Episode 4 – From Hollywood to Wind Turbines: The Global Impact of Drones with Chris Odom

Chris Tonn  00:00

Welcome back to another podcast here of aerial perspectives. Today, we're really excited to have another guest, one of our more higher profile ones, if I were to round them up, at least on our local Pensacola front, we've had a lot of cool Pensacola guests to say the least, but I'll give a little brief intro and we'll kick things off. So today we're excited to welcome Chris Odom, a seasoned drone expert with over a decade of experience spanning aerial cinematography, industrial inspections and power line projects, starting his journey in 2013 Chris has worked as an aerial cinematographer on 18 feature films, countless commercials and TV shows, while also helping to establish a global network of over 100 drone pilots. This network now services 35 countries, delivering automated wind turbine inspections worldwide. And he's driven by the motto, never stop learning. Chris brings a wealth of knowledge and passion to the world of UAVs, and we're thrilled to hear his insights and stories today. With that, welcome Chris to the show. Yeah, thank you. Thanks for having me. Yeah, no, it's, it's one of those. I know me and you have been in, you know, known each other for about a decade now, in the local Pensacola scene. But always get a little jealous, because I get to hear some of your travel stories from everything ranging from movies to live production shows. Think we even had one fun one in Barbados. She got to do, like Victoria's Secrets fashion show, st Barts. I mean, just the sailing competitions, the list goes on and on. But tell me a little bit how it all got started.

Chris Odem  01:39

It's funny enough. Like my background is I was a commercial photographer, and I covered yacht, super yachts and sailing. And the preferred vehicle choice is a helicopter. Well, I was in a helicopter accident, and 2000 Put, put. Well, sorry, 2000 what year was that? 2005 I think, or 2006 put a helicopter in the drink while I was on assignment. And so I said, I should probably rethink this helicopter thing. It's at that time that in the civilian market, drones were just starting to kind of hit the civilian market. Dragonfly, I think, was the only one that was the only one that was available. It was Canadian company. I think they had a payload of, like, 800 grams or something. And so just with me being involved with technology, I'm like, I need to keep my eye on this. So I just monitored the situation. And then flash forward to probably 2010 they finally started getting like real as far as payloads, and it still wasn't there on the professional imaging side of things, but it was starting to get there. So my thought process was, this is where I need to be. This is the direction I need to go, but I know anything about it, so I decided then, because I could buy a platform. That's the other thing is, at the time, you could spend about 100k and you could have a platform. But my thought is, being a professional, what if I'm on set and something breaks, like, how? What's my backup? Yeah, I can't afford to buy two of these things, yeah? So, so I made a decision to just dive into the world. So I built my first machine in 2010 and learned a lot and continue building until I kind of got really established. And so my machines really started performing about 2012 so I built a heavy lift. So that was, that was the real that was the first I was flying my machines in production. But that build in 2012 was the first one that was rock solid.

Chris Tonn  03:49

Yeah, yeah. And now was this? Were we in GoPro chapter of payload? What was kind of your, your method

Chris Odem  03:56

of what's so let's see the first one, if you remember the the DJI flame rail, 550, okay, okay. So what I did, though, was I just used the power distribution board off of that that's it. And I use the Wu Kang M at that time too. But everything else was garbage on that aircraft, by the way, yeah. So working with another friend of mine, we remanufactured or re rigged, made like motor mounts out of del run and like used, converted the arms to carbon fiber, developed a two axis gimbal for the camera and and, like all this stuff, and at the time, there was these were all separate systems. So there was no video there was no video transmission system at the time. Well, that's not true. There was one that was really, I can't remember, passport, I think is the name of it, or, yeah, I think it was very buggy and limited range. But then you couldn't get the signal out of the camera. It would only accept a 480 The transmission. It was a nightmare stuff. So you I had, I was flying and taking images, trying to shoot video, hoping I got something that was usable. So that's that was where I started in the plat. The camera was an Nex five, actually. So this is also what's so interesting about the spaces. This was pre GoPro, but it was also at the beginning of the shift in the in the imaging space, where everyone was abandoning, well, not quite, but they were starting to leave behind ESL, ours, and Sony was in their mirrorless and so the nex line was introduced. So all these things happened all at once. And so I was seeing the quality so and being familiar with Moore's law, like I just, I you know that, like, just give it some time. Yeah, hold your breath. Just wait and keep an eye on the space. And that's what I did. So as this, as the imaging equipment was getting lighter, the quality was going up on the other side, the drones were getting more payloads, getting more flight time. They were starting to have integrated systems, and that's kind of what I made, the decision to go on that path. Interesting fact, though, along that path, I got my machine dialed in and ready to go, and then they introduced the first Phantom, yeah. And that changed everything for everyone, yeah, including myself. So, so that first Phantom, so basically, that machine, that first machine that I bought that was built off the flame wheel kit, cost me about $8,000 to build myself. That's not paying someone that's just in parts to build it myself, all those systems. Now, this phantom that was 1500 bucks, or I think it was 1200 maybe when it came out, it was somewhere in that range. Now, this platform did everything that mine did and better for a fraction of the cost. And so I made the decision at that point then to move away from the DSLR mirrorless payloads into I was like, well, it's going to take a while for them to catch up. So I jumped from there, straight up into heavy lift, and then I built from there, though. I built like a flat eight. I built a coax x8 I built, let's see a six, so six and eight and and a coax.

