Questions buyers ask us.

It depends mainly on site area, required accuracy, vegetation, deliverables and access. As an indication, a small survey-grade topographic survey typically starts from around £1,200 excluding VAT, and larger LiDAR surveys run into several thousand pounds. We provide a fixed quote once we have your boundary and requirements.

A site boundary (KML, DWG, shapefile or marked-up PDF), what the survey is for, the deliverables and accuracy you need, the coordinate system and your programme. If you are not sure of the specification, tell us what you need to design or decide and we will recommend one.

We aim to reply to every enquiry within one hour during working hours, and usually send a fixed quote within one working day. For complex sites, such as long corridors or sites in controlled airspace, we may first send a budget range and a short list of questions.

Most sites can be flown within one to two weeks of instruction, and sooner for urgent work, subject to weather. Sites needing air traffic control permission or client access arrangements may take longer to set up.

No. We reschedule flights at no additional cost when wind, rain or visibility would compromise safety or data quality. We keep you informed of the revised date.

Yes. We can price against your framework rate card or provide a schedule of rates by survey type and size band for tenders and call-off contracts. Recurring surveys of the same site are typically cheaper after the first visit.

On open, hard or short-grass ground we typically achieve 15–30 mm vertical RMSE, verified against independent checkpoints. Accuracy is lower on long grass and under vegetation, and we state the expected accuracy by surface type in our quote.

We measure independent checkpoints on the ground with survey-grade GNSS or total station and withhold them from processing. Every survey is delivered with a control and accuracy report showing each checkpoint residual, the mean error and the RMSE.

Yes. RTK and PPK reduce the number of ground control points needed, but they cannot detect systematic errors such as a datum mismatch or calibration fault. We use ground control and independent checkpoints on every topographic survey.

By default we deliver OS National Grid (OSGB36) coordinates and Ordnance Datum Newlyn (ODN) heights, transformed from GNSS using OSTN15 and OSGM15. We can also work to ETRS89, a local site grid, ground-scaled coordinates or existing site control.

For most site-wide ground modelling, yes, and it captures far denser data. Some features, such as manhole inverts, culverts and ground under dense cover, still need traditional survey, so we combine methods where needed and label the source of every feature.

We work to the client's specification or, where none is given, to the principles in RICS guidance on measured surveys of land, buildings and utilities. We are happy to complete specification compliance schedules for tenders.

Yes. Skykam holds a CAA Operator ID and an Operational Authorisation in the Specific category, and our remote pilots hold a Flyer ID plus a GVC or equivalent qualification. We will send copies of our authorisation and pilot credentials on request.

We hold £10m public liability insurance with Coverdrone and £10m professional indemnity insurance. Certificates are provided with our pre-contract documents, and we can name principal contractors or clients as interested parties where required.

Yes, with the relevant permissions. Flying inside an aerodrome flight restriction zone requires permission from air traffic control or the aerodrome operator, which we arrange as part of the job. Let us know about any nearby aerodrome when you ask for a quote so we can allow time.

Yes, permission is needed to take off and land on private land, and some public land is covered by byelaws. On most commercial surveys the client arranges access, and we confirm it in writing before flying.

We plan flights to keep the required separation from uninvolved people, traffic and third-party property under our Operational Authorisation. Where a survey must cover a live road or a busy area, we plan offset flight lines, off-peak timings or managed closures in agreement with the client and relevant authority.

Every job has a site-specific risk assessment and method statement, including airspace checks, emergency procedures and how separation will be maintained. We comply with site inductions, permit-to-work systems and client safety rules.

Typical formats include DWG and DXF for CAD, LandXML and GeoTIFF for terrain models, GeoTIFF and ECW for orthomosaics, LAS and LAZ for point clouds, SHP and GeoPackage for GIS, and PDF and XLSX for reports. We deliver in the formats your software needs.

Stockpile volume reports are typically delivered within 48 hours and orthomosaics within three to five working days of capture. Topographic CAD surveys of sites up to 20 hectares usually take five working days, and LiDAR point clouds and terrain models five to seven; larger or feature-dense sites are programmed individually.

An orthomosaic is a geometrically corrected aerial image stitched from hundreds or thousands of drone photographs. Every pixel is in its true map position, so you can measure distances and areas from it and overlay it with CAD and GIS data.

A digital surface model (DSM) represents the top of everything, including buildings, trees and vehicles. A digital terrain model (DTM) represents the bare ground with those features removed, and is what designers normally need for levels and drainage.

Survey data is kept until it’s handed over to you, then deleted from our systems, so please keep your own copy. Enquiries that don’t become projects are deleted after 24 months. We keep business records such as quotes, invoices and flight logs for as long as the law requires.

You receive an unrestricted licence to use the data for any purpose. We are happy to agree full transfer of ownership or specific licence terms in your contract.

We are registered with the Information Commissioner's Office and process imagery in line with UK GDPR. Project data is processed in the UK, access is restricted to project staff, and we can blur people or vehicle registrations in published outputs on request.

We work UK-wide, with Northern Ireland and the islands by arrangement, from single-day urban surveys to multi-week programmes on remote sites. Travel is priced transparently in every quote.

Our clients include local authorities, contractors and consulting engineers, survey firms, quarry and aggregates operators, and energy and infrastructure owners.

Yes. We regularly provide aerial capture and processing to land survey firms, delivering data to their specification and control so it integrates with their own survey work. We can work under your branding and do not approach your clients.

Yes. For stockpile audits, construction progress and slope or coastal monitoring, we install permanent control and use consistent flight plans and processing so each epoch is directly comparable. Recurring surveys are scheduled in advance and priced per visit.

Yes, and we encourage it for the first visit. Your staff will need to follow our safety briefing and stay clear of the take-off and landing area, and we are happy to explain the method and show initial results on site.

Standard terms are 30 days from invoice. For larger programmes we can invoice in stages, and we are happy to complete your supplier set-up forms.