David Jackson, Owner
By Eleanor Snite

When David Jackson launched his Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (aka drone),  business at the beginning of 2016, safety was the major issue he had on his mind.

“The whole drone operation is a safety factor for the climbers heading up the towers,” Jackson said. “Putting the eyes in the sky on the tower top without putting a climber at risk is the major reason I started Quest Aerial Image.”

Drones can be used to check sites to look for issues that could possibly be a problem or obstruction before employees climb the towers. The drone can provide high-definition videos or still photography, depending on the job.

Jackson said a drone can be used to find punch items such as jumpers that aren’t supported correctly, grounds that haven’t been completed, weatherproofing that was not done and much more. After steel work is done, the drone can go from top to bottom to inspect it and photos can be taken.

“The drone can zoom in really well,” Jackson said. “On the other hand, the drone can take a much broader picture of what’s going on up there. And it can take laps around the tower at different elevations and get full all around video on what work has been done.”

Jackson is also planning to do night flights in the future. He said the thermal imaging of the drone can see up close the areas that have power outages.

Quest Aerial Image has been granted approval from the FAA to operate a commercial drone on towers up to 200 feet maximum, and Jackson has submitted papers to the FAA to work on towers as high as 500 feet and more.

The company is headquartered in Gorham, Maine, and primarily has clients in the Northeast. For more information, click here.