Chris Tonn  07:24

So the one thing in this chapter that a lot of dronies Nowadays won't really know about is the you had to triple check before you started those problems, not just your drone components, but your camera. Like, if your camera was

Chris Odem  07:40

everything, yeah, it the thing, the thing that this is what, this is why the the Phantom was so brilliant. Yeah, we can leave aside the discussion about the payload with the GoPro, okay, but the fact that you can now have an integrated system that all worked together. The drones that I was flying, you had five different subsystems, and all it took was one of them to fail for you not to be able to complete your mission, that's a lot of risk, yeah, especially when you're a quote professional, yeah, being paid to do a job, and you have to tell your client, yeah, I'm sorry we can't finish this. Yeah. And they're like, What do you mean? Like, that's, that's, there's no excuse Absolutely, and that's in the high pressure world of especially in cinematography, feature film world, that's why you have redundancies. Yes, there's no excuse. And that world is it's high pressure, because it's a lot of you're waiting, you're waiting, but then when they they call you, it's go time, yes period. And then you've got 10 minutes to perform, and then they're on to the next thing, and then that's in those 10 minutes. If you don't get what you want, then your reputation is ruined. You don't know what you're doing, yeah. Why did we hire you? Why are you here?

Chris Tonn  08:49

The pressure? No, I it builds your character. It certainly defines you as a cool operator, if you can handle these types of pressures. But what really, you know as you go down this rabbit hole that opened up even more doors for you, what was kind of beyond knowing your stuff and knowing some of this piloting, how did, how did you find your way into some of these cool feature film environments? Was it the previous, you know, experience in the camera world, or was it something that, hey, I can bring this new technology to my old connections? What was kind of that, that path it

Chris Odem  09:30

was I, the world that I came from in commercial photography, opened the door into these productions. So I had a foothold already with a previous client base, but that just got me into the conversation. Yeah, you really in that world. You have to prove yourself. You have to know the tech and at that stage of the game in the industry, on the business side of things, a lot of people being burned as well. We didn't have part 107, We barely had section 333, available. Actually, if anybody remembers those days, it was, it was, it was a wild, wild west. And if you're working on a commercial production, it's just like, oh, we heard you can fly a drone, okay, but that's all they knew to ask. They just assumed that if you could fly a drone, right, or you had a drone available to fly that you could actually produce what you needed to produce. And so I actually made my reputation better by being a true solution. I was called into a lot of projects behind people who got the call and sold themselves as something they were not Yes, and I had to come in to save the day several, several times. And then once you get that reputation, I mean, in especially in a business like cinematography, feature film, any sort of commercial imaging, your reputation is everything. And these people, these budgets and their reputations are on the line so the people that they hire reflect on them. So they have to know they can trust you, but once that trust is established, then you're the only person they call. Yeah, because they can, they they're like, Well, I worked with this guy. He's vetted. They know what they're doing, and we can get it done. And I don't have to

Chris Tonn  11:15

worry about that. It's, it's something me and you were talking about a little bit before this session as well about how sometimes we get into, you know, sessions of bringing on a new pilot, and we don't really know what we're getting into, talent wise, until three weeks, six months later. You know, you know, it's wonderful that we've found someone that's certified and has a little bit of general knowledge, but that buildup of skill set and trust is what takes the longest. So, you know, touching on that, you know, is there something else that you would give as again, you know, the real helpful tool for the listeners on our side is kind of just understanding what it's like to be a day in your shoes and how you kind of got there. So in addition to knowing your stuff on equipment and regulations and flying, what else is in that satchel of being able to show an employer that you could do a drone, you know, job of any kind, what would you kind of say is not is still missing from this toolbox?

