The First 10 Minutes On Site: What Separates Professionals from Pilots with a Certificate

You've passed your Advanced RPAS exam. You've logged your flight hours. Your equipment is dialed in. But when you pull up to your first real job site, there's a moment of quiet panic that no ground school prepares you for.

What do you actually do?

The technical flying is usually the easy part. What separates working professionals from certified hobbyists is everything that happens before the props start spinning. We call it "the first 10 minutes"—and it's where jobs are won or lost, where safety incidents are prevented, and where client relationships are built.

The Client Handshake (Not Just a Greeting)

When you arrive on site, resist the urge to immediately start unpacking gear. Your first job is people, not equipment.

Find your site contact. Introduce yourself. Confirm their name and role. This sounds basic, but on larger sites you may be dealing with a project manager who arranged the contract, a site supervisor who controls access, and a safety coordinator who needs to sign off on your work. Knowing who's who prevents confusion later.

Ask one simple question: "Has anything changed since we last spoke?"

You'd be surprised how often the answer is yes. Weather moved a timeline. A crane showed up. There's a VIP tour happening in an hour. An area that was supposed to be clear now has workers in it. These changes can completely alter your flight plan, and you want to know about them before you've committed to a setup location.

The Site Walk (Your Real Pre-Flight)

Before you touch your case, walk the site. Not the whole property, just the area relevant to your operation. You're looking for things that matter to remote sensing work:

Overhead hazards: Power lines, guy wires, cables, and overhanging branches. These don't show up on satellite imagery or your planning software. Many experienced operators have stories about "invisible" wires that weren't on any map.

RF interference sources: Cell towers, high-voltage infrastructure, radio equipment, large metal structures. If your drone starts behaving strangely, you want to already know why.

Magnetic anomalies: Rebar-heavy concrete, underground utilities, heavy equipment. These can throw off your compass calibration. If you're flying near a pile of rebar or over buried pipes, you need to know.

Launch and recovery options: Where can you safely take off and land? Is the ground level? Is there foot traffic? What's your backup location if your primary spot becomes compromised?

People and activity patterns: Where are workers congregating? What vehicles are moving? What's the flow of activity? Your operation needs to fit into the existing site rhythm, not stop it.

This walk takes five minutes. It prevents hours of problems.

The Scope Confirmation (Say It Back)

Before you set up, confirm the scope of work verbally with your site contact. Not because you don't trust them, but because miscommunication is the most common source of client disappointment in this industry.

"Just to confirm: we're capturing [specific area] today for [specific purpose], and you need [specific deliverables] by [specific date]. Is that still accurate?"

This is your moment to catch misaligned expectations. If the client thought they were getting a 3D model and you quoted for orthomosaic only, you want to know now. If they assumed you'd be covering the entire property and you scoped only the north lot, you want to clarify now.

Write it down. Even if it's just in your phone notes. "Confirmed with [name] at [time]: scope is [X]." This protects everyone.

The Safety Briefing (Even When They Don't Want One)

In Canada, commercial RPAS operations require you to maintain control of your flight area. On many sites, especially those with COR certification or resource-sector safety requirements, you'll be expected to conduct or participate in a safety briefing.

Even when it's not required, do a brief safety orientation with anyone who'll be near your operation:

• Where you'll be flying

• How long you'll be flying

• What they should do if they see a problem (come tell you, don't try to catch the drone)

• Where the "sterile area" is—the zone they should stay out of during flight

This takes 60 seconds and accomplishes two things: it keeps people safe, and it establishes you as a professional who takes their work seriously. That perception matters for repeat business.

The Gear Setup (Finally)

Now you can unpack. But even here, sequence matters.

Communications first. If you're using radios or a spotter, confirm comms are working before anything else.

Controller and screen second. Power these up and let them acquire GPS and establish links while you're preparing the aircraft. This saves time and lets you spot firmware issues or app problems before the drone is in the air.

Aircraft last. By the time you're putting the aircraft together, you should already know your flight plan is solid, your equipment is communicating, and your site is clear.

Run your checklist. Every time. The day you skip it is the day you fly with a lens cap on or a battery that wasn't fully charged.

The Final Gut Check

Before you arm and launch, pause. Ask yourself:

• Do I have clear authorization to fly here?

• Is my airspace clear? (Check NAV CANADA sources, not just your app)

• Are conditions within my aircraft's limits and my personal minimums?

• Does everyone on site know what's about to happen?

• If something goes wrong, what's my plan?

If any answer is uncertain, stop. Clarify. The job will wait. Your reputation, and potentially someone's safety, won't.

The Hidden ROI of Those 10 Minutes

Clients rarely comment on your first 10 minutes. They don't notice the site walk, the scope confirmation or the safety brief. What they notice is that the job went smoothly. That you seemed calm and competent. That there were no surprises.

That's what professionalism looks like from the outside. From the inside, it's just preparation.

The operators who build sustainable careers in remote sensing aren't necessarily the best pilots or the ones with the fanciest equipment. They're the ones who never skip those first 10 minutes.

Aeria Solutions is a full-spectrum remote sensing company based in Canada. Our SECOR certification reflects our commitment to safety management, and we believe that honest discussion about incidents and emergencies makes the entire industry safer.