As someone who’s helped aviation companies sell more for years, I’ve watched “aviation” expand to include UAVs and drones—and it’s changing the rules for everyone from airlines to apple orchards.

it is one of the sectors we serve, and is rapidly evolving.

In this roundtable, I invited Dana Knight of SkedFlex Vertical UAV Software, Robert Pilling of Farm Spray Drones, and our own John Williams who is an avid amateur drone pilot to swap real stories—what’s working, what’s coming (BVLOS!), and where the opportunities and gotchas live.

If you market, fly, or buy in this space, you should meet these guys, and will enjoy this conversation!

YouTube Chapters / Summary Timestamps

0:00 – Welcome & why drones belong in “aviation” (Paula)
0:53 – John’s DC-3 origin story → lifelong aviation & getting into drones
4:08 – Dana’s path: airline pilot → ops & software → LAANC provider; earning Part 107
6:58 – Why LAANC matters & the bigger bet: BVLOS NPRM is the game-changer
7:49 – Robert’s entry into ag drones (Alberta), licensing, and early go-to-market
10:27 – The ag bottleneck: capital costs, how UAVs change farm economics
12:18 – Mapping & crop insights: estimating yield, weeds, moisture with Mavic 3, etc.
13:50 – Definitions: drone vs. UAV vs. RPAS (Canada) and regulatory nuances
16:17 – Beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS): waivers, Walmart/DroneUp example
17:25 – Early FPV experiments & flying by camera—fun, hard, instructive
18:44 – Safety/compliance “gotchas”: two-person ops, CRM for drones, duty/rest
22:00 – NPRM implications: data providers (SDSP), deconfliction, weather ingestion
23:26 – Marketing angles: licensed operators vs. first-mover farmers; know your buyer
26:14 – Canada update: product approvals lag; practical demos with water
27:19 – Ag drone specs: size, weight, speed, battery cycles, acres/hour
30:13 – Turn times like a pit crew: 30-sec battery swap & refill workflows
31:05 – Favorite drone stories: rescue/extraction and real-world missions
33:13 – What’s next: UAM, Dubai as a testbed, who survives as manufacturers
34:54 – Trust & safety tech: parachutes vs. Garmin Autoland in GA
36:16 – New pilot nerves: flying $6–40k drones; test felt aviation-heavy
37:30 – Licensing realities: airspace approvals near airports, fines, compliance
39:40 – About ABCI
40:10 – About Skedflex Vertical
41:40 – About Farm Spray Drones
42:45 – Closing thanks & collaboration vibes