Sky’s the limit for drone pilots

River East

Transcona

Winnipeg

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/02/2023 (1212 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Those looking to take their interest in drones to the next level are in luck.

On Sat., Feb. 25 and Sat., March 4, RETLife and Decision Works Consulting Inc. will host an intensive, two-day drone pilot accreditation course. Those who complete the course will be able to challenge Transport Canada’s basic accreditation exam.

“This ties into potential career opportunities, once you learn how much drones can actually do,” explained Naomi Kruse, program co-ordinator for RETLife, which is the continuing education arm of the River East Transcona School Division.

“It’s a combination of theory-based learning and flying the drones, doing fun things like obstacle courses.”

While the use of drones for photography and videography is all but ubiquitous, there are many other commercial uses for the technology, and more opening up every day, according to Grant Barkman, president of Decision Works Consulting, which opened its own drone-specific consultancy branch, Drone Works, nine years ago.

“My background is in aviation,” Barkman said.

“We’d been doing a fair bit of drone work already. We recognized we needed to offer drone training so we could engage fully in that industry.”

From videography and photography, remote surveillance, digital agriculture, survey mapping and more, drone pilots are in demand across Manitoba and beyond.

“It’s a growth industry, and we’re seeing amazing new amazing new applications all the time,” Barkman said.

“Today, the drone is just the platform for data collection. Almost every application that has an aerial component is, or will be addressed, in the commercial space.”

The accreditation course is spread over two Saturdays, and will feature both theory and hands-on components.

“It’s both an introduction to air law to pass the Transport Canada course, and an intro to drone flying,” Barkman said.

“Students will learn to fly actual applications of drones: search and rescue, environmental assessment, photography. We call it ‘getting some stick time,’ not just talk theory.”

Cost for registration in the course, which will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Feb. 25 and March 4, is $1,027.62, plus an additional $10 to take the Transport Canada accreditation test.

The course will be held at Emerson School (323 Emerson Ave.). At press time, 10 spots were still available.

“We’re not training you to be drone pilots, we’re training you to be pilots who fly drones,” Barkman said.

“Where Transport Canada is going, they fully expect drone pilots to fly in the same airspace as normal pilots. We need to follow the same rules.”

“It’s a little pricier, but when you’re investing into this type of technology and this type of learning, we think this is good value,” Kruse said.

“Increasingly, people are going down this path as a professional option,” Barkman added.

“There is enough work out there for professional drone pilots. While we’re teaching fundamentals, all of that is leading to take that learning to be the foundation for a professional pilot program, and actually find work. It’s more than just fun with drones.

“It’s fun with drones with a purpose.”

For more information, visit retlife.ca