Chris Odem  12:20

It's how do i i get I'm trying to think of, there's so many things I'm trying to think of, like the one. I don't want to be cliche, but it's, I think you have to have this drive to complete the mission and and it's, it's all in preparation, like you can't walk into a job not prepared, because you're setting yourself up to fail. You have to put in the time before you get there, and that is knowing your equipment, that's testing it, that's tweaking it, that's like actually wanting to learn this stuff. I think in the early days, especially, a lot of people were in to drones because it was just a buzzword. They had zero and it is cool. I mean, let's be honest. You know, flying a drone is amazing, and the fact that you can have that power, and especially the entry point now the like the price, but that is like, especially in today's world with related drones, the entry into this field with a time investment to get your part, 107 and buying a Mavic or a Mavic Mini or an air whatever, whatever platform you're using, that does not make you a drone pilot, a successful drone pilot that can, that can, like, open the door for you, but in order for you to fully walk through that door, you have to put the time in ahead of upfront. You have to train yourself. You have to know these things. You have to know how to troubleshoot. You have to have some technical skills. You also got to have people skills. You got to have project management skills. So like in my current role, this is exactly what we were talking about before. These are the things that like are not expressed on a resume. Like, I can say, like, the entry point the beginning stage to have an interview is like, do you have your part 107? Okay, great. Yes, that's required. How much stick time do you have? What platform of that stick time is that on? Right is you've only flown a DJI, Mavic. Okay, it's not a game Ender, but have you flown any FPV stuff? As soon as, for me right now, as soon as I hear someone that has flown FPV, I'm like, Okay, you jump way ahead this guy that's only flown to Mavic. And why is that? It's the stick, it's, uh, it's, it's managing, it's, it's the stick skills in that situation. So, but I know I kind of got ahead of myself on that one, because that is like on the pilot side, that's just one portion of like, what we look for when we hire for our team is you have to have that and so these that skill set will automatically place someone in a higher. Are ranking. However, the other soft skills that I was talking about, those are equally as important and they can I can train someone to fly if we want to make the investment. What those stick skills do on the piloting side of things that just helps shortcut the training on that side. And conversely, like if someone has a really strong flight skill set, but maybe they're not so good on the project management side, or maybe they need some more technical skills, like, I can train that. It's all about the attitude. Like, if you're willing to succeed and you want to put the work in, and you want to put the time in, like you can learn either side of it. That's right, whatever your shortcomings are, you can, you can make that up, but it's about the desire and the drive to get that done. I really

Chris Tonn  15:44

couldn't agree more. And you put the nail on the head of just what I was kind of looking for in that question, because, you know, there's so much that is a low barrier to entry. So there's a lot of excitement around the drone industry. And I love that there is this opportunity to get a drone start practicing get your cert, but it does take that next level of deeper dive and commission or compassion for this, so that you're knowing Okay, when I lose GPS, I also know how to be a manual pilot, right? Okay, if I get into a sticky situation where I don't like working with someone, I can still power through because I have good verbal and professional skills. We're all going to have to deal with these things, and we all have to have a balance of the skill set that we bring to employers. So that's really cool to hear. Well, jumping into the day in a life part, you know, give us, you know, I know there's been some of the cinematography world. There's also been some pretty excitement stuff here in your your more established career here of inspection, in particular wind turbine inspections. I know you lead a team of maybe over 80 pilots in a global footprint, you know, tell us a little bit about that environment, and also some of the excitement that might happen on a on a fun mission there. You know what's what's going on in that world?

