Pilot capacity for surveying firms, consultancies and AEC partners.
Four engagement tiers from a CAA-authorised, SORA-current operator, consistent drone and geospatial capacity without building it in-house, with quantified social-value evidence on every engagement.
Capacity,
not
headcount.
Many surveying practices, AEC consultancies and infrastructure firms need drone and geospatial capability intermittently, not enough to justify hiring, training and maintaining a CAA-authorised operation, but too much to keep declining the work.
Managed Flight Operations supplies that capacity on your terms: a credentialed operator you can deploy by the day, embed for a programme, hire from, or deliver under your own brand. Every engagement carries our compliance, our insurance and quantified social-value evidence you can pass to your own clients.
Available to RICS firms, AEC consultancies and partners seeking specialist pilot capacity. Not aimed at firms with existing FairFleet relationships.
Four
tiers.
Pick the engagement model that fits the work. Final pricing scoped per partnership.
| Tier | Engagement | Pricing |
|---|---|---|
| Tier A. Day-rate subcontract | Single or multi-day pilot capacity | £850–£1,250/day |
| Tier B. Embedded rotation | 3 to 6 month dedicated deployment | £22–48k per rotation |
| Tier C. Graduate placement | Foundation-trained graduate hired by partner | £9.5–14k per placement |
| Tier D. White-label delivery | SBS delivers, partner brands the output | 40 to 80% premium on standard rates |
Indicative ranges; final quote scoped per engagement. Graduate placement is delivered with the SBS Foundation (CIO) workforce pathway.
Four ways to
work with us.
Most partners start at Tier A and move up as the volume and the relationship grow.
Tier A. Day-rate subcontract
You win the work and hold the client; we supply the pilot, the aircraft and the compliance for single days or short runs. The simplest way to take on drone work before you have your own capability, with no standing cost between jobs.
Tier B. Embedded rotation
A dedicated operator embedded in your team for a three to six month programme, integrated with your H&S, reporting and project systems. The right fit when a single scheme needs consistent capacity over months rather than days.
Tier C. Graduate placement
A Foundation-trained graduate recruited permanently into your firm, with the recruitment commission funding the SBS Foundation (CIO) pathway. You build in-house capability and evidence social value at the same time.
Tier D. White-label delivery
We deliver the full job and you brand the output as your own, so you can offer drone and geospatial services under your name before you build the operation. Priced at a premium to reflect the end-to-end delivery.
On every
engagement.
Compliance, continuity and procurement-ready evidence, under your brand where you want it.
Compliance carried for you
CAA Operational Authorisation, SORA/PDRA-01, RAMS and insurance, our responsibility, not yours.
Consistent operators
The same credentialed people across a rotation, integrated with your H&S and reporting systems.
Social-value evidence
Quantified TOMs-aligned evidence you can pass to your own clients and frameworks.
White-label outputs
Deliverables produced to your house style and branded as your own.
Partner
firms.
RICS practices, AEC consultancies, infrastructure firms and agencies needing specialist pilot capacity without the overhead.
Pilot capacity for a surveying practice's framework win.
A surveying practice won a framework that required occasional drone capture, but the volume did not justify training and authorising an in-house operation.
We supplied credentialed pilots on a day rate, carried the compliance and insurance, and delivered to the practice's house style so the client saw one supplier.
Partnership
Q&A.
More in the FAQ hub.
Yes. SBS Managed Flight Operations gives surveying practices, AEC consultancies, infrastructure firms and agencies consistent drone and geospatial capacity without building it in-house, across four tiers: day-rate subcontract (£850–£1,250/day), embedded rotations, graduate placement and white-label delivery. Every engagement includes quantified social-value evidence.
SBS carries out the work and the partner firm brands the output as its own. It is priced at a 40–80% premium on standard rates and suits firms that want to offer drone and geospatial capability under their own name without building the operation.
Managed flight operations is available to RICS firms, AEC consultancies and partners seeking specialist pilot capacity. It is not aimed at firms with existing FairFleet relationships.