Christopher Kabat is the Owner and Founder of ProAerial Media LLC—PAM for short—even though his voicemail suggests he may or may not moonlight for a well-known ‘secret’ spy agency.
As a Professional Las Vegas Drone Pilot, Chris brings 20+ years of experience in Marketing, Photography, Digital Production, and SEO/SEM, to his clients’ most important projects.
Hailing from the Windy City, Chris is naturally full of hot air, though he’d rather be flying through a cool breeze. Even though his bird is named after his favorite drink and his dog after his favorite bird, Chris’s vision for PAM is grounded in transparency, efficiency, and comprehensive attention to making each flight successful.
Christopher Kabat: Professional Las Vegas Drone Pilot
Role & Responsibilities
As Senior Pilot and Owner of ProAerial Media, Chris oversees all aspects of business and sUAV flight operations for PAM. As the Senior Pilot on staff, this includes pre-flight planning and airspace research, on-site flight operations, creative direction, as well as image post-processing and editing.
He doesn’t stop there though, on the business operations side (for both PAM, and his other business SIXSIXER, which provides inbound marketing, web design, and SEO services), Chris stays quite busy. He is responsible for both websites, and all of their content including regularly writing and publishing blog articles. He also manages all of PAM’s social media accounts and YouTube Channel.
Background & Training
The decision to become a professional and commercially licensed drone pilot (or sUAS Operator) was one that Chris took quite seriously. Upon successfully completing his Aeronautical Knowledge Exam - Part 107 Certification with ease on his first attempt, Chris was working concurrently behind the scenes to establish ProAerial Media, back in November of 2019.
When client flights aren’t booked, Chris likes to take advantage of the cool desert mornings to conduct ‘training-ops’ to hone his skills. You’ll find a few paragraphs below this one, a list of some of Chris’ favorite TO locations in and around Las Vegas, where he’s accumulated over 100 hours of flight time.
Christopher Kabat performing a pre-flight inspection of a drone.
Chris has a deep respect for the processes associated with the rules and regulations of the CFR Part 107 and the aviation community as a whole. His dedication to being a safe and responsible drone pilot, have earned him a 107.29 Daylight Operational Waiver, which allows PAM to conduct commercial UAV operations at night, as well as several 107.41 Wide Area Authorizations for the local airports in the area. Additionally, he has a reputation for obtaining authorizations to fly in non-LAANC enabled or controlled/restricted airspace in as little as 24–48 hours. This process he points out, as advised by the FAA, can take up to 90-days. He attributes this success to the relationships he forms with the good people at the FAA who handle these types of requests, and those in the control tower who make the final approval.
Core Competency
Aerial Photography and Videography are obviously interests of Chris’, but he points out that these were just the tip of the iceberg. As his interest in drones grew, so did his desire to learn everything that he possibly could, ultimately with him becoming fixated on Drone Mapping and Aerial Surveying. Chris is currently (at the time this article was written) enrolled in Pix4Dmapper’s Certification Course to be able to provide professional survey-grade land surveying and mapping services to PAM’s clients.
Drone Mapping w/ Pix4D Capture (screenshot)
3D Textured Mesh
Orthomosaic Map
Digital Surface Model (DSM)
Favorite Spots to Fly
With abundant sunshine and warm weather, as well as its proximity to so many parks and public lands in varying ecosystems, Las Vegas Nevada is a fantastic place to be a professional drone pilot. According to Chris, you can be a world away from the Vegas Valley in a few short hours in any direction.
While you can’t fly a drone in a National Park, most of the land surrounding the parks (or nearby) is managed by the Bureau of Land Management or BLM. The BLM defers to the FAA regarding drone flight operations over their lands, and as long as you abide by any airspace restrictions in place and adhere to all of the rules and regulations of Part 107, you’re good to go.
Chris’ Favorite Spots to Fly A Drone Near Las Vegas
The Ghost Town of Rhyolite Nevada - 137 miles northwest of the Strip, in Beatty NV
Lake Las Vegas - 25 miles east of the Strip, in Henderson NV
Cedar Pocket Wash - 105 miles northeast of the Strip, off I-15 in AZ
The Wheel of Misfortune - 25 miles east of the Strip in Henderson, NV
Almost Any Utah State Park (with a permit)
Personal Life & Interests
Chris was born and raised in the west suburbs of Chicago, IL, and studied Graphic Design at The Art Center in Albuquerque, NM. He currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada with his dog Hawk, and they can often be found traversing desolate stretches of desert-highway (specifically old Route 66), looking to photograph the perfect slice of “nostalgic Americana”, or simply a cheeseburger and a milkshake.
Hawkins (or Hawk)
Portfolio Sampling
Here are some links to view a sampling of Chris’ photography and videography work from both PAM and SIXSIXER. Please enjoy responsibly.
Photography Galleries (Aerial & Terrestrial):
Video Production Samples (Both Produced By and Featuring):
Chris’ Most Popular Blog Articles:
ProAerial Media provides aerial drone services for a wide array of industries across the southwest United States. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel to see our video work, and our Instagram feed to view our photography (@proaerialmedia). If you’re ready to fly, you can always book a flight from the ProAerial Media Website.
Thanks for reading. Take Flight. Take Pics. Get Clicks.