College to Host Information Session on New UAS/Drone Flight Training Course

June 6, 2016

Those interested in learning about flying small unmanned aerial systems (UAS)/drones for fun or for a potential career can attend an information session, Tuesday, June 21, from 11 a.m. to noon at Hudson Valley Community College. 

Representatives of the college's Workforce Development Institute as well as SkyOp, LLC will discuss new opportunities in drone/UAS training offered on campus. The information session will take place in Fitzgibbons Health Technologies Center, Room 100.

Brian Pitre, co-owner of SkyOp, LLC, will discuss the training, give a live demonstration and answer questions. The Canandaigua-based company has already partnered with several other SUNY community colleges to offer the training. 

The course, which will be taught by SkyOp instructors, will be offered on three consecutive Saturdays - July 23, 30 and August 6 - from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Students will learn to fly UAS, learn about different types of flight systems, how to perform routine maintenance as well as the rules and regulations that guide unmanned flight. Each student will also be provided a remote controlled training quad copter for practice. 

The potential for commercial use of small UAS may explode over the next several years. According to SkyOp, the Federal Aviation Administration is set to release commercial small UAS flight rules this month that could make the path to an operator certificate much less onerous. Drone use already has applications in several professions and the list is growing – law enforcement, agriculture, real estate, construction, insurance, to name just a few.

"The commercial potential for the use of drones is astounding; it will literally transform industries," said Pitre. "The challenge is there is so much more to know than buying a drone and trying to fly it in your backyard. There are a variety of systems and components to learn, safety concerns, regulations and more to know before taking to the sky." 

For more information about the training or the information session, call (518) 629-4111 or email workforce@hvcc.edu.