I peaked out the window and saw it. Big Ben. The Thames River. Sunset in London. It was finally happening.

Two months earlier I booked my flight. San Francisco to London Heathrow, and back. I still remember when I got that confirmation email.

And I still remember walking into my boss' office a few days later and giving my notice.

9 weeks abroad. 1 carry-on bag. 1 drone (in a backpack). No itinerary.

This was the trip I had spent 5+ years dreaming about. And the past 6 months planning.

Well. "Planning" is a generous term. "Soliciting" suggestions from friends on what cities and countries to visit is more like it.

Paris. Berlin. Barcelona. Edinburgh. Croatia. Italy. Amsterdam. Yep.

I've always been a dreamer. My first drone flight (Phantom 3 Advanced), I had that feeling. You probably have had the same feeling yourself.

Flying was a level of freedom you could control.

So what was the big dream? To have freedom in my days to work wherever and whenever I want.

And flying drones was going to help get there.

But first, I needed to backpack across Europe.

That's a quest more typical of a wanderlusting 18-year old. Not a 28-year old. But here I was. Staring at a map.

There were just 2 goals for the trip:

1. Have the time of my life
2. Plan out a business

Simple enough.

It took a few weeks of train, plane, and over-night bus rides for me to start reflecting on the business.

It was actually an easy idea. And somewhat selfish. See, every time I typed my question into google, nothing relevant spit out.

• "how to make money with drones"
• "best drone for real estate"
• "how to do inspections with drones"
• "how to pass the remote pilot test"

I wanted a place that had the answers to these questions.

Fast forward to the tail end of the trip. I was filming (and sleeping) on a pirate ship in Croatia. It was here that I was explaining this issue to one of my buddies.

"So why don't you create this place?" he asked me. Good question.

The concept for DroneTribe was born.

(The name came a week later while wandering the canals in Amsterdam).

So that's it. I'm striving to create the #1 commercial drone operator training community.

And in the process, answering all your questions and testing your wild theories.

Think of me as your "drone test dummy".

Since September, I've passed the Remote Pilot Knowledge Test.

I've started a side-business doing aerial photography (Land By Sea).

I'm also in the process of creating a business offering drone services. Inspections, mapping, aerial cinematography.

And I'm sharing everything I learn with you.

Simply put, DroneTribe is the place to get answers to your questions to be a successful drone operator.

Whether you want to fly part-time as a side business, or quit your job and do a career change. This is about a community to help you achieve your goals.

Connect with the tribe on Facebook and Youtube.

Mahalo,

Dustin

P.S.

Please send an email to [email protected] with any questions, ideas, or suggestions. Or just to say hello 🙂