Though not always visible when in use, drones flown by Manatee County routinely ply the area’s skies, capturing photos, video, laser-based images, and other data of the landscape below.
They range from tiny quad-copters weighing less than 2 pounds, which cost the county $500 in 2024, to the senseFly eBee TAC, a winged and propeller-driven machine with a 2025 price tag closer to that of luxury car at $54,136.
One model you won’t see (even if you could make it out hundreds of feet above) is anything built by Chinese-based DJI — the world’s No. 1 manufacturer of such flying machines…