About HireDronePilots
Built by industry veterans who've been on both sides. The UK's only drone platform that actually says no.
THE PROBLEM WE'RE SOLVING
Most drone platforms will let anyone with £20 and a DJI Mini join and bid on your critical infrastructure project.
Let that sink in.
Dave from down the road with his toy drone can bid on environmental LiDAR surveys. Sarah with her consumer Mavic can quote for thermal inspections she can't technically perform. They pay a membership fee, they're in.
The result?
As Clients:
- Hired "professionals" who showed up with consumer drones
- Received blurry, unusable footage for critical inspections
- Had pilots bid on jobs their equipment couldn't physically do
- Wasted money on failed projects that needed re-flying
As Pilots:
- Lost bids to hobbyists quoting impossible prices
- Watched the industry race to the bottom
- Saw clients lose trust in ALL drone services
- Competed against people who didn't understand commercial requirements
We built HireDronePilot to be the platform that actually says NO.
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MEET THE TEAM
Peter Leslie
Director & GVC Licenced Drone Pilot
The Industry Insider Who's Seen It All
Peter scaled from a single Mavic 2 to operating a fleet of 50+ survey-grade drones nationwide. He built two of the UK's highest-traffic drone websites and ran what became the world's busiest drone blog in 2024.
But here's what really matters: Peter has hired dozens of drone pilots and been burned by platforms that don't vet their operators.
"I once hired a 'professional' through a major platform for a construction survey. He showed up with a Mini 2 - a £400 consumer drone - for a job requiring RTK precision. He genuinely thought he could do survey-grade mapping with a toy. That platform let him bid on LiDAR and photogrammetry jobs. That's when I knew the industry was broken."
Why this matters: Peter knows exactly what equipment each job type requires. Under his standards, pilots can only bid on jobs their equipment can actually complete. No more fantasy bids.
Credentials:
- GVC Certified Commercial Pilot
- 50+ survey-grade drone fleet operator
- Hired (and fired) dozens of pilots
- Knows every drone model's actual capabilities
Peter Leslie
Professional Photo
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James Leslie
Head of Operations & Project Management
The Military Precision Behind Every Project
James brings a unique combination: RAF Engineer, Fire Service Drone Pilot, and international project manager with decades delivering multi-million pound engineering projects across the Middle East.
He's operated drones in life-or-death situations where "good enough" doesn't exist. Now he ensures every project meets those same standards.
"In the Fire Service, if our thermal drone couldn't detect heat signatures properly, people could die. There's no room for amateurs with inadequate equipment. Yet I see platforms letting pilots with basic cameras bid on thermal inspection jobs. It's not just unprofessional - it's dangerous. We verify every pilot has the exact equipment each job requires."
The James Standard: Every pilot's equipment is verified against job requirements. Can't do the job properly? Can't bid. Simple.
Credentials:
- GVC Licensed Commercial Pilot
- Former RAF Engineer (knows aviation standards)
- Fire Service Drone Pilot (emergency response operations)
- Decades of international project management
- Zero tolerance for substandard operations
WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT
We're the only platform that rejects pilots
Other Platforms:
HireDronePilot:
We manually verify every pilot. No automated approvals. No "pay to play."If you can't deliver professional results, you don't get in.
THE PLATFORM PHILOSOPHY
"Every time a hobbyist with a Mini delivers unusable footage, the entire industry's reputation suffers. Every time a client pays for thermal inspection and gets RGB photos, they trust drone services less. We're the platform that stops this race to the bottom."
We'd rather have 20 excellent pilots than 2000 pretenders.
