Local real estate company given the OK to use drones

"When I get it back and get it on the computer I am amazed at how good it looks," said Caleb McDow.

McDow is a sales associate for Crosby and Associates Inc., a Winter Haven based agricultural real estate company.

"We help clients buy and sell row crop land, citrus, pasture land, he said.

And he hopes his drone will help sales soar sky high.

He was recently granted an exemption by the FAA to use drones for commercial purposes.

It's relatively rare, only about 1000 have been granted nationwide and just over 40 here in Florida.

"Sometimes when we go out there there's areas we can't get to due to muddy ground or whatever and we can fly the drone over and get a better look at it," McDow explained.

He says when flown responsibly drones are pretty safe. He says they are the wave of the future.

"The skies aren't going to be swarming with drones within the next 5 to 10 years it's going to be introduced safely," he added.

McDow is a licensed pilot. He says the company went after the FAA exemption to separate itself from the competition.