Depends what you want to do with your drones, but 3.5k would be really low end. I think 5k is more realistic, and you're looking at 15-20k if you want high prec

Depends what you want to do with your drones, but 3.5k would be really low end. I think 5k is more realistic, and you're looking at 15-20k if you want high precision (rtk) drones. On the other end, it's probably not just any plane for mapping, so cost could be higher. Plus the gimbal and sensor cost is going to be non negligible. Airplanes have to fly higher though, and thus at lower resolutions. The newest satellites are also getting closer to what they do, and they obviously have better coverage, so the market is shrinking.