Skippy Scout app

01. What is Skippy Scout?

We built Skippy Scout as a way to make field walking/crop scouting more efficient through the use of affordable drone systems, which many farmers and agronomists already own.

Think of it as a much faster, more detailed way to scout crops/quadrat sample. It’s like the the field scouting apps you get on your phone, but your phone can fly around the field…

02. What are the payment options?

Skippy Scout is a subscription based service, with pricing starting at £30 per month. You have to pay for each month you intend to use the app.

However, while we don’t offer ‘seasonal’ price plans, you can pause your subscription anytime via the website. While paused, you can’t use the app, but you won’t pay anything either, then simply resume you subscription when you want to start using Skippy again.

03. Does it work on Android?

Skippy is iOS only at the moment, use your iPhone 6S and beyond. Of course it will work a little better with more modern devices. iPads are ok too.

Really want to use Skippy and don’t have an iPhone? You don’t need a new one, in fact we recommend something like an iphone 7. Try Music Magpie for some good deals

Android coming in 2021!

Drones

05. What drones can Skippy fly?

We’re focused on DJI drone systems, for now.

Skippy currently supports the DJI Mavic 2 Pro and Zoom, and Phantom 4 drone series. The Mavic Pro v1, Mavic Air both work, but can be unreliable, soon we will add the Mavic Mini  and Mavic Air 2 to the list.

The Mavic 2 Zoom is awesome, we use them everyday. 

We may support other manufacturers down the line so if you make drones, feel free to get in touch!

06. How fast is it?

Much faster. Skippy can cover about 2 hectares per minute with your drone, capturing high resolution images at 2 points per hectare.

These are all downloaded to your phone as your drone flies, so you can look at them as soon as they are taken and analyse for GAI etc, much in the same way you would use your phone camera to take a pic with a standard scouting app. Think of your drone as a flying phone camera!

07. How far can Skippy fly?

In most cases the answer is: far enough. Not very specific we know, but there are a lot of factors to consider. Legislation in most countries means you cannot let a drone go beyond where you can see it, or about 500m, enough to cover a average field in the UK.

Of course terrain and field size do vary. Hills can block signal, and other countries have much larger fields. If Skippy looses a connection to your drone, it will return to its take-off location.

So where a longer range is needed, we recommend installing a longer range antenna on your drone controller, which will increase the range/penetration through hills etc. Contact us for more info

Legalities

08. Do I need certification to fly a drone?

In the UK current rules state that if you are a farmer and you are operating a drone on your own land, you do not need a license. Though you must operate within the law/flight restrictions – see question 9.

If you are operating a drone for some kind of commercial gain, and not on your own land, then you will need certification in the form of a PfCO. Please talk to our partners at Heliguy for more information.

Finally, the rules are changing at the end of this year! Soon operating a small drone in rural areas classed as low risk (ie not near an airport) will not need a license, commercial or otherwise.

09. What are the flight restrictions?

• You cannot fly more than 400ft above ground level. With Skippy we only need to fly about 100ft max!
• You must keep the drone within line of sight, or not more than 500m away. Stick to one field at a time
• You can’t fly within 50m of a member of the public or property that is not yours.
• You can’t fly within 150m of a built area. This includes major roads
• You can’t fly within 5km of a major airport without permission.

The Drone Safe app is great for checking. Also Skippy will soon have all these built-in, and wont let you fly where you shouldn’t