An aerial surveillance drone lifts into the air, its four propellors buzz furiously as they launch the contraption. The operator, 18-year-old Nolan Hansen, focuses intently on the controller in his hands as he skillfully guides the machine overhead.
Hansen owns and operates Elevate Drone Services LLC. based out of Brookings. It started as a hobby for Hansen after he received his first drone as a gift during his sophomore year of high school.
“I’ve always loved the gift of photography and just I’ve done normal photography for several, several years and so being able to put that to use on the aerial shots, it just blows people’s minds,” Hansen said.
Hansen’s principal at St. Martin’s Lutheran School in Watertown approached him to take aerial shots and videos of the school’s construction project. At the time, Hansen only had a recreational license to operate the drone. He quickly set his sights on acquiring a commercial license. That is one the legal requirements to operate a drone for business purposes.
Hansen got help setting up his business and one of his mentors was a former boss. Tom Kepford owned Nu-Tech Environmental Control LLC in Brookings before he sold it to In-Tech based out of Sioux Falls. He hired Hansenas a carpet cleaning technician before the teenager started his own business.
“He’s very dedicated,” Kepford said. “I mean, he’s willing to go above and beyond for his customers. I think he’s even editing the videos for customers and stuff which I don’t believe most people would do, but he’s just above and beyond.”
Kepford helped Hansen iron out the paperwork to get the drone business going.
Hansen’s first year of operation was 2020, and he had to balance academics, athletics and schedule appointments with clients. He said time management is easy for him, but slower business in the winter months helped him keep up with his company and schoolwork.
“There wasn’t terribly much scheduled for the winter and when it was I was able to do it on like a weekend or something if we didn’t have a basketball game,” he said.
“Sometimes, we would have COVID shutdowns during the year and so I was able to do something there.”
Building relationships with his clients is one of Hansen’s favorite aspects of his job.
Hansen graduated from high school this spring, and will attend Lake Area Tech in Watertown focusing on network and cyber security. As for the drone business, he intends to continue taking aerial photos for his clients while pursuing his degree.