For developers

One site, one record, from land to keys

Your site gets flown five or six times before the last unit closes. Each flight should build on the one before it, not start a new folder.

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The development timeline

Why developers end up with ten folders and no answers

A development site meets a drone at every stage. The land team wants a flyover before the offer goes firm. The design team wants terrain and context. Sales wants aerial views and a launch film. The lender wants monthly proof that the money went into the ground. The builder wants volumes and progress. The strata or rental manager wants a baseline of the finished building. Each of those flights is usually ordered by a different person, from a different vendor, and delivered to a different inbox.

Two years later nobody can find the pre-construction orthomosaic, the lender's progress set is split across three shared folders, and the as-built point cloud sits on a laptop that left with a project manager. The flights were fine. The record was not.

DroneLink runs every flight on a site under one project record. Orders, estimates, invoices, every flight and every deliverable live in the same place, and deliverables go out by link instead of a file-sharing folder. The people around the project see the same current version. On Vancouver Island our flights are flown by Elite Drone Solutions, a Transport Canada Advanced-certified operator. Elsewhere, tell us where and we confirm a certified local operator before you commit.

Why developers end up with ten folders and no answers: Illustration

What goes wrong

Five problems we hear from development teams

Land due diligence runs on old imagery

Public satellite and municipal air photos can be years out of date. Clearing, fill, encroachments, drainage paths and neighbouring construction change faster than that.

How we handle itA current orthomosaic and elevation model before you firm up the deal, delivered as GeoTIFF and DXF your consultants can open today. →

Marketing media shot too early or too late

Sales wants views from the future penthouse before there is a building. Shoot too late and the launch goes out with renderings only.

How we handle itFly the view heights from each floor early so the rendering team can match them, then shoot finished-building media at completion. →

Lender reports that don't line up month to month

Different pilots, different angles, different altitudes. The cost consultant can't compare one draw to the next.

How we handle itThe same flight plan, the same angles, the same orthomosaic footprint every visit, stored in order on the site record. →

As-builts that nobody can find at turnover

Underground services, grades and roof conditions get covered up. The only record ends up in someone's email.

How we handle itCapture before backfill and at substantial completion, and keep the files on the same record as everything else. →

Post-possession window and facade cleaning

New buildings come out of construction with dust, sealant residue and concrete splash on glass. Rope access and lifts are slow to book around occupied units.

How we handle itDrone exterior cleaning is coming. The equipment is being acquired and the service is not flying yet. You can register interest or book a site assessment now. →

What to order when

The flights a typical project needs, in order

1. Before the offer goes firm

Aerial photos and a short flyover for the investment committee. If the land is raw or sloped, add an orthomosaic and surface model so civil and geotechnical consultants start from current ground. This is not a legal survey; your land surveyor still sets the boundary.

2. Rezoning and design

Context photos at the heights and positions the renderings need, and a point cloud or mesh of neighbouring buildings if massing matters. Architects use this for photo-matching and shadow context.

3. Sales launch

View photography from future floor heights, a neighbourhood flyover, and short vertical clips for social. Rendering and film work can be built on the same capture.

4. Construction, monthly or at milestones

A repeatable progress set: fixed-angle photos, an orthomosaic, and volumes for excavation and stockpiles. Pick the cadence to match your draw schedule.

5. Before anything gets covered

Underground services, footings, roof membranes before ballast, and backfill grades. These are the flights people regret skipping.

6. Completion and handover

Finished-building media for sales and leasing, an as-built orthomosaic and point cloud, and a roof and envelope baseline the strata or property manager will inherit.

7. After possession (coming)

Exterior window and facade cleaning by drone is being built. Register interest now so the first building clean can be planned into the warranty period.

The flights a typical project needs, in order: Illustration

The people around the job

Who needs what from each flight

Lender and cost consultant

They need from you: Consistent monthly evidence that matches the draw request, dated and in order.
You need from them: Their preferred angles and report dates before the first flight.
On the DroneLink record: Give them a link to the progress set on the project record instead of emailing zip files each month.

Builder and site superintendent

They need from you: Flights that don't stop the crane or put anyone at risk, and volumes they can check against the earthworks contractor.
You need from them: Site orientation, crane schedule and a contact on the day.
On the DroneLink record: The pilot books the flight window with the superintendent; the same record holds their volume reports.

