Five Course Offerings to Fit Your Professional Goals
Course Details
Part 107 License
If you want to operate a drone commercially, you are required by the FAA to earn your Part 107 remote pilot certificate. This requires you to pass a 60-question multiple-choice exam at a 3rd party testing site. Our courses prepare you to pass the exam by providing hours of video, a written study guide booklet, and hundreds of practice questions. Two practice exams simulate the real FAA exam. 98% of the students who complete the course material pass the exam on their first attempt. Dr. Burgett walks you through every step of the FAA paperwork from signing up for the exam to receiving the license. FAA Exam fee is not included.
Learn to Fly with Our Simulator
The FAA Part 107 exam is critical, but it's only a knowledge exam. Learning to fly a drone is a crucial piece of commercial drone aviation. You'll get hours of time using our state-of-the-art drone simulator. We ship you a controller that connects to your computer via USB cable. You'll start with simple stick control exercises and move into more complex scenario-based missions. You'll finish the flight training by taking the Airborne Public Safety Association's (APSA's) flight proficiency online exam and earning your BPERP certificate. There is no substitute for practice with a real drone, but this course will teach you stick control and muscle memory so that you can feel confident operating a drone right out of the box. The simulation is provided for the duration of the course, and six additional months with the UAS Essentials Plus and UAS Vocation courses.
Compliance Tools
Passing the Part 107 knowledge exam is great, but how do you request Air Traffic Control authorization, check the CTAF frequency, or identify controlled airspace in the real world? Fortunately, there are several online and app-based tools to help. Our courses introduce you to these tools and specifically explain how to use them effectively. Dr. Burgett will also show you some of the most commonly used UAS-specific weather tools and an auto-pilot (way-point) flight control app to help you collect the best data for your 3D models and maps.
3D Models and Maps
Collecting drone data is just as important as using it. We show you the best way to collect data to create professional-grade models, maps, and topo surveys. From those models, you can create quantity take-off estimates in seconds. Linear footage of curbs, square feet of sod, or cubic yards of earthwork can all be calculated with a few clicks of a button. You will also learn how to share a 3D digital twin of a project with your clients. Owners are increasingly demanding weekly 3D as-builts of the project. The class also explores what constitutes a "good" model and data collection best practices. An academic license to the software is provided with the course.
APSA Flight Certificate
The Airborne Public Safety Association provides the only nationally recognized flight proficiency exam for small multi-rotor UAS. The Basic Proficiency Evaluation for Remote Pilots (BPERP) was developed by the US government's National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST). Dr. Burgett's flight simulator is the only APSA-approved simulator that can be used for BPERP certification. Taking the exam is included in the UAS Essentials Plus course. The exam and the APSA certificate fee ($75) are included with the UAS Vocation class.
Level 1 UAS Thermographer Certification
The use of aerial thermography has grown incredibly fast over the past few years. There are applications in law enforcement, search & rescue, building energy audits, and solar panel inspections to name a few. Thermography is a lot more involved than snapping a picture. Understanding the thermogram and the IR science behind it is critical. The thermal curriculum is designed for those new to thermography. The course curriculum and Level 1 examination are consistent with the American Society for Non-Destructive Testing's SNT-TC-1A standard. The $300 exam fee is included in the UAS Vocation course.