Aerial Exposure

What Aerial Exposure does

Aerial Exposure Ltd is a UK-registered professional drone services company headquartered in Richmond, North Yorkshire, operating under three integrated brands: Aerial Exposure (drone services), UAV TradeCraft (CAA-approved pilot training), and 3DXR (specialist drone parts distribution). The company serves UK-based clients across at least eight verticals — agriculture, archaeology, broadcast, construction, inspection, photography, real estate and surveying — with services spanning aerial photography, videography, mapping, inspection and surveying. Multiple pilots, camera operators and assistants deliver work across the country under a direct sales model in which customers engage via phone, email or in-person visits.

The company's underlying technology stack centres on a fleet that mixes off-the-shelf DJI platforms (Phantom 4 RTK, M600 Pro, Inspire 2 with X5S, Phantom 4 Professional) with two proprietary systems developed in-house — the 3DXR TwinMapper V2 fixed-wing mapper (3-hour endurance, PPK geotagging, RTK navigation, sub-2cm GSD with Sony RX1Rii/A7Rii) and the 3DXR M1000 long-endurance multirotor (over 1 hour flight time, 1kg payload, Lidar terrain following). RTK and PPK GPS workflows underpin precision geotagging, and the PAPI land management drone (developed in 2020 with European Regional Development Fund / University of York support) layers in multispectral crop monitoring, RGB land mapping and perimeter surveillance. The operating footprint is supported by £10M PL insurance and CAA regulatory approvals including a Permission for Commercial Operation (PFCO) and an Operating Safety Case (OSC) that allows 20kg UAS operations in congested areas down to 20m from uncontrolled persons at 600ft AGL, day and night.

Aerial Exposure monetises through three professional services and hardware revenue streams: fee-for-service drone work (aerial photography, video, surveying and inspection billed via bespoke project quotes); CAA NQE training courses for PFCO certification in fixed-wing and multirotor up to 20kg delivered under UAV TradeCraft; and specialist drone parts resale (Pixhawk 2.1 flight controllers, lightware lidar, RF design radios) under 3DXR. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. The company is privately held with 9 employees, no external institutional funding, and no disclosed M&A activity. Operational milestones cluster in 2017 (CAA OSC approval, Full NQE status, regional industry award) and 2020 (PAPI product launch); no material expansion signals are documented thereafter.

Name

Aerial Exposure

Legal name

Aerial Exposure Ltd

Website

https://aerialexposure.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Aerial Exposure is a UK drone services firm (Richmond, North Yorkshire) operating three brands — Aerial Exposure (aerial photography, surveying, inspection), UAV TradeCraft (CAA-approved pilot training) and 3DXR (drone parts distribution) — serving agriculture, construction, broadcast, real estate and surveying clients under a PFCO and Operating Safety Case approval.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Aerial Drone Services

NAICS

Commercial Photography (541922)

SIC

Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812)

akta.pro primary industry

Aerial Surveying & Crop Scouting (Imaging, Mapping, Stand Counts) (AFACAIAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Drone/UAS Application Services (Spraying, Spreading, Seeding) (AFACAIAB)

Keywords

• Aerial photography services
• Drone surveying services
• Drone pilot training
• UAV inspection services
• Drone equipment distribution

Headquarters

HQ city

Richmond

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Drone Services: Aerial photography, video, surveying, and inspection services for agriculture, archaeology, broadcast, construction, inspection, photography, real estate, and surveying sectors across the UK
2. Drone Training (UAV TradeCraft): CAA NQE training for PFCO certification for both Fixed-Wing and Multirotor up to 20KG. Courses include ground school with theory exam, operations manual completion, and flight test
3. Specialist Drone Equipment Sales (3DXR): Sales of specialist drones and equipment including Pixhawk 2.1 flight controllers, lightware lidar range finders, RF design radios, and custom solutions

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Aerial Exposure is a UK-based drone services provider delivering aerial photography, videography, surveying, and inspection for commercial clients across agriculture, construction, archaeology, broadcast, and real estate. The company also operates UAV TradeCraft, a CAA-approved NQE drone pilot training school, and 3DXR, a specialist distribution arm for custom drone hardware and parts including the proprietary TwinMapper V2 mapping platform.