Chris Odem  17:00

A lot of change. It's a really exciting space. So high level view. We have an autonomous drone solution that inspects wind turbines, and that space has grown tremendously as well as we know, wind is a hot button topic, no matter where you land on the topic itself, wind energy, solar energy, it's not going anywhere. It's here to stay. There's massive investment from governments into it, and there's a lot of opportunity there. In order to keep these big machines running, we have to have some way to do this. And the old way they used to do it was send guys up on ropes, yeah, and, and, the part of the wind turbine, from a business owner standpoint, that makes sense, is every time you shut that wind turbine down, you're costing them money. Yeah, they can't generate energy, which is how they make their money. So having the old way that you did it was having a guy got a team of guys on a set of ropes inspecting, taking images that shut down for like half of a day, okay? Our autonomous drone solution can inspect the wind turbine in about 15 minutes. Yeah. So, I mean, it's just like, it like 100x the workload, right? So from that perspective, ton of opportunity for us. We operate around the world, like you mentioned, 35 countries, not only but the exciting part about that is we're doing external and we're also working with robotics internally. So not only do we fly around the turbine, around the blades on the outside, we also inspect internally as well. Yeah, and that's using a rover, a crawler type robot that's got LiDAR, and it's got all the stuff you know, that you can use damage assessment for. So again, even if, like in these skills translate if you're flying a drone, it doesn't matter, yes, because the vehicle, the platform, all the skill sets that you have from flying a drone translate over into a ground base, because they're all there. It's a drone. Still, it's just it doesn't fly. It's on the ground. Same stuff, super exciting on that side of things. Let's see. What else can I say about day in the life?

Chris Tonn  19:12

Like, well, take us through, you know, some of the Okay, it's not running autopilot. I'm having a little bit of a challenging day. What might, what might that look like when you're taking control of this system, or if you're field repairing, you know, oftentimes we get into situations where, you know, sometimes folks just think, Oh, well, the drones having a bad day. I guess we got to go back to the office. Yeah, you know, explain that a little bit.

Chris Odem  19:39

That's not possible, because we well, there's a couple of scenarios where that's not possible for what we do. Number one, most importantly, is the cost involved. It costs a lot of money to mobilize a pilot to a job site. The second part of that is we also operate offshore, and those vessels are expensive, and it. A lot of effort just to get our team out to those turbines to start the inspections. So if the drone is not working, you can't just call it a day. The great part about this is we have a wonderful support team. We have a technical operations that know the drones like the back of their hand, but they're sitting in the office and you're in the field, so that you have to have excellent communication and troubleshooting skills. And this is where communication comes in. Just because you can describe a problem that you think is clear, that does not mean that the tech on the other end trying to help you solve your problem or tell you what to fix, understands exactly what you're telling them. So communication is huge. Yeah, that's the biggest part. Is in the field, our pilots have to take off their piloting their drone pilot hat, and they have to put on their troubleshooting technician hats.

Chris Tonn  20:59

So cool. You've got the system dialed in with all these pilots, and it's how many pilots was

Chris Odem  21:06

it? Again, we had about 100 about 100 about 100 around

Chris Tonn  21:10

the world. And where, where it is, is training centralized. You do it in each you

Chris Odem  21:15

know, we Yep. So we do have a facility. We have two facilities here in the US, so we train at both facilities. So we'll start there's a week of virtual training, online training, and that's like our also onboarding on to our company. From there, we then move into a one week in person training. So that's where you actually put your hands on the equipment, okay? And start working through that from there. Let me back up and say, during the onboarding the virtual week, the week prior to you start your actual classes, we have an online learning system so you start familiarizing yourself with all the technical documents that we have, our pilot handbook, our troubleshooting manual, like how our communication system works. We utilize slack, so everybody who is on Slack, like Slack is amazing. It's a super powerful tool. And I know when I transitioned into Slack, I was like, What is this thing? Yeah, but I couldn't live without it now, yeah. So when you learn all those skill sets, in addition to having formal classes in that, in that onboarding week, then you move into the hands on week, right? So then you're actually learning how to run a mission, from mobilization, from when you actually are deployed, getting to your site, you have to go through all the orientation, how to learn all the safety protocols for that particular wind site. Then you move out into the field. So we run through this entire process, and all of our systems that support every step of that process. Once that's finished, then you're assigned one on one with a senior pilot, instructor, pilot in the field for three weeks. Wow. So our total investment, so it takes us in order to take someone who already comes to us with skill, with stick skills, right? So again, that's that's an that's requirement to start. It still takes us about six weeks to fully train someone, and even then, they're still kind of on, quote, probation for another six months. Yeah,

