Kentucky university to begin offering UAS classes in March 2016

Morehead State University Kentucky Innovation Network and Unmanned Services Inc. have partnered to create a drone flight training school.

The flight school will provide technical unmanned aircraft systems education and instruction to public and private entities at a low cost and help develop the UAS sector in Kentucky, according to Morehead State University.

Estimates are that UAS will be a billion dollar industry and the training school will give Kentucky pilots an edge over future regional operators, said Mickey Marotta, Unmanned Services Inc. president.

“But for current and future drone companies to be successful, every pilot has to fly safely and by the rules,” Marotta said. Unmanned Services Inc. pilots and executives will engineer the educational and operational components of the course. Unmanned Services Inc. is a Federal Aviation Administration-certified UAS service provider based in Lexington, Kentucky.

The Kentucky Innovation Network will sponsor the training school and work to find a site for it and assist with marketing and recruitment.

Students enrolled in the program will prepare for the FAA UAS Ground School Test and commercialized pilots will teach courses in aircraft maintenance and flight operations programs. The courses will be taught in a lab with unmanned aerial flight simulators and systems equipped with cameras and other payloads used for training aids. Students will learn about topics from regulations to navigation to commercial application.

During the next 18 months more than $700,000 will be available for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Ground School through a scholarship program. The school will begin offering courses in March 2016.