About Flightfield Drone Services, LLC

"See Your World Differently"

Flightfield Drone Services, LLC was founded in May 2021 by me, David Fiala. Over the past 27+ years I have been involved in many different types of construction projects. After high school I started working for a contractor constructing platform framed homes of all types and sizes. Within a couple of years this contractor grew and relocated to Rapid City, South Dakota. I enjoyed what I was doing so I decided to move there and continue working with this contractor. I was in Rapid City long enough to help on a couple of projects before deciding to move back to Pierre, South Dakota. After returning to Pierre, I started working for a concrete contractor specializing in  flat work and foundations. After four years of carpentry and concrete work I had a great foundation for what goes into building a home and would continue learning these trades throughout my life. Over the next couple of decades these skills would lead me to helping friends and family on their various projects and completing projects of my own. 

In 1998 I was offered a job as a survey crew member at a local engineering firm. During the next 22+ years at this firm, I engaged in projects ranging from legal surveys to all types of heavy construction. This involved managing survey crews, reading plans for engineering and architectural design, reporting and fixing issues with the plans, drafting and processing data, a lot of manual labor, and many other responsibilities. I have always treated my clients as I would expect to be treated and have been known to go to great lengths to give my clients the best service and price I can. Sometimes, this would mean waking up at 3:00 a.m. and getting home at 10:00 p.m. to save the client travel costs on additional days. I was able to make many friends over this time and some clients would request me specifically due to my work ethic. As time went on technology grew fast. Eventually this firm would start to incorporate sUAS into its surveys. Soon after I became a Certified Commercial sUAS pilot . This had me conducting flights for 3D surfaces, 3D models, corridor surveys, landfill volumes, orthomosaics, and more. Once flights were completed, I would process the data for volume computations and other deliverables. Being outdoors for the majority of this career, I acquired a hobby for photography. This meshed well with the sUAS and led me to purchase my own based on their camera quality and functionality.

In 2020 this firm and I went our separate ways. I was immediately offered a job helping a forensic engineering and animation firm in Colorado. The brought me aboard with a 6-month contract to help with the survey, drafting, structural inspection, and conduct the aerial inspection of a high-end community consisting of 15, 5-Unit Townhomes. Using my sUAS to record the exterior conditions of the structures I was able to save the engineers valuable time. And, give them a clear picture of the defects they would not have seen otherwise. This proved to be beneficial for the engineers and the clients. With the videos and photos I provided, the engineers could easily zoom into areas they could not see from the ground level. This would lead to finding defects such as missing window flashing, additional cracking in the hardcoat stucco, roof vents with improper heights, and much more. We were able to spot several dangerous defects in the roof tiles that were not seen from the ground level. After reviewing the footage and what they had already witnessed, the engineers were able to determine a full roof replacement was needed on all the townhomes. This was well beyond the scope of the project but deemed necessary due to the safety issues it presented. While conducting the structural inspections we were able to compare defects noted in previous reports and find many additional defects. This all lead to helping the engineers prioritize defects, provide the best solutions, and deliver a final outcome that made the clients extremely happy. These clients also received peace of mind knowing that their safety, and investment are among the top priorities of this forensic engineering and animation firm.

Providing a service to a client is not always about getting something done fast. It is not about doing the minimum because the best way is too difficult or expensive. It is not always about following how other people have done things in the past. It is about giving your client the best solution for their project. Sometimes those solutions come by looking outside of the box. Sometimes creating something new is the solution.

Working with that forensic engineering firm in Colorado made something click. I could help my community and surrounding communities back home by providing my knowledge and services in a way that no one else has. With my background in construction, inspection, sUAS, a love of photography, and making people smile, I had an idea. Why couldn't I incorporate all these services into one package?

Well, I can. And I did.

Soon after returning home from Colorado, I created Flightfield Drone Services, LLC. I wanted to create a company that provided services to help people while doing things I truly enjoy. People who genuinely love their work will not leave you with a sub-par product or service. People who do not have a passion for their craft will show that in their quality of work. They may lose interest, take short cuts, or whatever it may be to get done with the work and stop for the day. You will never need to worry about this with Flightfield Drone Services, LLC. We know everyone has busy lives and different schedules. That is why we are available 7 days a week and certified through the FAA to conduct night flights. This means we can get the job done anytime, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week if necessary. What we offer is a wide range of services ranging from aerial photography and videography with RGB or thermal sensors, all the way to an unbiased Certified Home Inspection. We are here to help our clients with almost any project!

Contact FDS to see how we can help you

 “See Your World Differently."

I hope to help you soon!