Chris Tonn  23:07

well, and it's like you said, there's not just training going on with piloting, it's, it's the sensors, the software, processes and procedures of getting on a site, the safety, the you know this, you know it just keeps going on and on. So I get it. What? Just, just so people are informed too. Is there a range of pay that someone might see in the inspection field in particular, maybe wind turbines? Is there? Yeah, what's kind of that, that pay range looking like? It's,

Chris Odem  23:33

here's the interesting thing is, probably get a lot of pushback, but the entry point is, is 20 to 25 bucks an hour. Now, the caveat to that is, most people in the Drone World are used to comparing pay in like an contractor situation. Sure, this is a w2 job, right? So everything's provided. Not only that, there's a full benefits package, 401, K matching, like full insurance benefits, you're issued a company truck, you know, brand new, 2500 that's fully kitted out with a charging and Starlink and like, all the fun stuff, all the tools, all the fun stuff, right? It's an investment on that side of things, and this those pieces of the puzzle. That's what's required of you. If you're not, if you're if you come on to a project as a contractor, you have to provide all that. That's right. And that stuff is not cheap, yeah, I would guesstimate that a new hire with us is easily issued in the range of about $180,000 worth of equipment. Yeah, it's a lot of responsibility just for someone that we met, you know, two weeks ago in an interview process. So I kind of say that to let most people know that, like, there's a lot of people saying, like, well, I could go, you know, I don't know if you could work. At McDonald's for 20 bucks an hour. But it does sound low on the on the outside. However, our guys typically put in like 60 hours a week, so there's overtime right off the bat. Yep, when it's all said and done, like our pilots coming in brand new. I mean, they're in like 80,000 85,000

Chris Tonn  25:20

Yeah. And we're talking age wise too.

Chris Odem  25:25

That's like 2221 22 oh my gosh, yeah. I mean, honestly, we, we, we have some contractors outside of outside of the US. We do have contractors. We kind of have, we can't hire them now because of insurance. We have one person that was under 21 when we hired them, yeah? So we have a we have a guy that just literally out of high school who is making over $100,000 yeah, doing exactly this. He is a contractor, so he has a little more responsibility skin in the game, yeah? But we, even on our contractor status. We provide the equipment. You know, it's a pretty healthy we have all the reimbursements. So we have the, you know, your per diem, your travel

Chris Tonn  26:08

well. And I think the one thing to remember that maybe we're not talking heavily enough on, is that when you're self employed, you are the one finding where the next paycheck is coming from. It's not on an autopilot. You're going to this site next. You're going to that site next. Yeah, you know, that's, that's a huge relief off your back. But I also want to know, on the other end of the spectrum, you know, Film and Television and making, you know, our own content. You know, this is something where now we're paying per project, you know, and these project prices can range from, I'm sure, a few 100 bucks to several 1000. You know, can you elaborate a little bit more in that world?

Chris Odem  26:48

Sure, yeah, I could contrast that, yeah, because I came, I know that world. So for a basis, I can say, like feature film, you know, you'll sign a contract, and you may be on set for like three weeks, for example, and they'll stipulate you're almost kind of like on call, and your day rate reflects that, right? So it basically the more commitment from time your day rate comes down. You back that up against, like a commercial, for example, where you're on set for three days. So your day rate may be four times what your feature film rate is, and it's just related to the related amount of time. Like, there are plenty of feature films where I literally would sit on set all day long, and I'm in the schedule and I'm supposed to fly, and they just skip right over me. Yeah, you don't even fly, like, but you still get paid, but you still have to hang out, but the moment that you're called on you have to start. The one thing I want to point out to that is, I, those projects are for me. When I and this was, I haven't, I haven't been in that world in five years, probably, so when I left that, you know, a feature film project was I would, you know, the paycheck with the probably 30 grand sure commercials are probably in like, the 12 to $15,000 range. However, just like I mentioned in the inspection world, the amount of equipment that we have to provide to a new hire, I had to provide that to myself. So my personal investment, I had about 120k worth of equipment invested. And so that's what I was referencing earlier, if you're on a movie set, or if you're on a commercial shoot, and it's your time to go and your drone stops working, you don't have time to troubleshoot. Guess what? You just go, okay, straight to backup. And your backups got to be there, ready to go, fully kitted. So, and then I have backups to my backups, Yeah, always. So that's a lot of money, that's a lot of investment. So there's a lot of skin in the game on the other side. And you, and you also mentioned it too, in the commercial imaging world, it's like you flow from project to project. So I was kind of fortunate with my reputation. I was able, but even with that, I was only able to plan, like, four months out. Yeah, and that kept that was me constantly marketing, constantly networking, saying, hey, what projects are going on, like talking to people and trying to build up that pipeline, all

