Everything we do
happens below 120 metres
Skyride OÜ flies survey, mapping and inspection work from Rosma in Põlva County, across southern Estonia. Small aircraft, ordinary jobs: a roof somebody does not want to climb onto, a field somebody needs measured, a site somebody needs photographed the same way every month.
The number in the heading is the practical ceiling for routine drone work under the European framework, and it is the first of several limits that shape what this service can and cannot promise. Most disappointment in this trade comes from a client being sold a flight that was never going to be lawful or possible, so the limits are set out on this page rather than discovered on the day.
What we fly for
Ordinary commercial work, mostly for people who need a picture or a measurement from a position nobody wants to reach with a ladder.
Roof and structure inspection
Close visual survey of roofs, chimneys, gutters and facades, delivered as dated images you can hand to a builder or an insurer.
Land and field mapping
Orthophoto mapping of parcels, forestry blocks and sites, for planning, boundaries and record-keeping.
Construction progress
The same site photographed from the same points at intervals, so progress can be compared rather than remembered.
Property and tourism imagery
Stills and video for listings, accommodation and local businesses across Põlva, Võru and Tartu counties.
Solar and roof assessment
Imagery to support panel layout and shading assessment before anyone quotes for an installation.
Event and landscape work
Where permitted by the location and the day. Some sites simply cannot be flown, and we will say so before invoicing anybody.
Five things to check before hiring any operator
Us included. Drone work looks informal and is not: it sits inside a European regulatory framework, and hiring somebody outside it puts the client's own project at risk as much as the pilot's.
- 1Is the operator registered?Operators of most drones must be registered, and the registration number is displayed on the aircraft. In Estonia registration and oversight sit with the Transport Administration. Ask for the number and ask where it is displayed.
- 2Is the pilot competent for this category of flight?The European framework separates operations into categories by risk, with corresponding training and, for some, an authorisation. A flight near people or buildings is not the same category as a flight over an empty field.
- 3Is there insurance?Ask what cover exists and what it covers. A small aircraft falling on a car or a person is an entirely ordinary risk and it should not be the client's problem.
- 4Is the location flyable at all?Geographical zones restrict or prohibit flight near aerodromes, certain infrastructure and protected areas, and Estonia's eastern regions carry their own considerations. This is checked before the job is accepted, not on the day.
- 5What happens to the images afterwards?Aerial imagery can capture neighbours, vehicles and people who did not ask to be photographed. Agree in writing what is captured, who receives it, how long it is kept, and what is done with anything incidental.
Six limits nobody mentions in a quote
None of these is a reason not to fly. All of them are reasons a date may move, and a client who hears them in advance is annoyed for a minute rather than for a week.
Questions
i.Can you fly over my neighbour's land to photograph my roof?
Sometimes, and the answer depends on the site rather than on the wish. Beyond the aviation rules there is the ordinary matter of other people's privacy: aerial imagery routinely captures what was not meant to be captured. We agree the frame and the deliverables in advance, and we do not hand over incidental material about third parties.
ii.How high can you actually go?
Routine operations sit within a height limit measured from the ground beneath the aircraft, which for most commercial work in Europe means 120 metres. Higher or more complex operations move into a different regulatory category with additional requirements. If a job needs that, it is a different conversation with a different timescale.
iii.Do you need permission every time?
Not for every flight, but the location is checked every time. Geographical zones restrict flight near aerodromes, certain installations and protected areas, and those zones are not always where people assume. The check costs nothing and prevents the expensive version of the problem.
iv.What do I actually receive?
Agreed in advance: image count, resolution, format, and whether you are getting stills, video, an orthophoto or a measured output. "Some drone photos" is not a specification, and the projects that go wrong are the ones where nobody wrote one.
v.My insurer wants roof images. Is that a survey?
It is imagery, which is often exactly what is wanted, but it is not a structural survey and we will not describe it as one. Where a qualified surveyor's opinion is required, the images support that person's work rather than replacing it.
vi.How do we start?
Send the location, what you need to see and roughly when. We will tell you whether the site can be flown, what the weather realistically allows at that time of year, and what the output will be — before anybody commits to a date.
Send the location first
A map pin and a sentence about what you need to see is enough to get a straight answer about whether it can be flown at all.
Põlva vald, Põlvamaa 63221
Estonia