Terms of Service

There are no exceptions to any of the terms and conditions

Cancellation Policy and Course requirements

General Policy:
Once a student schedules or purchases any class (online or in person) they acknowledge and agree to all terms and conditions set below. Steel City Drones does not offer any refunds on any class or program (Online or in person).  Because of the complexity with scheduling classes, there is a cancellation fee on any scheduled training class that is cancelled by “the student/client” regardless of how far in advance. Our cancellation fee is 100% of the amount of the purchase price of the class. If the client has scheduled the class but has not prepaid, they will be billed the cost of the cancellation fee. Any deposits made in advance are non refundable.

Equipment Policy:

It is the responsibility of the client to ensure that all drone equipment they are supplying for training sessions is working and airworthy prior to the scheduled session. This includes making sure all equipment necessary for the training is present, setup and working correctly. This includes but not limited to firmware updates for the aircraft, remote controllers, batteries, smart controllers, cameras, Crystal Sky monitors, Apps, and all mobile devices. In addition, all batteries must be charged before the scheduled lesson time. If the instructor shows up on site but training cannot take place because of equipment issues the lesson will be forfeited and is responsible for the full purchase price of the training session. IF the instructor finds the clients aircraft unsafe or not airworthy, the training session cannot continue and the client is responsible for the full purchase price of the training session. If a client has an issue with their equipment prior to the scheduled lesson, it is their responsibility to resolve the issues before the scheduled class. If the client cannot resolve the issues before the scheduled class, they will be charged for a cancellation fee.

No-show Policy:

If a student/client does not show up for a scheduled training session, the student/client is responsible for the full purchase price of the training session.

Weather Policy:
Weather can affect our flying classes we offer. If we have to cancel a class due to weather there will be no cancellation fee and a makeup date will be simply rescheduled at the convenience to both the Instructor and the student. To ensure that the entire class is completed, it is up to the discretion of the instructor as to whether or not a class needs to be postponed to do pending weather conditions. In general terms, instructors are advised to reschedule a flying class if there is a 60% chance (or greater) of rain during the duration of the scheduled class. We also must adhere to FAA rules in regards to flying such as minimum visibility and cloud minimums. High winds can also affect the quality of flying lessons, if excessively high winds of 15 knots are higher are in the forecasts, we will reschedule the class with no cancellation fee. We will not conduct a flying class of 3 hours or more if the temperature is below 40 degrees. Final decisions to cancel a class due to weather will be made at least 2 hours before the start time. If the student prefers we can make a final decision by 8pm the night before.

Commercial drone program requirements and terms
Commercial drone training packages are usually bundled together with more than one student per group. If one student in the group is not able to attend any of the 4 scheduled classes and cancels inside of 48 hours, there are three options.

• Option 1 – Reschedule the group class with a rescheduling fee of $500.
• Option 2 – Proceed with the scheduled class with the remaining students and have the one student schedule a make up the class with a rescheduling fee of $500.
• Option 3 – Keep all scheduled classes without any cancellation fees but the student that cancels will have to drop out of the remaining training with the group.

The 4 class commercial course requires a full commitment of each student all the way through the program.  This includes a requirement to practice between each class. To receive a certificate of completion for the course, each student must have a minimum of 5 logged flying hours by the end of the program. We require each student to have a minimum of 3 hours of logged flying time before the last class can take place. Steel City Drones is not responsible for bad weather that prevents a student from practicing on their own to get the required flying time. We encourage each student to take this into account when scheduling the time in between classes. Steel City Drones recommends a minimum of 4 weeks of time in between the first class and the 4th class so that weather won’t affect the need to reschedule the 4th class with a cancellation fee. Each student must have the full 3 hours of flying time logged prior to the time of the 4th class. If the student shows up to the class without the minimum requirement the class will not take place and a cancellation fee will be applied.

Drone Photography-Filming Services

Please be aware that if you our potential client hire Steel City Drones to provide aerial digital content and or live inspection services, you need to read and agree to the following conditions. A link to these terms and conditions are on your estimate and invoice.  If you do not agree with the term and conditions you must notify us 48 hours in advance of any scheduled project to be eligible for any refund.