Chris Tonn  29:10

while at the same time, more competitions coming into the market. New Gear is launching every month. Yeah, it's a balancing act of where to show discipline and and focus your attention on. So you've you've made yourself into a Swiss army knife, which I think is the other really cool part about the Drone World in is you get to experience a lot of different job scenarios and work environments. Is there any just favorites that stick out from whether it's the film world or the inspection world? Is there a story or an occasion that you just recall as a wow, that was really amazing. Yeah,

Chris Odem  29:44

actually. And this will probably resonate with a lot of your listeners too. This is one of the things when I do talk to students and people like looking at the industry as a whole. This hits on several levels. So I worked with. A ad agency. This is probably five years ago. Six years ago, I worked with an ad agency that I answered an ad on an industry site, and it was kind of a low price, right? But I was okay with that, because I was able to work them into my other production schedule. So as I was moving to commercial productions or feature film or whatever assignment I was working on for travel, I would just send the art director an email and say, Hey, for the next three months, these are my projects. This is where I'm going. And she would come back and say, Ooh, can you spend two days in this city? And here's a shot list. Can you spend two days here? Here's a shot list, right? So I built this great relationship from that, and it was kind of half it's not a slight on their end, but their shot list was half baked. They didn't take into account like sunrise, sunset, like the shot, the shot that they were asking for, wasn't the best that could be at that spot, basically. So several times I would re engineer the shoot. I would and I would send them notes and say, Hey, I know you asked for this. However, we should do it this way, and here's why. And then I would do it, just take it on my own and stay an extra night, stay an extra day, whatever it took and got the shot. So again, I built a relationship with this person. They trusted me. Flash forward, two years later, I get a phone call from this art director, and she says, Hey, we have this, we have this assignment that I don't know if you're interested in, but we're looking for someone to shoot in 25 cities, 19 countries in Europe. Oh, wow, are you? Is that something you're interested in? And I'm like, Absolutely, yeah. So I was able then to put together, but I don't have, I learned some producer skills, right? But like, that level of production, as far as, like, travel budget and hotel budget, and again, I did that on a small case, but this is over the course of, like, three and a half months, is what this assignment was. So anyway, I successfully won the bid. I put it together. Like, not only did I make money for myself, but like, I got this amazing trip, yeah, so I was able to go across Europe. And this is still pre even the landscape in Europe right now is still changing airspace wise, but back then, there's a lot of countries that I had to actually have someone who was a citizen in that country next to you, or on the sticks right? And so I had to direct them, so I would operate the camera, my equipment, but I'd have to get them to register my drug. It's, it was a nightmare, logistically, you can imagine, yeah, like, I'm traveling through Europe with five cases of equipment, like you can't fly, so I had to rent a car and drive everywhere, however, like, amazing experience. So I get, what I what I kind of bring out of that is a couple of points. Number one, everybody's watching you. Everybody. They the people. When you think that people don't notice the extra effort that you put in, they do. Yes, I promise you, they notice. And that's exactly how I got myself into that situation. And then why she asked me, I think she didn't have anyone else to bid on it. They wanted me, right? But that's just the way it was presented, because we already had that relationship, and they wanted me to go. I mean, that's just a perfect example of what can happen when you perform your job and and that's the thing I want to say, too, that it's not just a job like I genuinely wanted to create the best images I could, period, no matter what. It wasn't about a paycheck, for me. It was about making a quality product. Yeah, no,