Product overview

Aerial Exposure operates a multi-brand portfolio consisting of three integrated divisions: Aerial Exposure (drone services for aerial photography, video, and surveying), UAV TradeCraft (CAA-approved drone training for PFCO certification), and 3DXR (specialist drone parts distribution). The company operates a fleet of professional drones including proprietary systems (3DXR TwinMapper V2, 3DXR M1000) and DJI platforms (Phantom 4 RTK, M600 Pro, Inspire 2, Phantom 4 Professional) configured with various camera and gimbal setups for mapping, inspection, and media production.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• UAV TradeCraft: CAA NQE (National Qualified Entity) providing drone training for PFCO for multirotor and fixed-wing up to 20kg.
• 3DXR

Products and services

• Aerial Photography and Videography
• Drone Surveying and Mapping
• Drone Inspection Services
• UAV TradeCraft CAA Drone Pilot Training
• 3DXR Specialist Drone Parts Distribution
• 3DXR TwinMapper V2
• PAPI Land Management Drone

Quantifiable outcome

• <2cm Ground Sample Distance achievable for precision mapping
• +3 more outcomes

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• UAV TradeCraftcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUAV TradeCraft is a CAA NQE (National Qualified Entity) that provides drone pilot training towards PFCO certification for both multirotor and fixed-wing aircraft up to 20kg. Training is delivered by drone pilots for drone pilots. Training comprises ground school with theory exam, completion of operations manual, and flight test.
• 3DXRcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor3DXR is a distributor of specialist professional drone parts and equipment including Pixhawk 2.1 flight controllers, lightware lidar range finders, and RF design radios. Aerial Exposure uses and resells these products.
• European Regional Development Fund / University of YorkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPAPI (Product and Process Innovation) Scheme funded by European Regional Development Fund and managed by University of York. This partnership enabled the development of the multipurpose land management drone product featuring crop monitoring, land mapping, building inspection, and perimeter surveillance capabilities.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Sky-Futures: UK-headquartered commercial drone inspection and surveying services company serving industrial infrastructure (oil & gas, power, utilities). Directly comparable on customer profile (enterprise inspection), CAA-regulated UK drone operations, and integrated drone + data delivery model.
• Cyberhawk: UK drone inspection pioneer focused on industrial asset inspection (flare stacks, wind, utilities) with visual and thermal imaging. Comparable as a CAA-approved drone services firm selling survey-grade deliverables to enterprise clients.
• Heliguy: UK drone retailer, training provider and services operator (Heliguy/Inspire Flight Academy). Closely mirrors Aerial Exposure's three-pillar model of services, training and parts distribution within the UK CAA-regulated market.
• Coptrz: UK-based commercial drone solutions provider offering drone sales, training and bespoke enterprise solutions. Comparable on the UK CAA-regulated training-plus-services stack and enterprise-facing sales motion.
• PrecisionHawk: US-headquartered drone service and analytics provider with strong agricultural surveying and crop scouting heritage. Comparable on the agricultural aerial surveying / crop scouting value proposition Aerial Exposure pursues.
• Measure (Aerial Vantage): US drone services network delivering turnkey aerial inspection, surveying and mapping to enterprise clients. Comparable on the multi-vertical drone-as-a-service delivery model and enterprise sales-led GTM.

Emerging players

• DroneDeploy: Cloud-based drone data platform for mapping, surveying and asset management. Comparable as an enabling software layer that complements — or competes with — Aerial Exposure's service-based survey delivery.
• Delair: France-based fixed-wing UAV maker and surveying services provider focused on long-endurance mapping for agriculture, mining and infrastructure. Comparable to 3DXR TwinMapper V2's long-endurance mapping wedge.

Broad incumbents

• DJI: Dominant global drone OEM whose Phantom 4 RTK, M600 Pro and Inspire 2 platforms Aerial Exposure both operates and competes against via 3DXR. Broad incumbent across consumer, enterprise and surveying drone markets.
• Parrot SA: European drone manufacturer with commercial surveying and agricultural offerings (Parrot Sequoia, ANAFI). Comparable as a broad incumbent offering both drone hardware and adjacent professional use cases.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/aerialexposure.uk
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/aerial-exposure

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Aerial Exposure