For Spray-Drone Operators

Be Ready When the RFQ Arrives

Utilities, agencies, conservation programs, and larger farms often ask for proposals in writing. Buyers who use the WeedGunners RFQ template ask for the same core items. Prepare them once, and every response gets faster and stronger.

See the Buyer's RFQ (PDF) Jump to the Checklist

For awareness and planning only. This is general guidance on preparing proposals. It is not legal, regulatory, insurance, or business advice. You are responsible for holding the approvals, licenses, and coverage your work requires, and for representing them accurately.

What Buyers Will Ask For

The Documents Behind a Credible Response

These are the qualifications the RFQ template asks providers to submit. Having them current and ready is often what separates a serious response from a quick quote.

FAA certificate and exemption

Your agricultural aircraft operator certificate (Part 137) and your FAA exemption number.

Pilot certificates

Remote pilot certificates for each pilot who may fly the job.

State licenses and categories

Applicator licenses for each state in the project area, showing the categories that fit the work.

Business registration

Business license or pesticide business registration where a state requires one.

Certificate of insurance

Proof of coverage that includes aerial application, with limits stated.

Safety program

Written procedures for flight, mixing and loading, spills, and emergencies.

Equipment list

Aircraft models, number of aircraft, tank capacity, spares, and support equipment.

Sample records

A sample application record and treated-area map, with client details removed.

Experience and references

Similar projects by type and scale, and three references who will take a call.

Build It Once

Your RFQ Response Folder

Keep these in one folder and review them before each season. When an RFQ arrives, you are assembling, not scrambling.

  • FAA Part 137 certificate (copy)
  • FAA exemption number and conditions
  • Remote pilot certificates for each pilot
  • State applicator licenses, with categories and expiration dates
  • Business license or registration, where required
  • Current certificate of insurance
  • Written safety and emergency procedures
  • Equipment list with capacities
  • Sample application record (client details removed)
  • Sample treated-area map in PDF and KML
  • One-page company profile and service area map
  • Project summaries by type: ag, habitat, ROW, managed sites
  • Three references with permission to share
  • Standard assumptions and exclusions language

Before You Respond

Questions Worth Asking the Buyer

Good questions show you understand the work and protect you from pricing surprises.

  • What format are the maps, and where exactly are the boundaries?
  • What vegetation is the target, and what must be protected?
  • Which sensitive areas, buffers, or neighbors should we know about?
  • Who supplies product, and are any products specified?
  • Who handles access, gates, and landowner notification?
  • Are there blackout periods, outages, or seasonal restrictions?
  • What records and map formats do you need, and by when?
  • What site safety, orientation, or prequalification applies?
  • How do you want pricing structured?

When You Respond

What Makes a Response Stand Out

  1. Follow their structure. Answer each section in the order the RFQ asks, so your response is easy to compare.
  2. Be precise about credentials. List exactly what you hold and where. Never imply a license, category, or approval you do not have.
  3. Be honest about fit. Say where drones work well on this project and where another method may be better. Buyers trust this.
  4. Price the way they asked. Itemize mobilization and state what is included.
  5. State assumptions and exclusions. Weather days, access, acreage changes, and retreatment terms.
  6. Show the record. Include a sample application record and map so buyers see what they will receive.

Know the Customer

What Different Buyers Care About

The RFQ template includes caveats for each project type. Expect buyers to ask about them.

Agriculture

Crop and label fit, timing by crop stage, neighboring sensitive crops and apiaries, and worker entry restrictions.

Habitat and Conservation

Program rules and approvals, nesting seasons, protecting desirable plants, listed species, and reporting records.

Rights-of-Way

Owner safety rules near active infrastructure, landowner notice, boundary accuracy, prequalification, and GIS-ready records.

Managed Sites

Work near panels and electrical equipment, site access controls, and protecting seeded or pollinator groundcover.

Make It Easy to Find You

Check Your Directory Listing

The WeedGunners directory lets buyers search by state and project type. A listing that shows your base town, the states you serve, and the work you do is easier to find and easier to shortlist. You may already be listed from public business information. If so, your listing is marked Unclaimed and does not show your contact details until you claim it. Claiming and basic listings are free. Listing information is self-reported, and WeedGunners does not verify or endorse operators.

Find and Claim Your Listing Add a New Listing What It Takes to Spray

Important: This page is general guidance for preparing proposals. It is not legal, regulatory, aviation, pesticide-label, insurance, or business advice. Operators are responsible for all applicable requirements and for accurately representing their qualifications.