Chris Tonn  33:29

you're absolutely right. And going back to communication, being in the strong suit of where it shines, on the on the creation side, in general, whether it be drones or any other, you know, creative type of service you get into these situations where you can speak up like you were doing and say, hey, I can assist in additional shot types to make sure we've spent all this time and energy to get me to this location. We certainly don't want to send me back. So let's have that moment of just making sure I got what you need, and I've thrown in a few extra just in case the shadowing was too much in the morning and we needed less. And, you know, there's just so much that goes into that that you bring up a really good point about that. I'm glad you did. Well, very cool. Well, I know that there's, you know, a lot of I'm sure we could continue down story after story on these drone adventures. But I do, I do have to ask, you know, where does some of the future look towards when we, when we fast forward a little bit? Obviously, everybody knows drones are going to have a very versatile role on basically every industry that you can put out there. But what's some of the stuff you're looking forward to and and where you say potential opportunity in the next chapter of job growth,

Chris Odem  34:47

I see it like my current role in the industrial inspect inspection space. It's um, I see it more. We're moving away from like a pilot. In the in, like, the sense that we're kind of the paradigm we're in right now, where you're a drone pilot, we're kind of not, we're kind of already out of that, really, except for, like, in cases of FPV, you know, very specialized. But the great part about that is those skills are still, it's like the foundation, I think, going forward, AI, machine learning, machine machine vision, like all these, all these technologies are gonna and they do that better than a human does. And like vast not every solution, but a lot of them, I think, I think they're really exciting. Space on this is, is integrating all this together, creating a new platform, and and there's some technologies that I've seen already that on the automated side of things, you know, and then plus looking at beyond visual line of sight, you know, having an automated takeoff and landing system that can, that can create a geo fence around like the deck of a ship to inspect offshore like, That's pretty amazing. Oh, absolutely. I mean, we're down to centimeter accuracy for landing and for takeoff on a on a deck that's pitching. I mean, there's, yeah, there's some of this stuff that we're seeing now is absolutely amazing. You know, they had that before, too, where they had this articulated platform that kept that level. You don't need that anymore. Yeah, it's amazing things we don't need anymore. I think, I think that that's for me. I think this is an exciting time. I think if you embrace the fact that you're you're still, you're you're not a pilot per se, you're more of a technician, and you have to have all these other skill sets. You have to, you have to bring all these other things to the table, that's right? And the thing is, is flying drones. It's also, it's also like playing, like high school sports, you know what I mean? Like, even though you're not going to be a professional football or baseball player, like the things that you learn about, working with a team, being a part of a team, understanding your role, having people depend on you, depending on other people, community, like all these skills, this is what drones also teach you as well. This is the great part about this, and from those skills that translates over into this next phase that we're moving into technology. Look, it's not going anywhere, and it's only going to get stronger. And I think, I think the sooner that you really embrace and understand that. And because I've talked to a lot of guys, and they're just kind of like, well, I'm a pilot, and I'm like, That's great. That's cool. So what's that application there? What else can you do besides just pilot? Because I can pilot, you know, but like, just piloting is not really employable. That's like, the entry point. And it's kind of like in the cinematography game, like when I'm up against bids, like it's everyone that I'm up against, they're all, we're all at the same level. So these people start looking at other things, like, you're at the you're in the conversation, because you have those, yeah, but that's not what gets you hired, right? So as you level up your game and get into these other areas, the really exciting areas of drone technology or whatever industry you're in, that's what separates you, those those extra things. Because that's what when I say, people notice, like when you start working with people, they remember, Oh, he was, not only was he thrown into a really difficult situation, came through, but did it with a smile. Yeah. Like those things matter,

Chris Tonn  38:19

agreed, and you started the conversation early on with, you know how the barrier to entry so low? You know, I truly can go study real quick, take the 107 exam, pass with a 70 or higher on 60 questions, and go buy a DJI Mavic or something. And now I'm, a drone pilot, so you're you're right. You have to have that extra layer of knowledge, that layer of communication, safety awareness, adaptation to solving problems on the fly, with the technology, curve balls that were thrown all day long, unlocks as well. You know, we didn't talk about it a lot on this, this, this this show. But you know, one of the things that's probably gotten you a few job opportunities is just your ability to get a waiver for an airspace that was a little tricky, or your ability to do a foreign travel scenario with with with batteries and everything else that goes with it. So yeah, that's, that's, that's huge to hear that there's a way more net to capture here. So, yeah, well, good. Well, I won't keep you all day. I really appreciate the time and the insights on all this, and just greatly appreciate

Chris Odem  39:30

all of course, yeah, exciting times, man, absolutely.

Chris Tonn  39:34

Well, with that, I guess that's another wonderful show of aerial perspectives. And with that, we're out.