Finalist for Remotely Piloted Aircraft Business of the Year

From Hobby to Business – July 2025 – Bendigo Aerial has been named a finalist for Remotely Piloted Aircraft Business of the Year at the 2025 Australian Aviation Awards.

It means a lot. I started this business on my own. No investors, staff or any certainty that it would succeed.

At first, we were doing real estate jobs. Shooting houses. Editing at night. Delivering files while holding down other work. Everything changed when I built a website to take bookings and automate our systems. That made things easier. Clients could book online. Upload files. Get their videos and photos without back-and-forth emails.

From there, it grew. We added more services. Mapping. Surveying. Drone inspections. We started working with councils, media teams, construction managers and schools. Now we support 30+ drone contractors around Australia.

Our Drone Operations = Big Impact

This finalist nomination isn’t about being the biggest drone operator. It’s about staying consistent. We’ve built a small operation that works well. We don’t have a shopfront. No admin. No office.

That means less overhead. Lower costs. Faster service. Most of our work is repeat business. 80% of clients come back. When something goes wrong, we fix it. No fees. No drama.

In 2024, we had our busiest year. We shot over 12TB of footage. We delivered drone content across Victoria. A lot of that content ended up online, in reports, movies, documentaries or in advertising. But one of the most meaningful things we did wasn’t a job. It was a weekend project with my kids. We wrote a drone safety book for children. Then we turned it into a song. Then we added sign language. That project took off. It’s now used in schools. Libraries. Streaming platforms. It’s free for anyone to use.

We didn’t do it for recognition. We did it because kids are flying drones. And most of them don’t get taught the rules. We filled a gap when it was needed.

Starting a Drone Business

For other drone pilots reading this, if you’re starting a drone business, don’t wait until it’s perfect. Start with what you’ve got. Talk to people. Do small jobs well. You don’t need fancy gear. You need to deliver. Build systems early. Keep your process simple. Focus on speed, communication, and results.

Say yes to things that scare you. Figure it out later. And when you find something that helps others, share it. The drone industry is still growing. There’s room for pilots who are honest, fast, and reliable. This nomination means a lot to me. Not because it changes what we do, but because it confirms it’s working.

Thank you to everyone who’s worked with us, flown with us, or supported us.