: what the output feeds into and what format it has to be in. That determines the aircraft, the sensor, the flight plan, and the price.
Approvals are part of the job
Airspace approval, property owner notification, and flight records are handled on every job and are included in the quoted price.
Clients receive the source files
Deliveries include the underlying data, not only exports: radiometric images, georeferenced GeoTIFFs, photogrammetric point clouds, and RAW stills.
Flights are rescheduled when conditions require it
Wind, airspace restrictions, or site conditions that would prevent a usable result are grounds to postpone. There is no charge for a flight that does not take place.
Equipment
Aircraft and sensors
Every aircraft is maintained and logged, and which one flies a job is determined by the deliverable rather than by what is charged. Mapping and modeling are flown on the Mavic 3E and processed in DJI Terra; thermal work is flown on the Mavic 3T; FPV runs on purpose-built airframes.
- DJI Mavic 3EMapping and 3D modeling
- 4/3 CMOS, 20 MP, mechanical shutter, with the RTK module. Primary aircraft for orthomosaics, surface models, and photogrammetric reconstruction, processed in DJI Terra.
- DJI Mavic 3TThermal inspection
- 640x512 radiometric thermal sensor at 30 Hz, paired with a 48 MP visual camera and 56x hybrid zoom for side-by-side thermal and visual comparison.
- DJI Phantom 4 ProPhotogrammetry and stills
- 1-inch 20 MP sensor with a mechanical shutter. Still one of the better photogrammetry platforms for sites where rolling-shutter distortion is a concern.
- DJI Avata 2Interior and close-quarters FPV
- 1/1.3-inch sensor, 155 degree field of view, 4K/60 with D-Log M. Ducted airframe for flying indoors and through tight openings.
- FLYWOO Fly85 and GEPRC DarkStar 22Micro FPV
- Small ducted builds for interior walkthroughs, gaps, and spaces the larger airframes cannot enter safely.
- ImpulseRC Apex and Lumenier QAV-SCinematic FPV, 5-inch
- Running the DJI O4 Air Unit Pro: 1/1.3-inch sensor, 4K at up to 120 fps, 10-bit D-Log M. Used for pursuit, reveals, and one-take sequences.
- GEPRC MOZ7Long-range FPV, 7.5-inch
- Also on the O4 Air Unit Pro. Used for large properties, exterior reveals, and higher-speed work over distance.
Operator
Who runs the company
Brandon Painter
Founder and remote pilot in command
Brandon Painter founded Drone Works in 2023 and has held an FAA Part 107 remote pilot certificate since the rule took effect. He has spent over 26 years in law enforcement, where he helped create a patrol-focused unmanned aircraft program and now leads it, covering flight operations, airspace authorization, pilot training, and program policy.
That work is the reason commercial jobs are run the way they are: planned, authorized, and logged, whether the client asks for the records or not.
Drone Works operates independently. It uses its own aircraft, sensors, and software. No agency resources, equipment, or affiliation are involved in commercial work.
Request a quote
Send the site address, the deliverable you need, and your target date. Most quotes are returned by the next business day.