✈️ Wingman Wednesday: Your 2026 Flight Plan (Make It Your Best Year Yet)

New year, new airspace.

If you want 2026 to be your best year yet, don’t rely on motivation. Build a flight plan. The pilots who level up aren’t the ones with the biggest dreams, they’re the ones with the cleanest habits.

🚀 What’s coming in the drone industry (and why 2026 matters)

Expect more serious ops, more standards, and more opportunity. We’re moving from “cool drones” to “trusted capability” — training, documentation, risk management, and repeatable results. The winners will be the operators who can prove safety, reliability, and professionalism, not just great footage.

🎯 The 3 goals to set for 2026

1) Skill — Pick one capability to master (cinematics, mapping, inspections, thermal, night ops). Go deep, not wide.

2) Systems — Build your operator playbook: checklists, pre-flight routine, maintenance logs, file naming, post-flight debriefs. Boring is beautiful when it prevents mistakes.

3) Proof — Create a portfolio with receipts: before/after results, repeatable workflows, and clean reporting. “Trust me” is not a strategy.

⚠️ What to watch out for in 2026

Shiny-object training. Ten half-finished courses won’t beat one capability you can execute under pressure.

Risk drift. Familiar routes can make you lazy. Complacency is the silent crash.

Sloppy admin. Missing logs, unclear permissions, poor data handling — this is where professionals get separated from hobbyists.

✅ New Year’s resolutions that actually work

Fly with intent: one planned mission per week (even if it’s short).

Train like it’s real: one scenario drill per month (lost link, GPS issues, battery decision points, weather calls).

Log everything: one simple system you can sustain all year.

Build the network: one new industry connection per week — pilots, clients, mentors, safety pros.

2026 doesn’t need to be louder. It needs to be cleaner. More disciplined. More deliberate.

Let’s make this the year you become the operator people trust.

See you next Wingman Wednesday.
See Above. Go Beyond. Get Ahead.