Huntsville community college offers first-in-the-state drone pilot program—find out more

Have you ever dreamed of becoming a pilot? What about a drone pilot? Unconventional, for sure, but drone operations, computing and analytics is a quickly growing industry, and Drake State Community and Technical College is offering a drone pilot training program. Keep reading for all the details.

Take flight

According to Business Alabama, Drake State Community and Technical College has partnered with Connecticut-based Aquiline Drones to offer online, instructor-guided drone pilot training. It is the only community college in Alabama to offer a program of its kind.

“Not only are we offering an exciting high-tech journey with these compelling courses, but we are also priming its participants to enter a rapidly accelerating industry with a potential market share of $127 billion.”

Barry Alexander, founder and chairman, Aquiline Drones, to Business Alabama

You may be wondering what curriculum drone piloting entails. Well, Drake State will offer two courses within the program:

• Introduction to Drones—covers the basics of flight and prepares students for the Federal Aviation Administration Drone Pilot certfication exam.
• Cloud Connected Drone Operations, Computing and Analytics—focuses on digital technologies that engable cloud-connected commercial drone operations, and how they can be used to form businesses.

Plus, the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command at Redstone Arsenal is nearby to Drake State, offering former military drone operators a course to enhance and certify their skills.

The courses take one month to complete and will be available starting in June.

High-demand industry

Drones and their pilots are in high demand in the military, as they consider drone swarms the future of warfare.

Several industries, from agriculture to construction rely on drones for their daily operations. Plus, I’m sure you’ve seen the buzzy news about Amazon using drones to deliver packages to your doorstep.

To learn more about the courses, including information on how to enroll this summer, visit Drake State’s website.

“For 60 years, Drake State has built a solid foundation on teaching the most advanced technologies in a hands-on learning environment. This partnership could not have come at a better time for Drake State in terms of the current global events and our own particular geographical landscape.”

Dr. Patricia Sims, president, Drake State, to Business Alabama

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