• If a Client hires us to provide Aerial Digital Content, and they decide to cancel or reschedule the job, Steel City Drones must be notified 24 hours in advance before the scheduled job. Anything inside of 24 hours is not eligible for a refund.
• Steel City Drones must abide by all FAA rules and regulations which includes
• The Remote Pilot must have line of sight with the drone. This includes reasonable line of sight where the Remote Pilot can clearly see the drone with a maximum distance of ¼ mile away from the remote pilot.
• Flying no higher than 400 feet above ground or no higher than 400 feet above a structure within a 400 foot radius of that structure.
• We are not allowed to fly directly over People or moving vehicles. We are allowed to fly over public roads provided the road is clear of traffic.
• We must fly according to FAA minimum weather requirements that include visibility of 3 miles.  We cannot fly in foggy conditions or with very low cloud ceilings.
• In the States of Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia, property owners have privacy rights of the airspace “directly” over their property up to 200 feet above ground level. Steel City Drones “will not” fly over any Private property (regardless of altitude) without the permission of the property owner. If the client hiring us to fly “is not” the Property Owner, they must provide written permission of the Property Owner to Fly of the property owner will not be present during flying. If the client hiring Steel City Drones is the property owner, and the job requires us to fly over adjacent properties that they do not own, they must provide written permission from the owners of that land if that owner will not be present during the project. Any and all property owners that will be present must sign a consent waiver for us to fly.   If the client would like us to seek written permission of any property owners in advance,  an additional estimate cost will be given and need approved before we start the job.  There are no exceptions to these terms and if property owners that are scheduled to be on site do not show up as scheduled we can’t proceed without permission.  If permission can’t be provided in a timely manner the day of the project, the flights will be cancelled and there will be no refunds with no exceptions to these policies.
• In the States of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia it is illegal to use a drone to intentionally conduct Surveillance of any person and or property.  A client cannot hire us to Inspect Infrastructure that they do not own or have permission to inspect.  Steel City Drones must follow all Local-State-Federal Laws pertaining to Surveillance.
• If the client that is hiring us does not intend on being with us at the time of filming they must notify us in writing that we are giving Steel City Drones permission to be on the property. The client must list all contact information for the representative that will be on location at the time of flying. This must be submitted to us before the day of flying including Name, Position, Email address, Cell phone number,  and office number.
• Steel City Drones Remote Pilot reserves the right to cancel or modify any job that it deems unsafe or that can potentially violate FAA-Local-State laws or any private property privacy laws. If the client does not agree to any modified suggestions of the Pilot that are needed for safety or if the flight can’t be performed at all deemed by the pilot, any and all prepayments made will not be refunded if Steel City Drones arrives on site as agreed to by Steel City Drones and the Client. No exceptions will be made to refunds.
• The remote Pilot has total authority and discretion to cancel any flight mission and or project that they deem unsafe or that will violate any FAA-Local-State-Federal law or can potentially interfere with the official duties of law enforcement personnel or emergency medical personnel. If a client changes the details about the flight missions of what they need and the details deem unsafe or violate FAA-Local-State laws, the Remote Pilot has the right to veto the changes and cancel the project.  If the Pilot deems a project is unsafe or illegal, or that the changes requested by the client are unsafe or illegal, the project will be cancelled and there will be no refunds.
• If a client agrees to meet our Remote Pilot at the location and they do not show up or the assigned representee does not show up, we will not proceed with filming and the job will be considered a no show and the project is cancelled and the client is not eligible for any refund. If we arrive on time and or we are on our way to the job location and a client notifies us that they will be late, additional fees can be charged to the client based on an hourly rate of $100 per hour. It is at the discretion of the pilot if any additional fees will apply.  If the job is a half day/full day job, the extra delay will go toward the scheduled time allocated and if the job can’t be completed in the time remaining that is allocated, additional time will have be purchased before we can continue.
• Weather policies
• If specific weather is required for a project, the client specifics must communicated in writing within 48 hours of the scheduled onsite appointment. The client must be very specific about any and all weather requirements and the following specifics must be answered in writing.
• Are we allowed to shoot in mostly cloudy weather? If the answer is no, the next series of questions must be answered.
• Are we allowed to film with cloudy shadows? Do you allow any clouds in the shots? If so what percentage of sun-clouds will you allow for?
• If we schedule a shoot day in advance and the weather conditions change and or do not look good, Steel City Drones reserves the right to reschedule the trip so that we can meet the required weather conditions.  This might include rescheduling the morning of the day of the scheduled shoot. There will be no cancellation fee and or rescheduling fee for weather requirements.