I didn't notice the words "Drone Fly" in your title until now. I wouldn't call this one a Drone Fly (E. tenax) because it has no orange on the third abdominal segment, doesn't have a pale scutellum contrasting with the dark back, and it has white bands on the abdomen (lacking in the Drone Fly). The date also seems too early for Drone Fly, normally found from June onward.

E. dimidiata is a common spring species, so chances are good it's that. But females of several other species can also have orange triangular patches on the second abdominal segment, and pale bands on the remaining ones. Maybe there's other features such as face color or leg color that can help separate the females... I don't know.