Surveyor and civil engineer

They need from you: Raw data in formats their software opens, with control points and the coordinate system stated.
You need from them: Their control and datum before mapping flights.
On the DroneLink record: They set or share ground control; we deliver GeoTIFF, LAS/LAZ and DXF tied to it.

Architect and rendering studio

They need from you: Context imagery at known camera positions and heights.
You need from them: Their camera list and view corridors.
On the DroneLink record: Aerial capture feeds renderings at BDM3d Studios, which works on the same platform.

Sales team and realtors

They need from you: Approved images and clips, in the right sizes, fast.
You need from them: A clear approval step so nothing unapproved goes public.
On the DroneLink record: Review and approval with comments pinned on the image and version history.

Neighbours and the city

They need from you: Notice, and no footage of their yards and windows in your marketing.
You need from them: A clean story if someone complains.
On the DroneLink record: Flight plans avoid lingering over neighbouring lots; the record shows when and where each flight happened.

Deliverables by phase

What you get and who opens it

Phase	Typical deliverable	Format	Used by
Land due diligence	Orthomosaic, surface model, contours, flyover video	GeoTIFF, DXF, MP4	Acquisitions, civil, geotechnical
Rezoning and design	Context photos at set heights, point cloud of surroundings	JPEG, LAS/LAZ, OBJ	Architect, planner, renderer
Sales launch	View photos, aerial film, social clips	JPEG, MP4	Marketing, realtors
Construction	Progress photos, orthomosaic, stockpile and cut/fill volumes	JPEG, GeoTIFF, PDF report	Lender, builder, cost consultant
Completion	As-built orthomosaic and point cloud, roof baseline	GeoTIFF, LAS/LAZ, PDF	Owner, strata, property manager
After possession (coming)	Exterior cleaning, planned from a site assessment	Site assessment report	Property manager, strata council

Before you book

What drives the scope and cost of a development flight

Site size and shape. Acres to map, and whether the area is compact or a long corridor.
Accuracy needed. Marketing imagery needs none. Volumes and design data need ground control or RTK/PPK, which adds field time. See mapping accuracy.
Airspace. Controlled airspace near an airport or heliport needs an authorization through NAV CANADA in Canada, or LAANC or a waiver in the United States. That takes planning, not always extra flying.
Cadence. A monthly progress program is planned once and flown the same way each time.
People on site. Busy sites, public sidewalks and cranes shape where and when we can fly.
Deliverables. Photos only, or photos plus orthomosaic, surface model, point cloud and volume report.

Questions

Can a drone survey replace a land survey for a development site?

No. A drone orthomosaic and surface model are excellent for planning, volumes and design context, but legal boundaries are set by a licensed land surveyor: a BCLS in British Columbia, an OLS in Ontario, an ALS in Alberta, an arpenteur-géomètre in Québec, or a licensed surveyor in your state. Many surveyors use drone data themselves, tied to their own control.

How often should I fly construction progress for my lender?

Most teams match the draw schedule, which is usually monthly, with extra flights at milestones like excavation complete, top of structure and roof on. Ask your lender or cost consultant what evidence they want before the first flight, so the angles stay the same for the whole project.

Do I need permission to fly a drone over my own development site?

Owning the land does not change aviation rules. In Canada the pilot must follow Transport Canada's rules under CARs Part IX, including an Advanced certificate for controlled airspace and flights near people. In the United States the pilot needs an FAA Part 107 certificate. Local bylaws and site safety rules also apply. Check the current rules for your location.

How accurate is drone mapping for earthworks and volumes?

With RTK or PPK positioning and ground control, typical industry results are a few centimetres. Without control, expect decimetres to metres of absolute error even if the model looks sharp. We tell you which method a job needs; we don't promise a number before we know the site.

What file formats will my consultants get?

Standard files that open in their own software: GeoTIFF for orthomosaics and elevation models, LAS or LAZ for point clouds, OBJ for meshes, DXF for contours, and PDF for volume reports. Processing is done in-house.

When will drone window cleaning be available for new buildings?

It is coming. The equipment is being acquired and the service is not flying yet. You can register interest or book a site assessment so your building is ready when it launches. See new buildings and warranty cleaning.

Can DroneLink fly my project outside Vancouver Island?

Tell us where. Our operator network is being built, and we confirm a certified local operator before you commit to anything. The project record, ordering and delivery work the same wherever the site is.

Keep reading

Mapping & survey

Tell us about your site.

An address and what you need is enough to start. We reply with what it will take and when we can fly.