Managing a professional drone operation involves far more than just flying. From battery maintenance and documenting certification records to complex airspace checks, there are numerous administrative tasks to handle. With the skylogs.de platform, founder Michael Schwickert has developed a system that centrally consolidates these processes. The focus is on providing practical support for pilots to significantly reduce the administrative burden in day-to-day drone operations. In this interview with Drones, Schwickert explains how the system came to be, how it’s kept up to date, and what’s planned for the future.

Drones: What was the specific catalyst that led to the development of skylogs.de?

Michael Schwickert: The starting point was my own experience as a drone pilot. As I used the drone more and more, it quickly became clear that there’s much more involved in a flight than just the actual flight operations themselves: flight logs, drone data, batteries, documents, certification records, maintenance, flight planning, and airspace checks. For many of these tasks, there are individual solutions, spreadsheets, or apps. However, I was missing a platform where

the information relevant to daily drone operations could be meaningfully consolidated. This idea gave rise to skylogs.de. It basically started with the digital flight log. Step by step, this evolved into a more comprehensive platform for managing and documenting drone operations. When it comes to development, practicality is always my top priority.

The automatic DJI FlightRecord import makes logging much easier. Are direct connections and interfaces to log formats from other manufacturers planned for the future?

Yes, that’s definitely the plan. Given its widespread use, DJI was initially the most obvious place to start. In the long term, skylogs.de should function as independently of specific manufacturers as possible. That’s why we’re evaluating both additional import formats and potential interfaces with other systems and manufacturers. It’s important that an import not only works technically but also ensures that the available flight data is subsequently transferred to the flight log in a clean and traceable manner. Additional formats will therefore be added step by step.

Regulatory requirements for UAS operators are constantly changing. How do you ensure that the system always remains up to date?

That is indeed one of the biggest challenges for a platform like this. We therefore continuously monitor publications and changes from the relevant authorities as well as European regulations, and adjust functions, notices, and processes accordingly. Especially when it comes to flight planning, airspace, documentation, or qualifications, it’s important not to work with outdated information on a long-term basis. At the same time, skylogs.de aims to support pilots and present relevant information as clearly as possible. However, the platform does not replace the remote pilot’s responsibility to check the applicable and current requirements, as well as official sources of information, before each specific flight.

What new features or enhancements are next on the roadmap for skylogs.de?

A current focus is on further developing mobile functionality and strengthening the connection between the web portal and the app. In addition to the existing Android app, a native iOS version is also planned. At the same time, import options, flight planning, and map and airspace functions are being further developed. Another major area of development is the BOS portal for public safety agencies and their drone units. Among other things, it handles the management of personnel and roles, qualifications, drones and batteries, maintenance, documents, checklists, missions, and flight reports. The goal here is not to accumulate as many individual functions as possible. Rather, the goal is to sensibly link the individual steps involved in drone operations so that duplicate data entry is minimized while still producing clean and traceable documentation.