Drone operations are no longer a novelty—they’re a necessity for organizations that want to stay competitive, compliant and safe. Drawing on insights from FlyFreely co-founder Dr David Cole’s recent appearance on the Dawn of Autonomy podcast, this article dives into the real-world challenges and practical solutions behind FlyFreely’s drone management software. FlyFreely’s story, from its inception in the rugged industries of Northern Australia to becoming a global drone software company, offers a clear-eyed roadmap for those who seek to build, scale or sustain successful drone programs.
From the Mines to the Skies: David Cole’s Entrepreneurial Story
When David first encountered drones in 2013, he wasn’t thinking about software. As a mechanical engineer from Northern Australia, David worked deep in the world of mining, agriculture, and energy, industries known for their complexity and operational challenges. Then he saw how drones could make a difference, and started his own drone service provider (DSP) company.
“We started a drone services company in Australia back then, doing lots of work for various people in those sectors,” David recalled. As his team’s drone operations grew, so too did the headaches. “We were doing everything manually at the time—pen and paper, spreadsheets, emails, and struggling with that,” he said.
That struggle sparked an idea. David and his co-founder began building their own software to manage the chaos. As they say, “If you build it, they will come.” And people did just that.
David explained, “People came to us saying, ‘Can we use that?’ So then we switched the whole company away from providing services into building software to essentially help other drone operators around the world.” Thus, FlyFreely was born: a platform designed to make drone operations simple, safe and compliant, no matter the scale.
The Inspiration: Ease The Pain Points of Drone Operations
Ask any drone operator about their biggest challenges and you’ll hear a familiar concern: paperwork, compliance and the constant juggling of regulations. “The primary one we came across is just the amount of variety and variation that occurs when performing UAS operations,” David explained. Different drones, sites and countries all introduce new requirements. “When you start to do things internationally, you’ve got a whole other set of regulations you need to deal with,” he said.
FlyFreely’s mission? Build a platform flexible enough to handle this variation, but simple enough for pilots to actually use. “If it’s not easy for the pilots, it just won’t happen,” David noted. “You can build all these awesome systems, but if it’s too hard to use, then you start to have problems occurring around rework and crashes.”
For this reason, David and his team developed FlyFreely’s software to provide soup-to-nuts organizational and management tools for any drone program, from the perspective of both the leadership team and the pilots.
It all starts with an emphasis on compliance and safety. “If you’re losing a drone every week, then you lose the capability,” David explained. “That’s one of the biggest problems that arises. You have to revert back to traditional methods, which are quite time consuming and defeat the purpose of having drones in the first place.”
To David, compliance is “the ticket to entry,” the bare minimum required to operate. But FlyFreely goes much further than that. It focuses on turning drone programs into assets that support the business, not liabilities.
The Drone Program Lifecycle: Standardize, Scale, Sustain
Drawing on years of experience, David and his team identified five stages that organizations go through as they build out drone programs: starting out, increasing operations, realizing the complexity of aviation and seeking knowledge, and then the three critical phases—standardizing, scaling, and sustaining. For business leaders, FlyFreely focuses on these latter three.
Standardizing Operations
Standardization is about setting minimum competency requirements and standard operating procedures (SOPs). FlyFreely tackles this with its “authority system.” As David explained, “What is an authority? Well, it can be anything—typically it’s regulatory, but it could be company-specific.”
The system describes the UAS, pilots and conditions authorized for operation, and allows for detailed mission workflows. “You can literally build out standardized checklists for operating visual line of sight (VLOS), and everyone who goes to use it will have to conform to those requirements,” David elaborated.
Scaling Operations
Once a leadership team sets standards, the next challenge to address is growth. “The most successful companies that scale efficiently have someone who’s dedicated in that role—a program manager (PM),” says David. FlyFreely’s tools help these leaders roll out and replicate standards across business units or geographies with a focus on efficiency.
FlyFreely’s key features for scaling include:
- Performance Monitoring: Automated analysis of flight logs to ensure compliance.
- Delegation Tools: Assign responsibilities to senior remote pilots, freeing up program managers.
- Task View: A summary dashboard of outstanding items and updates.
FlyFreely also supports the messy realities of scaling, such as borrowing drones, sharing people and integrating contractors, by enabling multi-organizational logbooks and resource sharing.
Sustaining Operations
Sustaining a drone program means building in continuity, even as people come and go. “When you’re building those authorities and workflows in our system, you’re actually taking in all this knowledge,” David noted.
The software’s delegation features enable managers to manage the administrative tasks while a lead pilot on site controls the tactical operations.
Other features ensure that when a key person leaves, others can step up seamlessly using the system’s historical records. This includes what David refers to as the “logbook for life,” a digital record of pilots’ flight histories that can travel with them, regardless of employer.
Mission Management: Plan, Execute, Reconcile
For drone pilots and operators, FlyFreely’s mission management suite covers every phase of a mission.
Planning
Operators can use the web-based office app for detailed planning or the mobile field app for quick, on-the-go missions.
“We have what we call our office set, which is our web-based app. That’s where operators can do really detailed planning,” explained David. For field operations, “You can do essentially simple mission planning in the field, giving you the best of both worlds.”
FlyFreely integrates with FAA LAANC for instant airspace authorizations and includes a built-in drawing tool for mission planning. “You can add in no-fly zones, danger areas and even build corridors for long linear assets,” David elaborated.
For urgent missions, the “Instant Mission” mode allows users to check airspace and launch in under 30 seconds.
Execution
During flight, pilots follow customizable checklists triggered by the authority system. “You’re just going through and following the checklists that pop up, fully customizable by the program manager,” David said. Offline capabilities ensure that even in remote areas, operations can proceed smoothly.
Reconciliation
After the mission, FlyFreely automates data entry and connects flight logs to preplanned missions. “We spent a lot of time coming up with ways to treat those flight logs from different OEM platforms,” according to David.
Maintenance and incident reporting are built in, down to the component level. “Every UAS in the platform is built from components, so down to individual motors, speed controllers, flight controllers,” he said. This means that if a part requires maintenance, when the pilot returns to the office, he can order that work with the click of a button.
Built for All: From Energy to Education
While FlyFreely started in energy and heavy industry, its flexibility makes it suitable for a wide range of users. “We have a whole bunch of different schools and universities that use the platform,” David shared. “They really like that logbook for life. The students can actually get some exposure to a commercial log, build up a professional profile, and take that with them once they’re done.” Public safety is another target user market. The sky, however, is the limit in terms of organizations that could benefit from leveraging FlyFreely’s software.
Up Next: Crowdsourced Safety, Regulatory Readiness and Global Domination
As drone operations scale, new challenges emerge—like conflicts between crewed and uncrewed aircraft. FlyFreely is busy developing “localized NOTAMs” to allow site owners to declare local airspace hazards visible to all pilots within an organization (think: Waze for cars, but in for airspace). “It will be a really efficient way to get started on particularly complex operations,” David said.
With regulatory changes on the horizon, especially in the U.S. with the much anticipated Part 108 beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) rule, FlyFreely stands ready. “We built all that already in the Australian market. We’re really waiting for that to come out, and then we’ll tweak what’s required under the new rules,” David said.In the meantime, FlyFreely’s global footprint continues to grow. FlyFreely has expanded into the U.S. and will be frequenting industry events such as the upcoming Commercial UAV Expo and the UAS Summit. He will also be working with JARUS in Indonesia. If you will also be at any of these events, track him down or connect directly with him on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/davidcoleau. Otherwise, check out FlyFreely’s website at www.flyfreely.io.or follow them on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/flyfreely/
By: Dawn Zoldi